Maledrakh Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 So last year I moved all my ancient paints into dropper bottles, as it seems a good idea (still does). Then I bought some ball bearing-balls to use as agitators to give the paints a good stir when shaking, as some of them had a tendency to …sediment. And yesterday I noticed a ball.shaped discolouration in some of the bottles….argh. The ball bearings have rusted! So much for prolonging the life of the paint… (The rust does not seem to affect the paint, apart from a slight discolouring in the lighter ones. But I expect it will get worse if I do not do something with it) I must confess I did not see that coming. The ball bearings were supposed to be “stainless steelâ€â€¦ it seems not. Or maybe stainless steel is not that stainless. But anyway. Does anybody here have any experience with this? What to use as agitators, and that will not react with the paint?, The paints really do seem to need something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willen Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 Never trust the "stainless steel" label, same thing happened to me. Better use stuff you know will not react bad to metal. Leftover metal sprue, hematite or glass beads (from the bead section in your craft store) are all popular choices. I also recall a recent conversation about this here but my forum-search is failing me. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug's Workshop Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 I use split-shot sinkers from the fishing/sporting goods section. I don't remember if they're lead or tungsten. But it's been a year, and seem to be working fine. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skippen Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 I just ordered the agitator balls from PK-Pro (about 300), and I like them so far. But even they can have a hard time moving that Scale 75 paint (so much, so thick)--but I really like my Scale 75 paint. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loim Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 I generally use sprue bits. Hematite beads are what are in the newer RMS paints. Glass beads or marbles would probably also work well. Cheers. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleBluberry Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 I was pretty sure that it was glass beads that are in RMS paints, although I've heard a lot of people love hematite. I already had appropriately sized glass beads so that's what I use. Haven't had any problems so far, and I started tossing them into some of my Vallejo paints 8+ years or so ago. I believe for stainless steel there are varying grades of it, some are more truly stainless than others. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ub3r_n3rd Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 I also recall a recent conversation about this here but my forum-search is failing me. Allow me! Previous threads on same topic: Metal Skull in Paint Bottle Hey, What happened? Agitators for Reaper paints 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willen Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 It's like you are... seeing the Matrix or something Are the servers hosted in your house now? 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ub3r_n3rd Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 It's like you are... seeing the Matrix or something Are the servers hosted in your house now? Yes. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowRaven Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 I am of the 'bits of sprue' camp. Mostly because I'm pretty darn cheap. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissMelons Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 All my loose metal goes onto the "exchange bin" 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harrek Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 I use hematite beads. They have a nice weight to them and have caused no problems. They seem to move around the Scale 75 paint well. But I also have a paint mixer to help with that as well. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duze Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 I use hematite beads. Very heavy and to test them, I threw a bunch into a salt water solution for like 2 or 3 weeks to make sure they wouldnt rust. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Von Krieger Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 I also use hematite beads. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laoke Posted March 2, 2015 Share Posted March 2, 2015 I also use hematite beads. To be specific I use 8mm hematite beads, bought in bulk. 8mm is the size where they fit inside the neck of a RMS dropper bottle, but they can't fit inside the nozzle. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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