jenova Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 Hi all I recently got back into painting after 4 years of not touching a brush, and my MSP were the only paints that survived. However, I'm beginning to think that some of them did not survive, but are instead undead. One or two seem a little grainy and quite thick. I'm assuming it's just caused by evaporation. About a third of them don't behave well when thinned. The pigments seem to form aggregates (little grains) that look rather nasty on the mini. I've tried thinning with the following: tap water, de-ionized water (I assumed ions in my tap water was causing the aggregation), 50% de-ionized water + 50% W&N flow improver, Vallejo Matte Medium. The Matte Medium is the only one that doesn't cause aggregation, but it is a gel, and I really dislike blending with it. Any suggestions for a medium I can thin this with without causing these issues? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikmal Posted June 3, 2009 Share Posted June 3, 2009 Hi all I recently got back into painting after 4 years of not touching a brush, and my MSP were the only paints that survived. However, I'm beginning to think that some of them did not survive, but are instead undead. One or two seem a little grainy and quite thick. I'm assuming it's just caused by evaporation. About a third of them don't behave well when thinned. The pigments seem to form aggregates (little grains) that look rather nasty on the mini. I've tried thinning with the following: tap water, de-ionized water (I assumed ions in my tap water was causing the aggregation), 50% de-ionized water + 50% W&N flow improver, Vallejo Matte Medium. The Matte Medium is the only one that doesn't cause aggregation, but it is a gel, and I really dislike blending with it. Any suggestions for a medium I can thin this with without causing these issues? I would say the Matte Medium and or RMS flow Improver would be best to use in thinning them out again. It is typical for some of the thinning solution to evaporate from the RMS bottles over time... just do what you are doing as far as the matte medium to restore them and make sure you shake them really well. It should restore fairly well after that is done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eastman Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 you could try mixing up a pre-diluted matte medium, then using that solution in place of water for thinning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenova Posted June 4, 2009 Author Share Posted June 4, 2009 you could try mixing up a pre-diluted matte medium, then using that solution in place of water for thinning. Very sneaky I tried that though, and it doesn't work unless I have a lot of matte medium in the mix. Unfortunately that effects the viscosity too much. I would say the Matte Medium and or RMS flow Improver would be best to use in thinning them out again. It is typical for some of the thinning solution to evaporate from the RMS bottles over time... just do what you are doing as far as the matte medium to restore them and make sure you shake them really well. It should restore fairly well after that is done. Yes, I might try the Reaper flow improver. I'm not sure how big a difference there is between that and the W&N flow improver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awong Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Welcome Back Jenova At the risk of sounding like a "fan-boy", I've always been an admirer of your work. I'm looking forward to seeing your amazing work again. -AW Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutebutpsycho Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 You might also want to check the pinned thread about 'bad batches'. I seem to recall you were painting last about the same time the taped on label bottles were still floating around, so that might be part of the problem with one or two of your colors. Also, freezing isn't good for them..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenova Posted June 4, 2009 Author Share Posted June 4, 2009 You might also want to check the pinned thread about 'bad batches'. I seem to recall you were painting last about the same time the taped on label bottles were still floating around, so that might be part of the problem with one or two of your colors. Also, freezing isn't good for them..... Ahh, thank you. I think found the thread. That could be it. Mine don't have the taped labels though. They shouldn't have been exposed to that kind of cold. At least I sure hope not. The issues seems to be with the darker colors, Bone Shadow, Midnight Blue, Nighshade Purple, Muddy Brown, Deep Ocean. A few of the lighter colors are also grainy: Palomino Gold and Aged Bone aren't doing too well. The whole Dark Skin triad seems messed up too. Welcome Back JenovaAt the risk of sounding like a "fan-boy", I've always been an admirer of your work. I'm looking forward to seeing your amazing work again. -AW *hugs* Thank you :) Even with a bit of paint trouble, I'm really enjoying painting again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serenity Posted June 4, 2009 Share Posted June 4, 2009 Out of curiosity, and as a warning to others, other than the RMS paints, what types of paint did not survive? A search of the archives revealed this possible solution: Thinning Paints in Pots / Bottles? The advice is to use Polly-Scale thinner, Delta PermEnamel thinner or Delta Ceramcoat Acrylic thinner mixed with acrylic matte medium. Apparently, these thinners avoid separation better than water and/or flow improver, yet have viscosity close to water. Using a power stirring device (a Dremel with a bent wire in the chuck or a device made for the task) might help, too. I wish you luck in your noble quest to save paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reaper User Vaitalla Posted June 5, 2009 Reaper User Share Posted June 5, 2009 Heya Jenova, it's good to see that you're back!! It sounds like you did get paints from some of the batches that were later found to be "suspect". Drop me a PM on the boards here and maybe I can help you out with replacing some of those paints. --Anne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferret Posted June 5, 2009 Share Posted June 5, 2009 My perception based on limited experience is using additives does not significantly improve the results when thinning paint that has thickened over time. However, I have only tried using additives sparingly. The method of adding thinner (which in my case is usually just distilled water) to the paint seems to have more influence. I go with the "gravy" approach -- If you are cooking gravy you need to combine ingredients gradually or there will be lumps in the gravy so I figured the same thing might apply to paint. I add enough water to increase the volume in the bottle by no more than 10%, shake it enough to throughly mix the paint, let it set for a while, then repeat until the viscosity of the paint is acceptable. That approach seems to work better than trying to add all the water at once, but I suppose it could simply be because of the extra shaking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenova Posted June 7, 2009 Author Share Posted June 7, 2009 Gah, went back and looked, and some of them ARE with the taped on labels. Silly me! Out of curiosity, and as a warning to others, other than the RMS paints, what types of paint did not survive? Well, pretty much everything with flip top containers My GW, I-Kore, and Foundry paints didn't fare so well. I'm sort of sad about my i-Kore paints going bye-bye since I really did like some of them and they are OOP now, but oh well! A search of the archives revealed this possible solution: Thinning Paints in Pots / Bottles? The advice is to use Polly-Scale thinner, Delta PermEnamel thinner or Delta Ceramcoat Acrylic thinner mixed with acrylic matte medium. Apparently, these thinners avoid separation better than water and/or flow improver, yet have viscosity close to water. Using a power stirring device (a Dremel with a bent wire in the chuck or a device made for the task) might help, too. I wish you luck in your noble quest to save paint. Thank you! I'll read up on that stuff! My perception based on limited experience is using additives does not significantly improve the results when thinning paint that has thickened over time. However, I have only tried using additives sparingly. The method of adding thinner (which in my case is usually just distilled water) to the paint seems to have more influence. I go with the "gravy" approach -- If you are cooking gravy you need to combine ingredients gradually or there will be lumps in the gravy so I figured the same thing might apply to paint. I add enough water to increase the volume in the bottle by no more than 10%, shake it enough to throughly mix the paint, let it set for a while, then repeat until the viscosity of the paint is acceptable. That approach seems to work better than trying to add all the water at once, but I suppose it could simply be because of the extra shaking. That does make sense. I'm not sure I have the angelic patience though And thank you, Anne. I see you are still the bomb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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