Decanting and storage of paint tinlets

[Highlandman]

I am considering decanting my tinlets of Humbrol and Revell paints into another storage medium for a number of reasons.

 

1: Easy to clean.

2: Easy to store.

3: Airtight.

4: Can be stored in a thinned state.

5: Easy to check colour.

 

I have talked to a company in Cumbria called The Plastic Bottles Company and they suggest that their Fluorinated 50ml HDPE Bottle With 20mm Neck No Cap would be suitable. Other sizes are available.

 

 

A suitable lid can also be purchased to seal the bottle. The suggested item is the 20mm Ribbed Wadded Cap EPE Liner. The EPE liner apparently helps give a better seal keeping the bottle airtight.

 

The company also does a 20mm twist top which could aid decanting into airbrush cups.

 

 

Minimum order quantity is 25 units of each and an order for this 20mm bottle and lid would cost about £13.00 excluding delivery.

 

Has anyone had any experience of decanting these types of paints or storing ready thinned colours in this type of bottle or do you have your own container that you are happy with.

 

I am looking at this idea because I am hoping it will be easier to keep the neck of the bottle clean. It will be easier for me to open the bottles with arthritic hands and no more bent tin lids caused by trying to open recalcitrant lids.

 

I look forward to any ideas and thoughts.

[altone]

I use empty - and extremely carefully cleaned Tamiya and Lifecolor paint bottles to store mixed and thinned acrylic paints in.

They have a very wide opening which makes it easy to refill them and open them when you next want to use them.

 

The Tamiya's are glass and lifecolor polypropelene, so you can see the paint colour - although I still dab the lids with a paint spot to be sure.

 

If you are talking enamel paints I'd check whether HDPE and EPE are safe to use.

 

HDPE is fine with alcohol but not acetone and turpentine so I'd do a bit of a search before you dump all your paints into those bottles

then find 6 months later the bottles are melting and messing up your paint or even worse leaking on your bench.

 

Oh and before someone chimes in "I've had acetone in a HPDE bottle for years" 

 

this from calpaclab.com/chemical-compatibility-charts/

 

Acetone LDPE / HDPE at 20C°-50C° - damage may occur. Not recommended for continuous use. Benzene LDPE / HDPE at 20C°-50C° - damage may occur. Not recommended for continuous use. Benzyl alcohol LDPE / HDPE at 50C° - immediate damage may occur. HDPE at 20C° shows some effect after 7 days of constant exposure.

 

There's probably a paint solvent specific list out there somewhere.

 

EDIT: I realised you said they were flourine treated - that's to give them better resistance to solvent's

          Are the EPE seals ok though - Better check.

 

Cheers

 

Gerry C

[BlackRat]

Some of my tinlets are over 30 years old! I bought them in Beatties when I worked there.

 

When I finish with the tin, I wipe the rim(!) then tip the tin upside down.

 

This allows the paint to form an airtight seal around the lid.

 

There's some odd colours there which I got for painting figures so only use them once in a blue moon.

 

With your hands, it might be easier to stay with the tins as opposed to unscrewing a top. I find any recalcitrant lids can be prised off with a scalpel handle end, if they are really tight, a little drop of acetone around the flange (!) also helps, as does standing the tinlet in boiling water, lid down.

 

I do buy acetone, butanone, acrylic thinners in 5 litre or gallon containers now and decant I to similar sort of bottles, bought from a similar supplier.

 

Had no probs at all, except for the white spirit one which has discoloured and the lids keep going brittle and breaking.

 

I did explain to a very helpful lady what I wanted them for and she sent me about a dozen........free of charge! So......I can't say what they are made of.

 

Hope this helps.

[Macbear]

I've just shifted my 25-35 year old Humbrol tinlets out of the garage where they have lain neglected for over 15 years. I have hardly dared to lift lids but BlackRat has stirred me into action. My storage method has been similar to his - clean the rim, replace the lid, invert and press into a flat surface, leave for 5 minutes and return to upright for storage. I'm stunned at what I found. Yes, some settlement/separation, but nothing that a good stir won't fix.

I'm a bit alarmed at an inverted tinlet in boiling water - isn't there a risk of a pressure build up and it opening submerged?

A very helpful post for me as I'm restarting my interest after a long gap, but taking things more seriously than when it was a father's job to dabble in lots of things to help the offspring explore.