Scale Finishes Mixing/Shaking

[Rodent]

I have a few bottles of Scale Finishes paint and I am about ready to use one for the first time. How much mixing or shaking do they need? Seems like I can shake them for several minutes and they never seem to be fully mixed. What is the secret? Do you guys pour it out into a jar and stir it or what? The metallic seems to sink really quickly, so I know that I will need to be mindful of that when I am spraying it.

[Dpate]

If you don't have a handheld mixer like the badger than shaking is all you can do.  Few mins should do or put couple more mixing balls in the bottle.  Handheld mixer head will fit perfect inside the bottles.

[Rodent]

I don't have a mixer, but for what this paint costs maybe I will get one. I have some Ford Light Pewter that I shook for about 10 minutes today (while muted on a Teams meeting) and it never did looked mixed enough for me.

Edit: Just ordered a Badger mixer.

Edited October 13, 2021 by Rodent

[Dpate]

Awesome You'll love that mixer trust me and it's simple to clean too. I use a bella mason jar full of your choice of cleaner and stick the mixer in and give her a rip.   But the shaking the solid colors might work out good cause i have some solids from them and hand shook it sprayed and laid down just fine no issues.  Metallic's might need the extra TLC with the mixer lol, but i use the mixer for almost all my paints especially tamiya. Speaking of scale finishes he has a 20% sale going on until end of October so I'm def ordering more paint.

Edited October 13, 2021 by Dpate

[Rodent]

Should I have ordered a second one to stir Martinis with?

[Dpate]

3 hours ago, Rodent said:

Should I have ordered a second one to stir Martinis with?

lol no too powerful for that.

[peteski]

Many ready-to-airbrush paints (like Alclad II or Scale Finishes) are thinned so much that the metallic particles will start settling down rather fast.  When I shake those paint bottles I turn them upside down and check if there are any metallic particles caked up on the bottom.  If there are none, the paint is ready to use. My airbrush is bottom-fed (glass jar) and I do swish it often while airbrushing to keep the metallic particles suspended in the liquid.

[StevenGuthmiller]

2 hours ago, peteski said:

Many ready-to-airbrush paints (like Alclad II or Scale Finishes) are thinned so much that the metallic particles will start settling down rather fast.  When I shake those paint bottles I turn them upside down and check if there are any metallic particles caked up on the bottom.  If there are none, the paint is ready to use. My airbrush is bottom-fed (glass jar) and I do swish it often while airbrushing to keep the metallic particles suspended in the liquid.

This.

 

All the power mixers in the world are not going to help in this instance.

With these paints, once the solids in the bottom of the jar are no longer evident, it's as mixed as it's gonna get.

The metallic particles settle pretty fast, so you just have to keep agitating the paint as much as you can while you paint.

There's really no other option.

You just have to paint pretty quickly, and keep the paint moving.

 

I spray with a paint cup, so after a few passes, I put my finger over the vent hole and give it a quick shake every so often.

 

 

 

 

Steve

[Bainford]

In the case of metallic particles settling out quickly, are there different techniques to be used on Gravity feed airbrush verses a siphon feed? Or, with gravity feed, after filling the paint cup, are there issues with shooting a high concentration of the metallic particles at the beginning of the paint session, and gradually working towards less metallic concentration as the paint cup empties?

Last year I switched to a new gravity feed airbrush, but have only shot solid colour since then. Though both styles of airbrush draw from the bottom of the paint reservoir, the siphon feed bottle has a broad bottom upon which the metallic sediment may spread out. The siphon hose can only pull so much up at one time. Conversely, the gravity feed funnels all the sediment to a single point, which is the outlet of the paint cup. The gravity feed configuration would seem expend all of the courser/heavier particles first. regular mixing/swirling the paint in the cup will help, but some particles settle out quickly, and you can't 'swirl' the paint constantly whilst shooting. Does this ever become an issue?

[R. Thorne]

You will wonder how you got by without the handheld mixer.  A word of caution.   Some paints (like modelmaster metalizer), are quite thin and will “climb” up the side of the bottle and leak out (ask me how I know).  Solution?  Put your thumb and forefinger on the shaft to regulate the speed ( might take a little practice).

[Keavdog]

I recently purchased a vortex mixer and have been pretty happy with the results so far.

 

[StevenGuthmiller]

2 hours ago, Bainford said:

In the case of metallic particles settling out quickly, are there different techniques to be used on Gravity feed airbrush verses a siphon feed? Or, with gravity feed, after filling the paint cup, are there issues with shooting a high concentration of the metallic particles at the beginning of the paint session, and gradually working towards less metallic concentration as the paint cup empties?

