I have a 100+ jars of testors and model master enamels and acrylics from 2007, 2011 and 2018. How can I tell if they are still good? The jars have never been opened.
Hi sgtmick64,
We did a story about paint, talked to a number of manufacturers, and longevity came up. Just about all of them said if kept in conditions that weren’t subjected to temperature extremes and bottles/jars were kept adequately sealed, paints can keep for years.
With that said, the only way you’re going to know if your paints are good is to open them and give them a try. Start with the ones that you’re probably going to use most and go from there. If they’re dried out, you could go through the process of trying to revive them, but it’s probably better to toss and replace them with fresh colors.
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Now that model master no longer exists I would like to use newer paints. Most of all I would like to stay with one company for enamels and acrylics. I will be using acrylics for airbrushing and enamels for small parts. What is a reliable company? I have been out of the kit making for about 20 years now. Thanks Bob
Hoo boy! That is a big question, and there is no right answer, no matter what anyone says. There’s just what works for you.
For me, I use acrylics for almost everything. I like Tamiya acrylics for airbrushing because I find they just work. I also airbrush Vallejo and AK Interactive 3rd Gen acrylics. When I’m at the FSM offices, I will airbrush lacquers, but, as a rule, I don’t use them at home.
For brush painting, I turn to Vallejo acrylics almost exclusively.
I haven’t used enamels for painting since I was a kid. I never had the patience nor the touch for them. However, MCW has a wide selection of enamels and many of our FSM contributors like them. Click this link to visit MCW’s website. (We are not affiliated with MCW and will not get a kickback if you buy something from them.)
For pinwashes, I use either Tamiya Panel Line Accent Color (okay, that’s a premade enamel wash, so I guess that counts as using an enamel paint) or washes made from artist oils diluted with mineral spirits. There are other enamel washes (look at me calling myself a liar) from Ammo that are useful for weathering.
So, not so much advice but just a rundown of what I use at my workbench at this moment in time. The other members will all have their own takes on your question, so I’m sure you’ll have plenty to think about before long. But that’s my point: What works for some of us doesn’t work for all of us all of the time. Take time to find what works best for you, because anything we offer is just a starting point.
Glad you’re back in the game!
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I have many jars of old enamels in my paint drawers, though like Tim, I have largely switched to using Tamiya and Vallejo with the odd jar of something else, mostly to test new products and complicate my projects . . . 
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Anyhoo, sometimes I want to use an old enamel color because it is unusual or I need a durable enamel coating for sure adhesion of subsequent acrylic layers. The old enamel stuff tends to be very “sticky “ and is a great base coat. My experience has been that an old sealed jar, even one that is several decades old, can be used if it is still in decent condition when examining the container- e.g. the carrier and thinner are still liquid. Sometimes you have to experiment to find a compatible modern filler (California compliant “paint thinner” is often a good choice, Heaven only knows what is in it but wear a VOC rated mask if you’re spraying it). The rub comes when you’re done using the material you needed - I have found that an old jar often will “kick” into a blob within a few days of opening it, and once that happens its off to the rubbish bin time. For that reason I try to pick a job like a boat or a train model that is going to use more material, and sometimes let several jobs accumulate so I can get the most out of the old jar before it goes bad. I have no explanation for this “Pharos Tomb” behavior, but its a thing.
Konrad
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Yeah, I’ve had that experience from time to time. It seems entirely random. For that reason I don’t add thinner to the jar unless I intend to use it up pretty quickly. That’s just a guess as to the cause.
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I would say to use them if they are still usable. Those were my go to paints and I still haven’t found something that is easy to use and readily available to me.
Shake them up and see if they mix at all.
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