I have recently switched from using Tamiya's acrylic paints to the Vallejo series. I absolutely love Vallejo's paints. They go on smoothly, have excellent pigmentation and are easy to clean up. Well, anyway since the Vallejo paints require to be well mixed and shaking them can become a pain in the butt after a while I decided to purchase an electric paint shaker. Great idea isn't it? The best one I though would be this one from MicroMark. This is where I give you my words of caution: DO NOT BUY IT! This thing (to put it politely) sucks. Oh, it shakes all right but it absolutely does not mix the paint. It makes a lot of noise, makes you think that it is doing something and that's about it. This was the worst $40 I have ever spent.

WOW Marty - I'm surprised, because Micr-Mark is a very reputable buisness
and has alot of quality model tool's. I believe you but are you it's just
not a defective product ?
Do you know that Micro-Mark has a 100% No Risk Guarantee Policy.
If your not happy with anything you buy within 30 days of the day of purchase
Micro-Mark will refund your money or give you an exchange for a new Paint Shaker.
So give them a call if it hasn't been over 30 days. I'm sorry about your unfortuanate
mishap, so I hope this info helps.
I was going to buy one of them Paint Shakers too ..........and exactly for the same reason as you ---- the Vallejo paints. But also because others paint's I have like Humbrol, really need to be properly stirred to achieve that "dead flat " finish that they are expected to give.
Some matte paint's will give you a shiny finish instead of a flat finish and that's usually because they were not stir properly or enough.
LET US KNOW WHAT HAPPENS WITH MICRO MARK.

- ralph

Huh? I have used the shaker for over a year now and love it. It will NOT mix paint that is hard at the bottom to begin with. I have one of ther paint "stirrers" for that, the little electric one. I have used the shaker many times and never found it not to work if the paint is just separated. It is is really clumped up then you need to stir it some. The shaker will finish and even out the blending process....

How long did you runit for?? I even use it on the big "craft" paint bottle and it works fine...

Hey guys,
I am not sure what martys problem is with it. I have the same one if fact mine is the model the you can plug into the wall. I have had mine for the past 6 years and I love it. Marty you may have a defective one. Send it back for a new one, you have 30 days.

WOW? Same here, I have the plug in version and the battery op paint stirrer and they work Great. I would use the return policy now. you may have a bad or broken one.

Interesting... i only use the battery operated paint stirrer (my second most indespensible tool, only behind my Dremel Tool), and have never really seen a need beyond that...

I once saw an automated stirring rack that made a lot o sense however... each rack that hold about 10 bottles of paint in a wood tray, and has about 10 racks per device. I would best describe it as a "ferris wheel "for paint.. you let the thing run 24x7, and your paint is always stirred and ready to go.... neat idea!

Hola!

Just a question, why the heck would u need a bottle stirrer for miniature paints, especially Vallejo colors and Craft acrylics?
Sure it would be a neat thing, but it doesnt take 10 seconds to do it by hand with the same results.

Is there a particular reason? Does it hold more then one bottle of paint?

I use a homemade electric mixer. I'll tahe some photos later. It's a 1.5 volt motor & aa battery.

Matt

I use the stirrer for Testors paints mostly. After a short time on the shelf they settle a little to much. Just shaking them causes problems airbrushing. Before using the stirrer I would clog tips like crazy. Now NO PROBLEMS.

I got the mixer pre-acrylics... used it with Model Master and Testors paints and loved it. Now I hardly use it... but some of the craft stuff I have is VERY settled and once in a while I want to mix it. I hurt my left wrist a while back and it hurts when I use it to shake paints.

No smart remarks about how injured it, either... hehehe

Talked to MicroMark and after explaining what was going on they said that it seemed like this particular unit might be defective. I am sending it back tomorrow and since you all say that work well I will give it a shot one more time. I will give you an update in a bit.



Longest I ran it was around 30 minutes.

I have made a switch to acrylics, and I have discovered that the shaker leaves little frothy bubbles that spit when they go through my airbrush. I actually will rotate the jars of paint in my stash, to keep them from settling out so much. I will flip them over every other day or so. If I have big painting session coming up, I will take the colors I know I am using, and leave them on the end of my dining room countertop. I will turn them over every time I walk by. I will also shake them and get them remixed, a day or two in advance. This gives the bubbles time to settle out, and I just turn them over carefully, to keep them from separating again. When it is time to paint, I just have to do a light stir, and pour and thin them.

p.s. make sure that your lids are screwed on TIGHTLY if you are using a paint shaker... please don't ask me how I know the importance of this...

Hi Anders, some paints really ..........really ........really need to be stirred/shaken very well, because such matte paints like Humbrol , if not thoroughly stirred , will leave a shiny finish when the paint dries - instead of leaving a " dead flat " finish as they are expected and have a reputation to do - ( this comes from experience, because I use them ) .
.....and a good quality paint shaker will always asure a modeler of a thoroughly mixed paint........and it also leave's your hands free to do other thing's at the workbench, while the paint is being shaken .......... There you have it dude !
- ralph

I simply heat the paint before stiring, for air brushing that is. I boil a small amount of water, put the tin or bottle in a cup, add the boiling water, leave it there while I get my air brush ready. It then takes no time at all to mix the paint and I've never had a problem with paint not drying as it should. :-) Just one word of caution, don't try this with Revell paints, the build up of pressure blows the lids off. The warm paint flows better too.
Mal