Last year I switched to a new gravity feed airbrush, but have only shot solid colour since then. Though both styles of airbrush draw from the bottom of the paint reservoir, the siphon feed bottle has a broad bottom upon which the metallic sediment may spread out. The siphon hose can only pull so much up at one time. Conversely, the gravity feed funnels all the sediment to a single point, which is the outlet of the paint cup. The gravity feed configuration would seem expend all of the courser/heavier particles first. regular mixing/swirling the paint in the cup will help, but some particles settle out quickly, and you can't 'swirl' the paint constantly whilst shooting. Does this ever become an issue?

It's really not as big of a problem as you might think.

All that you can do is as I stated above, just keep agitating the paint in the cup periodically.

You'll find that this is a bit more of an issue with Scale Finishes than say, MCW.

The metallic particles in Scale Finishes paints are larger than MCW or Alclad, so they will settle faster.

It's for this reason that I stick with MCW if possible, and will go to Scale Finishes if MCW does not carry the color that I'm after.

 

I painted both of these models with Scale Finishes paint from a gravity feed brush, and the settling metallic really didn't cause any issues.

The paint turned out perfectly uniform in both cases.

 

As I said, give the brush a little shake on occasion, and you will be fine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Steve

Edited October 14, 2021 by StevenGuthmiller

[Bainford]

Many thanks for the reply, Steve. Much appreciated.

Thanks also for the comment on particle size MCW vs Scale Finishes. Both paints are very difficult to obtain in Canada, so I have yet to try either, but I've been on their websites and they both have colours that are perfect for a couple of upcoming projects. I'll be trying to get some eventually, but it's good to know of the smaller particle size of MCW so I can concentrate my efforts towards getting the right paint. Cheers.

[Rodent]

I appreciate the help guys. All three of these colors are dark, and no matter how much I shake, I still see a little silver ring on the bottom of the bottle. I got the paint mixer today. It was something that I never knew I needed until you guys told me that I did, LOL. If the wind dies down a bit, I will try to get some Pewter on the Torino this weekend. I have a Paasche H. I think I will use the small jar and try to keep it agitated and spray it quickly. It has been a long time since I airbrushed a body. Hope it's like riding a bike.

[NOBLNG]

7 minutes ago, Rodent said:

I appreciate the help guys. All three of these colors are dark, and no matter how much I shake, I still see a little silver ring on the bottom of the bottle. I got the paint mixer today. It was something that I never knew I needed until you guys told me that I did, LOL. If the wind dies down a bit, I will try to get some Pewter on the Torino this weekend. I have a Paasche H. I think I will use the small jar and try to keep it agitated and spray it quickly. It has been a long time since I airbrushed a body. Hope it's like riding a bike.

You could use a piece of sprue to try to loosen up the last bit stuck to the bottom… and then mix the heck out of it. I’m no artist with the airbrush, but when setting up my H, I start with the nozzle closed. I spray against a paper towel, and open the nozzle gradually until I get the flow I want.

[martinfan5]

If I am going to be using a bottle thats been sitting for a good amount of time, I turn it up side down for about a day , and then shake, works pretty much every time.

[StevenGuthmiller]

3 hours ago, martinfan5 said:

If I am going to be using a bottle thats been sitting for a good amount of time, I turn it up side down for about a day , and then shake, works pretty much every time.

I do the same with my rattle cans.

 

 

 

 

Steve

[martinfan5]

32 minutes ago, StevenGuthmiller said:

I do the same with my rattle cans.

 

 

 

 

Steve

As do I ?

[kelson]

On 10/14/2021 at 10:01 AM, Bainford said:

Many thanks for the reply, Steve. Much appreciated.

Thanks also for the comment on particle size MCW vs Scale Finishes. Both paints are very difficult to obtain in Canada, so I have yet to try either, but I've been on their websites and they both have colours that are perfect for a couple of upcoming projects. I'll be trying to get some eventually, but it's good to know of the smaller particle size of MCW so I can concentrate my efforts towards getting the right paint. Cheers.

Elm City Hobbies carries Scale Finishes paint,with the border between us and the states opening up for people to drive across next month,he'll be able to bring them back to Canada again.

[Bainford]

On 10/15/2021 at 3:27 PM, kelson said:

Elm City Hobbies carries Scale Finishes paint,with the border between us and the states opening up for people to drive across next month,he'll be able to bring them back to Canada again.

Cheers Curtis. Very helpful. I'll give Scot a call when I'm in need.