Does anyone use steel balls inside a paint jar to stir paint? Does shaking a paint jar with steel balls inside thoroughly stir the paint? I like my Tamiya stirrer stick but I am looking for a more convenient way.
i put 2 or 3 in each jar of paint…does an OK job of stirring the paint…i’m thinking of using my dremel w/some sort of home made attachment…maybe a paperclip
I used to use stainless steel nuts (the rest of you keep quiet 
) as I was worried about rust in the acrylic paints and did not want to have two different kinds of “agitators” . That worked fine, shook the paint 'til the nut broke loose ,and a few minutes more to stir the paint. Inexpensive, nearly fool proof (ie it worked for me, so… ) and gets the job done.
Then a couple of years ago I, got more high tech and started using one of those battery powered “single egg whippers” (Squadron and micro mark have 'em , I think.) to stir my paint; really like the ease of use , clean up and with only one switch it fits my skill set…just dont
pull the stiring end out of the bottle while it is still spinning–don’t ask me how I learned that bit of physics; clean up was just about an hour-
I have a Badger battery-powered stirrer, which I hardly use. I don’t enjoy cleaning it after stirring paint. I’ve splashed paint a couple times because I accidentally pulled it out without turning it off.
Edited to add: I just read Duster’s post. I’m not alone!!!
I use BBs. Three or four per bottle/tin. But still, you may to stir as well.
I experiment wit placing stainless steel nuts in a bottle of water and a bottle of acrylic pain medium left them for two week, after checking back there was not a hint of rust. Since them I drop one or two stainless nuts in to my paint bottles, and hand shake. You can tell by sound and feel when the paint is mixed. Also the stainless steel nuts are sold in by weight and about 150 of them only cost a few dollars.
I have one of the Trumpeter electric stirrers identical to the badger one, clean up could not be easier, just turn it on in a tiny bit of thinner (1ml will do) in a mixing jar and a quick wipe with paper towel, 5 or 10 seconds. This is mine just in case I’m not thinking of the same thing.
www.ebay.com.au/…/271265934580
Works brilliantl but DEFINITELY turn it off before you remove it from the paint your mixing .
Dont think you will find to many panel beaters without balls or marbles in the spray gun, can’t see why it wouldn’t work on a smaller scale.
So many jokes here…bottom lip getting sore.
Just grab a handful of the free plastic coffee stirrers the next time you are at Micky D’s. Use 'em once and throw 'em out. No cleaning and the price is right!
I’m low tech,I use the butt end of my paint brush and just wipe it off.
I use Hematite beads from Hobby Lobby
Hematite is “already corroded” in the chemical make-up, so I don’t worry about copper or steel bb’s corroding
they also don’t have the sharp edges of hex nuts
I figure that if some paints come with steel bb’s inside the bottle from the factory, then using BB’s and shaking must be okay with them (Alclad’s primer and Aqua clear both have MANY steel beads in each bottle, so many that they make a swooshing noise when shaken)
but, I also spend the money to replace the caps on my new Aeromaster and Polly Scale paints,so, I definitely didn’t take the cheapest route
I have a “non-hobby” beauty section product that I use for a battery operated paint stirrer, in addition to the Tamiya stir stick, and I shake my paints to mix all the ones I will use that day, battery stir them as I open them for actual use, and then stick stir them as needed while painting
side note,a lot of the McD’s don’t have the stir sticks anymore, they use a skinny straw product to save on operating costs (per 5 McD managers in the Nashville area when I asked them),you can get a bagful of cocktail stir sticks made of plastic, one type has a bead sized ball on the stirring end
Rex
I’ll check out local McD. Since I love disposable stuff (I use disposable eye droppers and mixing cups), I once tried popsicle sticks. That resulted in too much wasted paint.
I’ll have to hit the local McD’s and lay in a good supply of the plastic stirrers before they are gone! Thanks for the “heads up!” (Cheap clowns- yeah I mean you, Ronald!)
I’ve bought my share of burgers and stuff there that I don’t feel guilty about a few plastic sticks.
yeah, my thinking too,I was actually looking for something to stir coffee with the first time it came up
I was a bit surprised when I asked if they had them behind the counter or something, and the manager said they use those skinny straws now
Modern BBs are 100% steel, plated either with copper or zinc to resist corrosion. (I use Copperhead brand because that’s what Ranger Surplus happened to have in stock when I bought my stash.) I’ve had no trouble with copper plated BBs, 3×.
I throw a couple of BB’s in the jars too. You still have to stir and shake, but they help break up any clumping and settling of paint. I’m interested in seeing and hearing more about this Tamiya paint stick! Sounds cool. I apologize for my ignorance with this. I love Tamiya paints for spraying, and am in the process of finding a good paint to hand brush with.
Eagle90
A pair of Tamiya sticks sells for about $7. Works great. Maybe, I should get another pair so that I don’t have to clean them when mixing colors. As for hand brushing, Vallejo acrylics work very well thanks to their excellent self-leveling ability. However, in my experience nothing else beats enamels in the hand brushing department.
I just started back into this hobby & my paints, mostly enamels, have been sitting in a box in the closet for over 7 years. Out of about 30 jars, only a half dozen were frozen beyond saving. Most had BBs in them and even after all that time I could see no ill effects of having them in there.
I don’t think copper, steel or iron oxidizes in an Enamel carrier
they can and will in a water based Acrylic carrier (which does NOT include Tamiya paints)
Ingineous way to mix paints
I have the robart paint shaker …prefect mix everytime .
5/HIGH[proplr]