Question Regarding Old Paints

[ignis-fatuus]

I'm new to this forum and am returning to painting miniatures after taking a rather long time off to focus on my university studies. Grad school is over and I am finding the urge to start painting once again. As I set up my workspace I am wondering how my paints have fared over the years. I have a pretty large selection of Vallejo Game Color and Model Color paints that haven't seen the light of day in about a decade. So far the ones that I've tested seem to be OK, but given the number of years that they've sat untouched, I am wondering if there are any potential issues to look out for. Furthermore, and perhaps more importantly, I would rather not spend a bunch of money on new paints if the ones I have can be salvaged.

Currently I am thinking of purchasing some stainless steel bearings to drop into the bottles with a drop or two of distilled water (if needed). If worth the money, I may invest in a small paint mixer to really give them a stir as it would be cheaper than replacing the 100+ Vallejo paints that I have on hand.

If anyone one else has had similar experiences, I would be most appreciative for your input.

[Dags]

I've got Vallejos that must be over 10yo are rarely if ever get used (Fluo Orange, I'm looking at you!) - just opened it and it's fine. I do store them upside down, allowing the pigment and carrier to separate  and just using the former. Just need to keep a long, steel spear handy in case the nozzle clogs.

[has.been]

Recently I had a big clear out of my Humbrol enamel paints.
Some of which were purchased, with schoolboy pocket money,
over fifty years ago. So as not to dupe someone, by selling
tins of congealed paint, I opened everyone of them. The
majority were fine. A few had completely dried up, three (out
of about 180) were more like PVA glue. Those I simply used
to great effect as Sci-Fi effects (stuff in vats, infections partially
covering poor quality castings, weird plant forms coating
buildings etc.)
So go ahead & play with the paints.

[Just a few orcs]

I have many paints that are well over 20 years old. Just add some medium/water and stir well.

they only issue I find is some do not mix smoothly and end up with grains of pigment. Use for terrain or just throw them away, its not worth ruining a model by using them.

[Cubs]

As long as the seal on the lid is good, they'll keep. A good stir and a little ball bearing the Vallejo pots is a good idea.

[Daeothar]

In well sealed pots, acrylic paints can last a looong time!

I still have original Citadel hex-shaped pots from the late eighties/early nineties which I occasionally use, and they're still fine.

Later GW paints were sold in different pots, with both screw on tops and flip-tops. Both were dire in the sense that they did not create the excellent seal of the previous pots and the result was a lot of dried out paints.

Vallejo dropper bottles are excellent, because they both provide a very good seal and have a very small contact area with the surrounding air; just the small nozzle hole and any spilled paint.

I've had bottles spill paint into the threads of the lid and bottle, but even those sealed up pretty tight. Of course cleaning the threads before the paint dries is always better...

Like many others, I have a great deal of paints in the racks, and not all of them get used as much as others. In those cases, keep in mind that you'll need to shake them vigourously before use, because the pigment and medium tend to seperate over time. Not all paints seperate at the same rate though.

Yellows, oranges and reds are notorious for seperating relatively quickly, whereas browns, greys and blacks and whites seperate very little at all.

In the former cases, add a (stainless) steel ballbearing to the bottle and shake it long and hard. The added weight of the ballbearing will break up the clumped pigment and make it suspend in the medium faster and better.

Make sure it's a stainless steel ball, or eventually your ball might rust and leave ironoxide in your paint, which can lead to undesireable results. Alternatively (and better too IMHO) there are glass beads available for the same purpose as well.

Also; it's apparently all the rage these days to buy lab (Vortex) mixers to shake your paint bottles. And while I can see the advantages of them; shaking is faster and more vigorous, so mixing goes quicker, it's nothing you cannot also do by hand; it just takes a bit more time and effort...

[NotifyGrout]

In well sealed pots, acrylic paints can last a looong time!

I still have original Citadel hex-shaped pots from the late eighties/early nineties which I occasionally use, and they're still fine.

Later GW paints were sold in different pots, with both screw on tops and flip-tops. Both were dire in the sense that they did not create the excellent seal of the previous pots and the result was a lot of dried out paints.

I can also vouch for this, though my Mithril Silver is more of a metallic glaze than a proper paint at this point (or was it always like that?).

And as I will continue to say, one thing everyone can agree on is that GW's modern pots are terrible

I think the key with the vortex mixer is how frequently one's paints are used. If all of them get touched every few months it's probably not needed, but I'm probably going to get one because I have some paints that have been sitting for years and I don't have the energy I normally do right now.

