GW and their washes

[Magos Takatus]

Now that's something that I can get behind, a device that holds the lid open! Having the lid close itself when I'm using the pot is far more troublesome for me.

[LameBeard]

N1SB I like a lot of what you say here. Just to give a bit more detail.

 

1. I had my experience about my son’s age when I spilt Blood Red on my friend’s carpet and I felt very bad for his parents because that stain wasn’t coming up. It was totally my fault so I agree this was a good learning experience.

 

2. But the reason I am a bit cross with GW is not because I think it’s a conspiracy theory, I think it’s just laziness and/or pig headedness. They went for bigger, taller bottles with shade and contrast but didn’t change the lid. The community has been crying out for dropper bottles, but we have this lid which actually can take a lot of force to open/close and small hands don’t always have that control. Even the airbrush paints have that lid - I mean what am I supposed to do, use a tiny spoon?

[Firedrake Cordova]

2. But the reason I am a bit cross with GW is not because I think it’s a conspiracy theory, I think it’s just laziness and/or pig headedness. They went for bigger, taller bottles with shade and contrast but didn’t change the lid. The community has been crying out for dropper bottles, but we have this lid which actually can take a lot of force to open/close and small hands don’t always have that control.

Unfortunately, whilst it might seem that "the grass is greener", there is no such thing as a perfect design for a paint bottle.   In my experience:

• Coat D'Arms, Formula P3, and 1990's GW flip top: the tab to help you open it will snap off, the hinge will snap (so the lid is entirely separate), paint will dry in the rim of the lid making it hard to open, and if you'll want to open more than a few in quick succession, keeping a spoon nearby is a must to avoid getting a sore thumb.  On the plus side, it's easy to get the paint out (once you've got it open), and I've never had one dry out (I have some pots which are nearly 30 years old).
• GW Shade & Contrast: people seem to have a habit of knocking them over, it's easy to think you've closed them properly when you haven't, and I could convince myself they don't seal perfectly (it could just be my imagination - I'm not sure).  It is easy to access the paint though.
• Vallejo Game/Model/Air: they don't work wonderfully well with thicker paint (in terms of being able to get it out of the pot), and have a habit of having paint dry in the nozzle (just far enough down so you can't see it), which will result in a "paint volcano" if you don't realise what's happened and squeeze too hard.  A lot of them I've got arrived with cracks in the nozzle, which tends to make them a bit messy.  They do work very well with thin paint, and mostly don't dry out (I've had 2 pots dry out, one of which did so before I opened it)

I think it's a case of which pot [a] works best with the type of paint you're putting in it, and has the least annoying set of flaws.  I honestly don't know what the right answer is though, and I fear it comes down a lot to personal preference. :(

 

Even the airbrush paints have that lid - I mean what am I supposed to do, use a tiny spoon?

Yeah, that is a bit of a "doh" moment!   Tamiya's paint (used by historical modellers) comes in little 10ml screw-top bottles, and people just pour it into the airbrush, although that does seem to be a mess waiting to happen! :blush:  I do like the image of using a tiny spoon, though!

[LameBeard]

Next GW product: miniature paint ladle, sterling silver, adeptus mechanicus cog design on handle: £25.99

[Bung]

I use the Tamiya Paints in 23 ml glasses and use cheap 3 ml plastic pipettes to get the paint in the airbrush cup.

[Magos Takatus]

 

• Vallejo Game/Model/Air: they don't work wonderfully well with thicker paint (in terms of being able to get it out of the pot), and have a habit of having paint dry in the nozzle (just far enough down so you can't see it), which will result in a "paint volcano" if you don't realise what's happened and squeeze too hard.  A lot of them I've got arrived with cracks in the nozzle, which tends to make them a bit messy.  They do work very well with thin paint, and mostly don't dry out (I've had 2 pots dry out, one of which did so before I opened it)

I have to agree that dropper bottles aren't the perfect solution people think they are. I'm forever having to find a thin piece of wire or a knife or the pointy end of some tweezers to unclog the nozzle, which is just pushing dry paint back into the bottle and sometimes you get the "paint volcano" effect even if it doesn't look that clogged. It's harder to tell how much paint is left in them. Don't get me wrong, they do have their uses but they are not the holy grail of paint pots.

