I use rattle cans and sometimes need a little of the paint for touch-ups. Yesterday, I tried this 1.7 oz Juvale mini spice jar (Amazon) to decant some of the spray and it worked great. The mouth is wide enough that I could simply spray into the jar without adding a straw to the spray nozzle. No mess and the lid sealed nicely. Just thought I’d mention this in case anyone else should find it useful.
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Don’t forget to let it outgas all the propellant before sealing up!
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Thanks for the tip. We have a local store that sells jars and other glass containers.
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Just to add to this, make sure that the lid, of whatever jar you get, has a chemical resistant liner in it if you’re decanting certain paint.
Steve
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Save all your spray can nozzles whenever spray cans go empty. There are several different nozzle base types out there, each to fit different cans, so start a collection to have an assortment.
Then, remove the spray nozzle from your chosen rattle can and match one of the “spare” nozzles to fit in its place.
Next remove or drill out the spare nozzle’s orifice insert - the portion with the spray orifice - and replace it with tight fitting length of tubing. Something like aquarium tubing is the idea. Now you have the original spray nozzle for when you want to spray, AND, a siphon nozzle for decanting!
Versatility wins…
The tubing can now feed the paint directly into the sample bottle for decanting.
All you need to do is poke a hole in the decanting bottle’s lid to fit the tube, and the process is becomes less prone to disaster, less messy.
Add a smaller vent hole in the lid of the decanting bottle, to release the pressure from the can as you spray into the bottle. You can buy a kit to do this job, but I hate spending money on auxiliary tools like this if I can make one
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I wonder if there would be a way to add a distilling lid to this. They have a water trap on top that allows excess gas out but won’t let air in. Something to think about.
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I forgot to do that the first time.
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Here’s what I have for decanting my gloss coat and flat coat. Like Dayhut said, save the spray nozzles from old cans. I have some old Testor’s pipettes, they seem to fit the best at the nozzle opening, that I cut to get a tight fit.
I’ll shake up the can, point the tube into the jar and hold a paper towel over the top of the jar while spraying. Once I get the jar full to where I want it, I’ll sit the lid on top with a slight opening on one side and let this sit for a few hours to off gas. I do all this in my spray booth to vent the fumes btw. I’ll separate the tube from the nozzle and clean both with lacquer thinner, dry them off put the tube back into the nozzle and I’m ready to go for the next time.
Steve
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@Mageckman, do you mean a fermentation air lock? Interesting concept, using that for keeping the jar sealed but allowing the paint to offgas. Generally, the air locks are quite large compared to modeling paint jars, but perhaps a jar could be found into which a large rubber stopper would fit with the air lock installed. 
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Good idea on the wide mouth jar. I decant all the time and am finding this useful. Wet Look Clear, for example, has a TON of aeration / bubbles when decanted so I have to let that stuff sit for a good 5 minutes to get all of the bubbles out.
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Yes. I remember one of the fermentation locks that I had years ago that I think would have worked on model masters size and style of bottles. Unfortunately, I no longer have it,as it got left behind at the last house we lived at.
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you can buy those locks really cheap on ebay…and a silicone flapper valve would be simple to fabricate. I have both, and the flapper is the better iption IMHO
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well done for sure, you have to adapt what you have available
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Nice Idea. Personally, I like the large (tall) Tamiya Jars. They sell them at my LHS for a reasonable price. They also seal well. The one in this picture with the paint in it had the paint decanted probably 15 years ago and it is still fresh and usable. Does not even look like it needs any thinner added, so how long you plan on storing your paint should be a consideration as well. The tall jar allows for the propellant to fizz out without overflowing (usually 
). I should clarify, It’s the same size bottle and the larger X20A thinner bottle. You don’t have to buy the thinner – they also sell just the empty bottle…
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Those are the same ones that I use.
Steve
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