[Vonkluge]

I have been using Vallejo paint for nearly 20 years and in fact was a early seller of them when they first came on the US market. Polly S had been bought by Testors and they changed the formula making it nearly unusable for mini painters. Vallejo was being used by larger scale painters as a replacement for oils (54mm and bigger) and I helped introduce them into the smaller scale wargaming world. Ok enough of that, Stainless ball bearings are a great way to create a mini "rattle can" one or two in the bottle with some distilled water works wonders. I would also recommend using some of the Vallejo medium thinner as well as it adds to the paint components that may have dried up that wont be replaced by the distilled water. If my bottle needs more than a few drops to bring it back to life I will then do a 50-50 of distilled water and VJ thinner medium.

On another note when talking about the poor design of the GW paint pots I agree! I only recently started using more of the GW line because of a few Sci Fi and Fantasy projects I got involved in but noticed I had pots dry up after only a few months. I found Vallejo style "dropper bottles" on the internet in several sizes and now just transfer the GW/Citadel paints into them. 

[ignis-fatuus]

I would also recommend using some of the Vallejo medium thinner as well as it adds to the paint components that may have dried up that wont be replaced by the distilled water. If my bottle needs more than a few drops to bring it back to life I will then do a 50-50 of distilled water and VJ thinner medium.

That's actually some pretty sound advice. I often premix a bottle of distilled water, matte acrylic medium, and a couple drops of a surfacant (Vallejo Flow Improver--I think that's a surfacant) for thinning down my paints when painting. With any luck that will bring some of my paints back to life. If possible I'll try to keep my Model Color paints alive as I can't find anywhere locally who sells them. From what I've gathered Vallejo has been suffering from supply chain problems. I have a nerd store that sells the Game Color line, but I personally find them (about half of them) to be less than suitable for my needs. But who knows, maybe they've improved in that past 10 or so years?

[ced1106]

Have you started painting yet? And what quality do you paint to?

I wouldn't worry if they're droppers. And thickened paint can be restored with medium or even water. I had to do with with some GW starter set current-style pots I got on sale -- and I like to use pots over eyedroppers for commonly used colors (eg. brown, black, white) because I'm lazy, paint to advanced tabletop, and mostly paint monsters and terrain. I actually do most of my painting with colored primers and even craft paints followed by a wash. If you do use a pot, add a few drops of water after using, and make sure that dried paint is scraped out.

If you can't find plastic beads, you can also use bits of plastic sprue.

Check your metals first. At least the older metal paints would clump and be unrecoverable sooner than other acrylics. I hear good things about alcohol metallics.

[Pijlie]

I have Citadel dropper bottles from the late 1980ies that still contain useable inks.

Those are exceptionally good and never dry out. Probably the reason that Citadel ditched them....

[Elysium]

I'm late to the party here, but can add a few bits. Vortex mixers are used, I bought a top notch one and even though it was very small, compact and really high quality, I rarely used it. It cost me a fair bit of cash, much more than the cheap ones from China, but I ended up preferring to shake the paints instead, out of habit. The space it took up on the table, plugging it in, I just didn't bother in the end, and popped it up for sale. Also the vortex action, tends to slowly 'gurge' the paint round. I was there for ages. Popping in a stainless steel ball, helped, but if the paint was thick it didn't go so well. When a ball was added, it tended to spin the ball on an axis, like one of those motorcycles in the circus cages off death, so created flow, but only higher up in the pot. Not at the bottom, where needed. I feel the vortex mixers are one of those things that appear great, but don't really pay up in practicality or final end result. A "We can sell you this, you really need this, you never needed it before, buy one, how can you do without it!"

Stainless steel ball bearings are great, the shaking action just seemed to work better and  they end up being cheaper, plus you can reuse them again when the paint runs out! Even with good weighty ones, I ended up popping two in. People do use the cheaper glass, but they don't have the same weight, so don't work as well. The whole point is the weight, especially to get them going if stuck at the bottom. Glass won't rust, but if you buy high quality balls, you'll be OK. There are cheap ball bearings out there, usually from China, so I'd avoid them. As always, you get what you pay for! The best size to go for is 6mm and over. You'll fit a 6.35mm ball into a Reaper bottle and the difference in weight between a 5mm ball (which are much cheaper) and a 6.35mm ball is that 6.35mm is twice the weight. This makes shaking them, much easier, which is the whole point of buying them. The 5mm is pretty standard, as is 5.5mm, but even 5.5 mm is 50% lighter than 6.35mm. I recently spent three days just sorting out my paints. Stirring and shaking. I ended up selling a load, as I just didn't want to have to again do it all in ten years time. It's nice to have the old colours, but the work, well. I also noted that the metals, some of them dulled, I think Tin Bitz or Dwarf Bronze was the worst. The one that they stopped doing back then.

