"Basetex dried out" Topic

I found a couple of old jars of Basetex, which have dried rock hard. I've tried adding water but it just sits there in a solid lump. Anyone know if there's a way of reviving Basetex or should they be binned?

I personally do not use Basetex but from what I see on line once this sets it cannot be reconstituted.

Rock hard?
Buy another.

Hasn't it gone all stinky and mouldy too? Mine did, but it hadn't reached the rock hard stage and I managed to revive it with water fortunately.

Fair enough, to the bin it goes! I think maybe the gritty sandy bits tend to get into the screws of the screw cap and stop the jar sealing properly. Next time I'll make sure to clean the lid before closing.

I use the cheapest tube of household filler (Wilkinsons DIY in the UK) mixed with either fine sand or beach sand, depending how you want the finish, and can be thinned/reconstituted with water. It can be coloured using acrylics if you want, personally I don't. I store mine in an ex 'body butter' container from Superdrug (courtesy of my wife) which is plastic, about 4.5 inches diameter, 2 inches deep, with a plastic screw lid. Works for me. These containers are extremely useful for all sorts of things, so treat your wife/significant other (and yourself).

Tried basetex years ago and didnt like it. Better and cheaper alternatives can be had.

Coincidentally I might get around to regrouting a few tiles in the bathroom, looking at it the grout looks very similar to basetex but beige. Would tile grout work for basing, I have a huge tub of it

Hi Tim,

I used basetex when it first came out I the eighties, one jar was enough to realise it is simply building sand and household matt emulsion paint. Simply buy a tester pot of the colour you want and either mix it with building sand or sifted sharp sand until you get the consistency you want and it works exactly the same as basetex and dries rock hard too.

I'm a big Basetex fan – it's a reasonable cost given what you have spent on the figures and handy. I generally use two coats then drybrush in yellow (on green) or sand (on brown) then add lots of grass tufts.
When mine has gone hard I unfold one of the larger paperclips and just push that in and out a few times with a small amount of water until it comes back to a pasty consistency. It only works if it is 'hard' rather than 'rock hard' though.

Cheers all sadly mine had dried rock hard so I binned it. Will let you know if I have a go with grout or emulsion and sand