The best bottled paint mixing balls!

[Dpate]

As you can see in the picture i have 5 most used mixing balls for bottles also good to use while using a paint mixer like a four e's.  But on the left is regular plastic balls you get with most bottles you buy, and while there useful there the "least" affective out of the 5. The 2nd in the picture is glass balls.  These are smaller and are more affective using more than one, but again not that affective cause unless you use more meh.  The 3rd in the picture are stainless steel balls.  These act the same way as the previous two but by it being stainless steal it's more affective, but again you need to use more than 1 to make it worth while.  Now in the pic we get too the 4th and 5th mixing type balls called "UMOs" the best of the bunch. Large and mini UMO's round top and bottom oval in the center.  Hits all the wall's ? You can pick them up at spraygunner.com and there cheap.

Edited May 28, 2022 by Dpate

[peteski]

I got burned by using steel balls (ball bearings) in paints (even ones which are not water-based).  The balls rusted, tinting and ruining the paint.  I have found glass beads in a craft store. Very inexpensive. I now use those instead. No more rust.  I guess lead buck shoot would probably be good to use too.

[yh70]

i been using regular old BB's used in a BB gun for many years. i put 4-5 in the jar and have never had any problem shaking up enamel paint...if you use a  water based acrylic i would use glass beads like Peter W. had said..

[Pete J.]

I use the glass beads out of Tamiya spray cans.  When the cans are empty, I open them with a pair of tin snips.  I figure if they are good enough for Tamiya, they are good enough for me!

[peteski]

1 hour ago, Pete J. said:

I use the glass beads out of Tamiya spray cans.  When the cans are empty, I open them with a pair of tin snips.  I figure if they are good enough for Tamiya, they are good enough for me!

I also saved bunch of those (and ones from other spray cans), but they are rather large to throw into a little square Testors bottle (if they would even fit through the neck), and even IMO too large for 1/2 or 1 oz. bottles. Smaller beads also get into the corners better to get the settled pigment stirred.

Those UFOs however look very useful.

Edited May 27, 2022 by peteski

[peteski]

4 hours ago, Dpate said:

But on the left is regular plastic balls you get with most bottles you buy, and while there useful there the "least" affective out of the 5.

I never  encountered plastic mixing balls.  I only have seen glass or metal ones.  Plastic is rather ligth, so I can see how those are not very effective.  I also like to add more than one ball into my paint jars.

[Bainford]

9 hours ago, yh70 said:

i been using regular old BB's used in a BB gun for many years. i put 4-5 in the jar and have never had any problem shaking up enamel paint.

Yup, me too. Been using them since I was 7 years old, and still do.

Those UFO thingies look pretty cool, though.

[Raoul Ross]

I've used tiny screws left over from computer repairs. They seem to work okay, only use one though. Maybe I should try a few of them as it still take many minutes to get the paint mixed.

I've also used a battery powered mixer (looks like a small frother) but can make a big mess if not done properly and you always waste some in the clean-up of it.

I like those UFO thingies too, maybe I'll get some of those!

EDIT: I couldn't find them on Spray Gunner, got a P/N?

Edited May 27, 2022 by Raoul Ross

[Dpate]

9 hours ago, Bainford said:

Yup, me too. Been using them since I was 7 years old, and still do.

Those UFO thingies look pretty cool, though.

Yeah 1 large UFO can do what 4-5 BB's can do.

6 hours ago, Raoul Ross said:

I've used tiny screws left over from computer repairs. They seem to work okay, only use one though. Maybe I should try a few of them as it still take many minutes to get the paint mixed.

I've also used a battery powered mixer (looks like a small frother) but can make a big mess if not done properly and you always waste some in the clean-up of it.

I like those UFO thingies too, maybe I'll get some of those!

EDIT: I couldn't find them on Spray Gunner, got a P/N?

https://spraygunner.com/no-name-stainless-steel-umos/

[Raoul Ross]

UMOs (Unidentifiable Mixing Objects

LOL, Thanx!

[Dpate]

1 hour ago, Raoul Ross said:

UMOs (Unidentifiable Mixing Objects

LOL, Thanx!

No wonder you couldn't find them.  I just realized i called them UFO's in my post lmao.  SMH!

[yh70]

On 5/27/2022 at 8:20 AM, Bainford said:

Yup, me too. Been using them since I was 7 years old, and still do.

Those UFO thingies look pretty cool, though.

cant remember how old i was when i got my first BB gun.im 67 now and still have one lol.. yea the UMO look good but i have plenty BB and why change something thats worked for many years

 

[deuces wild]

Crossman brand bb's are stainless steel.. I drop 5 or 6 in a paint jar after I rinse them in lacquer thinner.... They do a great job of mixing the paint..

 

 

 

 

[Woodpile63]

I use hematite beads....no rust, heavy and cheap. You can also purchase irregular size ones (non-circular)

[Bill Eh?]

When searching Amazon, I found a listing selling various diameter stainless steel balls by weight. 500 g for about $30. The amount you get varies with the diameter. I bought the 3 mm size ( 1/8 in. ). 500 g of that size equated to a little over 4000. I have a lifetime supply and it was free shipping. I made some packages of about 100 and gave them to my modelling friends.