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Other Stuff => Workbench => Topic started by: pauld on March 18, 2021, 11:16:10 AM
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I was about to push the button and buy a £45 vortex paint mixer and over on the shelf opposite me was a cheap Wilko Palm Sander I had been using a while back - I wonder?
Works great. You need to press the bottle/dropper into a cloth or sponge held on the plate and whizz away for a few seconds.
Tried it with really old paint separated into medium and sludge and it revived those and works a treat on Vallejo.
Cheap and effective if a little noisy. Neighbours must think I'm a DIY maniac now as I went through all my paints last night.
I would suggest if you have one hanging around give it a try.
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This kind of thing?
(https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/41cUNd9wU7L._AC_.jpg)
If so, how are holding it? Sander in one hand, holding the paint pot against it with the other?
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That's the thing.
Hold upside down on thigh (without the sandpaper on)
Put a wad of folded sponge or cloth on top
Press bottle bottom/side/top (whatever you fancy) against cloth
Switch on
After a few seconds stop switch off
Open paint/squeeze drop of paint and see lovely creamy smooth paint :o
Repeat
Saves an awful lot of vigorous hand shaking.
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I’ve just take receipt of a vortex mixer today and so far I’m not very impressed. Guna have a play with it tonight but so far I haven’t seen much difference.
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I certainly see the use for a automatic paint shaker, but I would be looking for something you could put or strap a jar or drop bottle into, and just leave it there for a minute without being held or rattling all over the place. Is there such a beast?
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A US company called Robart makes a Hobby Paint Shaker which sounds like it meets your requirements. There are battery- and mains-powered models. The mains-powered machine might not be usable outside of North America.
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I certainly see the use for a automatic paint shaker, but I would be looking for something you could put or strap a jar or drop bottle into, and just leave it there for a minute without being held or rattling all over the place. Is there such a beast?
This is the one that I brought with me from the states.
(https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0339/0713/products/411-1_1024x1024.jpg?v=1571439072)
It works as you are describing. It does work well but over here needs a transformer to run. Just takes a min or two.
A company called Robert makes a Hobby Paint Shaker which sounds like it meets your requirements. There are battery- and mains-powered models. As they’re based in the US however the mains-powered machine might not be usable elsewhere.
Snap
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This is the one that I brought with me from the states.
(https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0339/0713/products/411-1_1024x1024.jpg?v=1571439072)
It works as you are describing. It does work well but over here needs a transformer to run. Just takes a min or two. Snap
There are lots of nail polish shakers available in that style. It should be easy to find one that doesn’t require an adapter.
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That’s the gizmo (Robert was a typo). I’m insufficiently versed in electronics - i.e. not at all - to know anything about transformers, but as long as they’re safe then that should work fine. I’ve seen the battery-powered nail varnish shakers on eBay but given their cheapness would be suspicious of their reliability in the longer term.
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I use a jigsaw with a taped blade and bottles held on with a spring clamp.
Works great!
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Heman779t Vortex Mixer, Mini Vortex Mixer Suitable For Laboratories, Nail Studios, Painters, Tattooists And Hobbyists https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08Y6TG17N/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_G48ZNSCT5TBFCAGEYHTR?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
This is what I just got. Didn’t seem to make too much difference but will continue to test it.
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Heman779t Vortex Mixer, Mini Vortex Mixer Suitable For Laboratories, Nail Studios, Painters, Tattooists And Hobbyists https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08Y6TG17N/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_G48ZNSCT5TBFCAGEYHTR?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
This is what I just got. Didn’t seem to make too much difference but will continue to test it.
Those vortex machines still require that you hold the bottle while it is being agitated, right?
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Heman779t Vortex Mixer, Mini Vortex Mixer Suitable For Laboratories, Nail Studios, Painters, Tattooists And Hobbyists https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08Y6TG17N/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabc_G48ZNSCT5TBFCAGEYHTR?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
This is what I just got. Didn’t seem to make too much difference but will continue to test it.
I have one similar to that, and it works great. I had to run older bottles for a minute or so, and occasionally flip them over. But the paints are much more consistent now than they used to be.