I really liked the pots that Forge World used for their small line of paints but eventually the lids cracked and I had to transfer them into dropper bottles. I found that experience to be a bit fiddly and annoying so I can only imagine what it's like for those people that transfer their whole paint collection into dropper bottles. Saying that though, the crust of dry paint that forms around the lid of the current GW paint pots is irritating to remove, so you guys might have a point. One thing I think everyone can agree on however, at least we no longer have to deal with this hell-spawn:

 

*shudder*

[Jings]

 

If you can't trust yourself around the larger pots, start transferring them onto dropper bottles.

 

No point crying about spilt paint. It's not as if we haven't all done it at some point.

 

You misunderstand the term crying about it, when this thread was asking for how to deal with it. 

 

I was doing the "crying over spilt milk" joke. It was more directed at the poster above me that said he was "angry" at GW because his kid spilled his paint. 

[LameBeard]

I got the joke and was not offended, I was amused. And I was just expressing my authentic emotion. I hope you can tell by my next post that I was using “anger” deliberately as an exaggerated version to express sympathy with the original post.

 

I understand dropper bottles are not the perfect solution, I have a dozen Vallejo, mostly for airbrush so a bit thinner, and have that issue on blockage/volcano. My point is there is definitely demand for them, but I don’t remember anyone ever saying “the problem with GW is they just don’t make the shade pots big enough - give us more shade GW, and don’t be afraid to raise that centre of gravity to do it”. Happy to be corrected on that.

Edited February 15, 2021 by LameBeard

[Slave to Darkness]

Even before GW Primarisized their pots people knocked them over, and posted it on facebook instead of saving their ink. As noted above every pot design had some flaws in some way, doubt its some GW tinfoil hat conspiracy. 

[NiceGuyAdi]

I’ve avoided knocking over wash pots by using pipette droppers to take a few drops of the stuff onto a palette and closing the pot. It’s hard to make a mess when you’ve only got a small amount that’s not sealed.

[Karhedron]

I used to make my own washes by just thinning paint but having used both, I can say that washes are superior. The consistency is thicker which creates a smoother gradient with less pooling.

[Syrakul]

if you have ever had a can of spray paint, do this with the lid. This is from tamiya spray paint.

The outer circle gap you can even weigh down with puddy or something to like a paperweight feeling. so cheap you could have many and permenantly leave the paints in their own cap.

Edited February 16, 2021 by Syrakul

[Xenith]

I’ve avoided knocking over wash pots by using pipette droppers to take a few drops of the stuff onto a palette and closing the pot. It’s hard to make a mess when you’ve only got a small amount that’s not sealed.

 

This. This is the real way to not spill your paint: use a palatte. Growing up when GW stores provided the paints for you to use in store, they had a no open pots rule, you had to transfer to palette, it really instilled that into you. Can't spill your paint if the lid is closed. 

[Maschinenpriester]

 

 

I’ve avoided knocking over wash pots by using pipette droppers to take a few drops of the stuff onto a palette and closing the pot. It’s hard to make a mess when you’ve only got a small amount that’s not sealed.

This. This is the real way to not spill your paint: use a palatte. Growing up when GW stores provided the paints for you to use in store, they had a no open pots rule, you had to transfer to palette, it really instilled that into you. Can't spill your paint if the lid is closed.

Another advantage of this is, you don't accidentially contaminate the washes with metal flakes. I always fill half of the big pot in a smaller pot to avoid spillage and contamination. Also the wash in the big bottle is saved from slow evaporation death, because the rim is clean and never gets opened until the smaller bottle is empty. Edited February 17, 2021 by Maschinenpriester