Can you buy empty Humbrol paint tins or something similar ?

[brian777999]

Can you buy empty Humbrol paint tins or something similar ? I want something small to store paint in as it goes off quickly in my climate (Cairns, Australia) . I often buy 500 ml tins of paint but once they are half used then they quickly go off. I was thinking that if I can store some in smaller tins then it should last much longer. I have tried small glass airbrush bottles with plastic tops but it always sets hard eventually.

 

Smaller tins would also be more useful when you only want to use a small amount. It is a nuisance to stir a 1 litre tin of paint when you only want about 20mls !

[alfsboy]

Tamiya sell  their glass bottles so if Tamiya doesnt go off on the dealers shelves over there then they might do .

[teaky]

Those miniature jars of jam that are sometimes still used in hotels are a useful source of small resealable jars.  Presumably, they can be purchased by the box.

[Fat Controller]

Your friendly neighbourhood pharmacy/ doctor's surgery may well be able to get hold of small specimen jars for you..To reduce the risk of paint going off, put a bit of cling-film over the aperture before screwing the lid on. It also stops the lid getting stuck on.

[DaveyH]

Something like this?

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/30-Mini-Jam-Jars-With-Gold-Lids-/161592258001?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item259fa62dd1

[Jon Fitness]

I think Squires sell humbrol style empty tinlets (or used to) but as their website's down at the mo' I can't check.

Jon F.

[APOLLO]

I place a strip of plastic kitchen cling film over the paint inside the tin, extending up to outside then put the lid on over the film. This keeps the paint fresh by keeping air off it.

 

Be careful though, some paints (cellulose) will melt the plastic. Test a little paint on the film first.

 

Brit15

[Broadway Clive]

I have had several years experience of trying to store a small quantity of Humbrol enamel paint that I've mixed to make a particular shade. I tried a specimen jar - went hard, couldnt get it opened, had to break it to cut through the skin to get to a small bit of paint. The small glass jars as used for preserves (jams) similarly was unopenable after a long while stored upside down as a way to reduce the problem of skinning over. The screw top glass jars as Rail Match use I've sometimes had to break the plastic cap to get open. The cling film idea works to an extent but if not changed regularly (and paint wasted each time) it can easily puncture unnoticed and the paint is lost.

 

Sadly the original type tins have proved the best for storing my valuable paint mix, which is now on its fourth version due to past losses.

 

I currently use empty tins from Phoenix Paints. Always store upside down, and clear the rim and lid free of hardened paint before resealing. A further aid in a hot country would be to wrap the whole tin in cling film and keep it in the fridge.

 

http://www.phoenix-paints.co.uk/precision-paints/sundry-items.html

[45059]

If decanting aerosol into a specimen jar beware. As I was unable to buy a tin of Railmatch light rust from my local model shop on my last visit, I instead thought that I'd buy the aerosol version that they had in stock and decant that as required.

 

A couple of evenings ago I took the aerosol outside and decanted a reasonably small amount into a specimen jar. (Enough for the weathering that I intended to do that evening to some wagons).

 

Having sprayed the desired amount into the jar, I waited a few seconds then screwed the lid on the jar and went back into the kitchen, placing the specimen jar on the side next to the microwave as I had a couple of things to do in the kitchen before I went upstairs to the layout room.

 

We had the heating on in the house at the time. After about 15 minutes (while I was still in the kitchen, having just finished what I had been doing) there was a bang from behind me as the specimen jar blew it's bottom off giving a nice splattering of light rust to the white goods/walls/anything else (including me) within range!!

 

Top tip. If decanting an aerosol insure that ALL propellant gasses have left the container before putting the lid on, regardless of the type of container being used unless you wish to 'weather' your kitchen as I did!

[mvrattler]

Brian,  I had similar problem here in Gympie.  Secure the tinlet lid and store upside down. Paint stays good for a long time.

[AngryMeerkat]

When using glass jars, or anything with a screw-on lid, to store paint over a longer term then a method I've always used is to run a small amount of Vaseline around the screw threads on the jar before putting the lid on. This will prevent any air entering the jar, but more importantly will prevent the carrier agents evaporating out of the paint which is the cause of paint drying in the jar.

 

Mark

[brian777999]

I may not have explained myself well : I do not have any tinlets. That is what I am trying to buy. I buy large tins of paint (250ml, 500ml and 1 litre) from the hardware store and I want to store the paint in something smaller so the whole tin does not go off once it is opened. I need empty tinlets from somewhere. The smaller tins are also more manageable when it comes to stirring up a small amount for use in the airbrush.

 

I have tried glass jars and the paint always dries out eventually. I need tinlets. I thought I saw somebody selling new empty Humbrol style tins somewhere but I am not sure now ?

[Shed Driver]

Hi

 

Phoenix Precision paints sell empty tins,   14ml upwards.  As you are not ordering paint they can be sent by Royal Mail.

 

Norman

[Highlandman]

This is something that I have been considering for a while now. Like you I want to find an easier way to keep paint with out it going off and in easy to clean containers. I have found a company called The Plastic Bottles Company, based in the UK near the Lake DIstrict, they supply a wide range of plastic bottles and pots capable of storing chemicals, paints and other volatile agents. They are available in several sizes from 50ml to 1000ml.

 

I spoke to the company recently to ask about which type they thought would be suitable and they said the fluorinated HDPE plastic would do. The 50ml bottles come with a 20mm wide neck and without a lid so you are left to choose one more suited to your use. They did suggest the 20mm ridged screw cap with and EPE liner to give a better seal.

Bottle details can be found at http://www.theplasticbottlescompany.com/product/fluorinated-50ml-hdpe-bottle-with-20mm-neck-no-cap/

Cap details can be found at http://www.theplasticbottlescompany.com/product/20mm-ribbed-wadded-cap-epe-liner/

 

I'm not trying to store smaller measure from a larger tin but I am trying to find an easier way of finding colours, dispencing them and have some ready thinned for airbrush use. Also a better and easier way to keep the bottle tops clean.