Watching Paint Dry

Hey, just a quick bonus post for all of you to consider...

With the huge new paint collection from Games Workshop, I’ve been going through my paint box and figuring out what I need more of (and what it’s being called now).  I’ve also been discovering a few older paints that have gotten a bit rubbery, or openly dry at some times.  There was a point that these paints went right into the trashbin.

Then money got tight.  And I got thrifty.  And I was already clever, so...

If you’ve got rubbery or dry paint, try this.  Use your hobby knife and make a lot of cuts through it.  The drier it is, the more you want to break it up.

Now add in a few drops of water.  Let me stress—drops of water.  If your paint is rubbery, you’ll probably only need around five.  If it’s very dry, you might need ten or twelve.  Maybe as many as twenty.  Then put the cap back on tight and shake it hard.  Shake that little paint pot like it was a can of spraypaint.  At least a hundred times back and forth.  Let it settle for a minute and then shake it again.

This probably isn’t a terribly new idea to any of you, and I can guess what most of you are thinking.  It’s not going to help.  There’s a good chance the paint will be too watery for fine detail work, probably too coarse for broad coverage.  Once paint passes a certain point, it’s just dead.

And you’re right.  This won’t help me do camo patterns on my Catachans or their Sentinels, and I definitely don’t want to use it on that pair of Necron Scythes I got for my birthday. 

However... it’s fine for their bases.  In fact, for bases, terrain, and some scenery pieces, this restored paint is perfect, because these elements are almost never the focus of attention.  All those different greens, browns, and grays can be used for different plants, soils, and stones.  Various blues can make fine water in moats or rivers.  If these colors end up too watered down, they make great washes.

It’s texture and it’s cheap (since I was thinking of throwing it out anyway).  So when your paint isn’t good for your primary pieces, think about some of your background pieces before you send it to the bin.

Now I’m off to finish the Crypteks.