I've also seen people use stone beads on U-Tube. Hematite being one of them. What people don't know, it that various rocks and stones contain Iron, which will ruin your paint. The water will basically rust the rock, and cause trouble. I did this myself, without thought on some varnish. I'd tested the varnish on the models base. I didn't think what the stone chippings actually were. Anyway, I foolishly did not pour out some varnish, and use that, I instead repeatedly dipped my brush in the varnish  I ended up transferring rock powder or a few small bits into the varnish, which then rusted. Even then I didn't realise what had happened, so returned the varnish to the shop. Only after did it strike me, to which I then apologised to the shop.

I pretty much agree with Daeothar above, especially with the old GW paints. Even though the old Hex paints were not a hard plastic pot, and came out in 1994! they are fine. The later 1998 Bolter round shaped pots and 2003 flip top pots, dried up something chronic. As said, the seal wasn't as good, definitely on the flippers, but the bolter round pots did surprise me, as the seal was solid. I mean those bolter round pots, they changed the design to flipper for good reason, as once paint dried, you couldn't get the bolter top off, as it had no grip at all. I fought with them often back in the day. I feel it was also to do with the newer 1998 paint formulation drying out easier, as this era of pot were really hard plastic, so moisture should permeate through less and seal them for a lifetime. Those white top inks of the same period dried solid as well, but oddly, some dried out solid, others were absolutely perfect! Not that I liked those inks, some were glazes, and I just couldn't get on with them.

I too use the Vallejo thinner medium. I used it 50/50 with water, as that gave me the consistency I was after, I was also a little suspicious as it was milky, and not clear like the fluid that seems to be used by GW? My Vallejo paints from the past, needed a shake, but 15 years old are they? Still good.

[The Voivod]

I use little glass balls from scenery workshop. I don't want to worry about any rust, so this bought me some peace of mind. They're a few euro's for fifty and I assume I could even clean it and re-use once the pot is empty, but I haven't tried that yet.
I've noticed some stainless steel stuff in my bathroom still rusting, so it was just something I preffered.
They work great.

[Elysium]

Yeah, there are various grades of 'stainless' steel, depending on what it is used for. I feel many products sold as 'stainless' are actually cheaply plated with a 'stainless' coating (perhaps zinc or nickel), which once it wears, overs no protection at all. If you buy quality, you'll be alright. As always, buyer beware, if too cheap, there's good reason for that!

[2010sunburst]

My experience of paint is very similar to that mentioned above.  I have Humbrol paint that is around fifty years old and is still perfectly useable.  Later they changed the formulation and they didn’t last as well, flesh colour pigment solidifying very quickly, for example.  I have early Humbrol acrylics which are still perfectly usable which must be around thirty years old now as well.  I’ve rarely had any sort of paint become unusable in storage as long as the carrier solvent hasn’t evaporated.  You may need to remove the dropper top and clean it, and physically mix the paint in the pot, but I think the majority should remain useable.
For info, Stainless steel of any grade isn’t impervious to everything.  Hydrochloric acid attacks any grade except hastalloy and hypochlorite can rust all of them to orange in very short order because it gives off free chlorine which attacks the steel. 
I too used to use stainless ball bearings in my Vallejo paint.  I used good quality balls from the same source but have recently stopped bothering because some discolouration is still occasionally visible in some pots.  Interestingly though, not in all.  It usually shows as a circular staining on the bottom of the bottle. I actually think there is some sort of reaction between the PVC dropper bottle and the ball bearing, catalysed by some of the pigments in the paint.  I don’t think it’s a problem with the balls themselves or all my paints would show it. 
I do use an old vortex mixer, which I’ve had for around twenty years.  To start with I rarely used it, but since I’ve developed rheumatoid arthritis it’s been a god send.  I can get a thorough mix in about thirty seconds.  There are certain ways to use these which maximise the mixing ability, by the way. Holding the bottle vertically on the mixer cup just won’t cut it.   Tilt the bottle about thirty degrees from the vertical to get the best mixing action and don’t hold it tightly against the rubber cup of the mixer.  This offsets the vortex, and develops a more random action.  This stops the paint just going around in a circle and mixes the paint much more effectively.  Large scale mixing tanks are designed with offset stirrers and baffles to minimise just this eventuality.  Lastly, the mixing action can generate friction and could conceivably wear through the bottom of the bottle.  I have several with scars from the mixer before I discovered this.  For this reason I always mix my poly bottles upside down with the much harder cap in the vortex mixers rubber cup.  It also improves the mix because these tools were designed to work best on hard plastic test tubes or glass containers, not easily distorted soft plastic bottles.