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Those vortex machines still require that you hold the bottle while it is being agitated, right?
This style, yes. You have to press the bottle down into the cup slightly to get the machine to turn on.
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This is the one that I brought with me from the states.
(https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0339/0713/products/411-1_1024x1024.jpg?v=1571439072)
It works as you are describing. It does work well but over here needs a transformer to run. Just takes a min or two. Snap
62 Euro, that is fucking outrageous for a little plastic box with some gears and a battery motor!
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62 Euro, that is fucking outrageous for a little plastic box with some gears and a battery motor!
That's kind of what I was saying. I was about to spend £45 on something I wasn't sure would work while something I had in front of me works great. For free!
It may not be elegant but the results are pleasing.
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Mine was about £22 with postage from China. I was pleasantly surprised to find they’d included a UK power adapter too which was unexpected. I’m guna keep going with it and see how I get on.
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62 Euro, that is fucking outrageous for a little plastic box with some gears and a battery motor!
The nail polish ones are cheaper and are the exact same things.
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Mine was about £22 with postage from China. I was pleasantly surprised to find they’d included a UK power adapter too which was unexpected. I’m guna keep going with it and see how I get on.
Good man. Gotta linky?
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Yeh the vortex one on the last page.
You have to hold the paint tho so might not be what you are after.
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I pressed the order button for a U.K. supplied one a week or so ago (unnamed / 'white box' type) and have used it on four bottles of paint with mixed results:
Army Painter white - currently like sludge but slight improvement
Army Painter red - normally clear liquid comes out first but now good coverage
Vallejo blue (no idea the actual number) - similar to the red but now great coverage
Flesh (AP I think) - better but it's taken a good three to four minutes to see any improvement
All bottles have agitator balls in them (a mix of rusty eBay and decent Army Painter ones). Oddly the rust does not seem to bother the paint after a year or so (not proud on that saving) and two balls do not seem any better than one.
My paints are anything from six months to four years old and so far it's a reasonable win for me. Not the panacea YouTube shows but it will cover its cost over buying / trying paints.
Biggest drawback was the cheap 'euro' adapter and two pin mains block. Risked it once while I was next to it (and excited to try it) then dug up a decent 12V 3Amp adapter from my 'spares'. I see the eBay link (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tattoo-Pigment-Shaker-Nail-Polish-UV-Gel-Vortexer-Mixer-Ink-Electric-Stirrer-UK/353412327256?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649) now states EU adapter :-)
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Has anyone tried any of the higher priced vortex mixers that you see on Amazon for £99 and upwards? Although you still need to hold the bottle perhaps more expense = more speed and better results? Just wondering
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Artis Opus makes one specifically for model paint. I read a review of it a year or two ago but don’t remember the details. I think the link was in the Fauxhammer newsletter, but it shouldn’t be difficult to find.
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Can confirm that the palm sander works for me as I tried it yesterday whilst painting figures, but it's use has raised some issues:
Army painter paints with less than half a bottle left now seem to have too much pigment in and need more thinning, consequently I used too thick a paint initially then once thinned to go on smoothly they are very translucent.
I put this down to me using them poorly shaken for a while leaving less medium than there should be, and an excess of pigments that have lived in the bottom of the bottle undisturbed for a year or two.
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"I use a jigsaw with a taped blade and bottles held on with a spring clamp.
Works great!"
I also use a jigsaw with a screw clamp attachment which does a great job of mixing up mi paints - even Army Painter acrylics.
Tony
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Just an update, mine has seen limited use since I bought it. It has improved the consistency of some of my paints, tho know to the level that I had hoped. However the main lip has already started to deform. With that in mind I am requesting a refund from Amazon.
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Pauld, thanks for the suggestion. I tried three local Beauty supply stores and couldn't fins a mixer. But I didn't need to I had a new belt sander in the box right next to my paint table. :-*
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I hold the paint bottle on the back knob of my scroll saw. It bounces, so it has the same result. Works on acrylics and spray paint cans.
I'll have the try the sander, that sounds like another promising idea.