How Do You Know If Paint Has Frozen In The Mail?

Tools, Techniques, and Reference Materials Painting and airbrushing
1

I have no local hobby store so my purchases are done completely online.

Just got a bottle of Testors MM paint in the mail today and the bottle felt cold when I pulled it out of the package. Is there any way to tell if the paint froze enroute in the mail?

~Dave

2

I think it would take a long exposure to really serious cold to freeze an enamel. If you’re in Southern NH, I doubt it was cold enoughtoday to do that. I haven’t noticed the temps for the White Mountains and north, though.

3

If it’s clumpy and hard to use, it’s ruined. Then it’s hippity-hop to the hobby shop or your mail box for more.

With best regards.

Stephen

4

Not sure where exactly in NH you live, but there is a HobbyTownUSA in Manchester that stocks the MM line. There is also a very good store in Tyngsboro MA, just over the border from Nashua, that also has the full line. But if you live in the Lakes region or north of it it may be more of a drive than you care for.

Brian

5

Thanks for the replies. I’m in the Plymouth area and don’t feel like trekking 1.5 hours to Manchester or Elite Hobbies in Dover. If freezing is a problem I might just plan my projects and order batches in the fall ahead of time. I think I’ll finally open the jar and find out [^o)]

~Dave

6

So far so good. When I first opened it, some paint was congealed on the bottom but it didn’t look like it had all separated. I painted a piece of Evergreen rod and it painted fine. Will give it some abrasion tomorrow to see how well it sticks.

~Dave

7

It’s been cold enough here lately to warrant caution when ordering things like paint, solvents, etc. I try to take an inventory of what I will need in October so that I willl not run out before April. I know that doesn’t help you much on this one, but just a thought for future orders.

8

Thanks Daywalker,

I might have to do that. Driving 1.5 hours to get a single bottle of paint seems really silly so stocking up in the fall might be the best way.

Did you ever get one of those Mad Mad or Road Warrior models from monstersinmotion? I think I clued you into their website a couple years ago. If it wasn’t you, please disregard.

~Dave

9

I receive all my mail-order stuff at work -put “leave at Front desk” in the special instructions

I’m there more than at home anyway[^o)]

You’ll get your package sooner rather than later…

10

What difference would it make if it did? Since when are freight trucks and warehouses heated? [*-)] When the paint leaves the factory it travels via an LTL freight carrier or in smaller quantities by UPS or FedEx, none of these vehicles have heated cargo compartments. A semi trailer is subjected to the extremes of the weather…subzero cold to boiling heat in the summer sun. I’ve never heard of paint manufacturer shutting down operations for winter because it was too cold to ship their products. Can you imagine if that were true hardware stores would only sell paint on a seasonal basis.

A true emulsion should be fine, (typical heat is worse than cold) if the components separate they can be remixed without ill effect.

If you want your paint delivered to you in a climate controlled vehicle or shipping container…dig deep, its gonna cost you plenty.

If the label has no “Protect From Freezing” on it then you have nothing to worry about.

Wanna talk about cold…the luggage compartments on passenger aircraft are typically pressurized, but they are not heated. One of the coldest experiences I ever had was unloading cargo holds of aircraft immediately after landing. Which included unloading US MAIL sacks full of parcels which is the way International mail travels. Inside the passengers are nice and warm, the outside air temp could be as low as -50F and the luggage comparements 0-38F

11

Ditto, was about to state the same thing…is the paint reacting strangely since you got it or is this a hypothetical?

12

In all honesty I doubt paint would freeze at anything short of really cold sub zero temps. Pure water freezes at 32 degrees, but when you start adding substances to the water you drop it’s freeze point (which is why Salt water does not freeze in the winter, even when temps are arctic.) Paint has such a low water content I would not be surprised if it would take some seroius sub zero temps to get paint frozen.

And on another note, the thing about the 1.5 hour drive is you would not be getting just one bottle of paint…or at least I never seem to get out of those places intending to buy just one thing. [;)] Temptation is a fickle thing. But that is a whole other matter. [:D]

Brian

13

Paint, both enamel and acrylic, is routinely tested for freeze-thaw stability, it’s part of standard quality control. Unless there is evidence that freezing has forced the seal and the paint has leaked, it should be fine even if frozen solid multiple times.

14

While we are on this subject, I did have a model freeze once…dropped it and it shattered in thousands of pieces…

15

Was it frozen in liquid nitrogen?

16

Just checked the painted rod. No problems. Adhesion is just as good as any paint. I don’t know if it really froze enroute, but the bottle was cold when I took it out of the package, and the goop on the bottom seemed to be in rough chunks as oposed to rounded globules. If paints are formulated to survive multiple freezings we’ve got nothing to worry about, but what about solvents, decal solutions etc.?

~Dave

17

Hasta la vista…baybee!

Bet it was a model of the T1000 from Terminator 2!

18

Manstein -

Did you drop it with an M-80 in it?

C’mon, everyone, we all did it as kids…[;)]

19

Tamiya paint comes from Japan so that means large warhouse orders are send on a ship so they take months from the manufacturer to customer. That would go though all temp ranges.