"GW Paints - Shelf Life?" Topic

Has Games Workshop improved the shelf life of its paint, or is it still about the same as a sick fruit fly?

Any ideas how to extend the shelf life of GW paints?

Well in generally short, but I do have a ink set from the 1980's that still fresh.

If you do,not open them, decades. Otherwise several years if only used a bit. In almost all cases I run out long before they do.

The new pots are not great. Paint collects around the threads, & is difficult to remove. So the lids won't seat properly. I buy 1oz glass jars & transfer the paint there. Others buy dropper bottles to do similar. In the jars I buy I have paint that is at least 10 years old, still as good as the day I bought it. OTOH, I have frequently used bottles in the old pots I never transferred…that are completely dried out. I generally like GW paints & are easy to come by. But bottle design has never been a strongpoint with them.

Damon.

Some of my newer pots are drying out. I still have some old pots in the "Foundry" bottles from back in 1993 that are still quite usable.

I have the complete Warhammer/LOTR line of GW paints that are still perfect.
The best hobby paints that I have ever owned.

Stir them up occasionally and if they start getting too thick, add some thinner. Also, keep the lids clean so they close properly.

Do that and they'll last a long time.

They have among the best shelf life I've encountered. I'm still using a few pots I bought a decade ago. (Besides a lot of more recent ones)

I just open them up and drop a bit of water in from time to time and give them a stir. I think my oldest pot is about ten years old.

A drop of water with use, be careful to close them properly and store them upside down. MUCH better than Howard Hues, and better lids than P3.

I really like Howard Hues paint. But they really do dry up!

I found the new GW paints to do that also. My paints from the 80's, even with cracked lids are still in great shape. I have a bottle of bleached bone that the lid is cracked & is my go to paint & it is from the 80's. That is why I buy craft paint now, 1/2 the price, more paint & lasts much longer. John Leahy, I'm a fan of Howard Hues but yes they do dry up.

I have an old Glistening Green that I bought in State College (94-98) that I just used the other day. But the mix I made for my Sons of Horus army last summer is all dried up. It depends on the colour and how you use it. For the most part I use them up before they dry out. But I paint a lot.

I have stopped buying the current range for this very reason – some of the pots I only got one use out of… the lids don't seal properly- The old ones lasted for years!

Check out Ral Partha's MT paint bottles. I find those bottles seal air tight, so I transfer paints to those bottles. I have bottles going back to the early '80's that are still good.

Green Tiger. That was my experience as well, which is why I asked the question. I'm thinking of buying a couple of test colors and transferring the contents into a dropper bottle to see if that fixes the problem.

GW paints are just too blasted expensive to end up with dried lump a month or two later.

Their shelf life is so bad that they are known for being dead before you even leave the store.
I dont joke about it.
If you want GW paint lines, there are alternatives

Grimm

I have GW paints from the early 90's that are still good (whenever a bottle finally gets emptied, the bottle gets re-used for other brands of paint. ;-)
The only GW color which has dried out on me is Tin Bitz, despite being in those good bottles… :-(

Yep, those lines of paints Zephyr1.
Current line, as well as the recent previous lines, cant hold that type of distinction.
The OP I am assuming is asking about the current line of GW paints.

Grimm

I buy 75ml artist tube paint. Far better value. Allowing more money for miniatures. Plus I still have the old 36ml Derivan Minis, no longer available