Got my Master Series paints out of storage, the caps are cracking!

[Crusoe the Painter 69]

I havent had much time to paint until recently. Had kids, etc. Anyways, bought a vortex mixer, and have managed to rescue most of my paints. The reaper ones are proving especially easy because they already came with paint shakers inside, no need to add ball bearings!

 

Just one problem, while the Vallejo paints are just as old, their caps are not cracking at all. 

 

Meanwhile, I'm having a lot of the Master Series paints suffering from cracking caps, some crumbling like dirt when I twist them off. This to me suggests they are made from polypropylene, a plastic that can degrade over time. I'm gonna order replacements, but i suspect the vallejo caps are made from polyethylene, or nylon.

is there a bulk discount available for caps? I'm gonna need like 100 of them. Even the 'ok' ones make crackling noises when squeezing them, which means they will fail soon too.

 

The paints were stored indoors, in tackleboxes.

[Dilvish the Deliverer 51277]

I want to say that there was a batch of caps a long while back that started cracking like you are describing.  I would contact Reaper and ask them about it.

 

ETA:  And welcome back to both painting and the forums!

[Crusoe the Painter 69]

Looks like they are SKS plastics, and polypropylene. Usually it only breaks down if exposed to sunlight. These are some old paints, so may have been a part of the bad cap bath.

[ced1106 5730]

Eye droppers should cost about ten bucks on Amazon, and, if you prefer pots, you can search on "paint containers" on Amazon as well. 

Edited November 2, 2020 by ced1106

[Crusoe the Painter 69]

I just need the caps and Amazon is full of truly terrible dropper bottles.

[alchemist 5777]

Reaper does sell packs of 12 caps.

[Mad Jack 49095]

 

21 hours ago, Dilvish the Deliverer said:

I want to say that there was a batch of caps a long while back that started cracking like you are describing.  I would contact Reaper and ask them about it.

 

ETA:  And welcome back to both painting and the forums!

 

 Yeah, a number of years ago, there was a rash of reports of caps cracking, all right around the same time frame, which would suggest a bad batch of caps.

I have a lot of old Reaper paints, and some of the oldest are still fine while others eventually cracked after a couple years.

However, I don't believe it's been an issue for quite a while.

And, as mentioned, Reaper does sell caps.