Citadel Paint Pot Problems

[hd3]

I really like the citadel paints but I've noticed they gunk up and jam the lids so they don't close pretty easily. I just lost another pot to drying out when I thought the lid was closed properly. Is it worth moving these over to dropper bottles? And does anyone have any idea how much that would cost?

[Firedrake Cordova]

For cost, it depends on where you are, I guess. Vallejo used to sell them and they were fairly expensive (£0.45 when a pot of paint was £2.30). Probably your best bet is to find ones of the same style on Amazon, e-Bay, or similar?

 

In terms of transferring the paint to the dropper pot, the opening on the dropper bottle is narrower, so you'll either want to be careful, or see if you can get/make a little funnel (I don't know if waxes paper/card may help the paint run more smoothly?). You'll end up with some paint left in the GW pot, so it might be an idea to add a little Lahmian Medium and give it a shake, in the hopes that it'll mix and you'll end up with some runny dregs that you can just pour out.

 

There's lots of videos on YouTube - Juan Hidalgo, Vince Venturella, Duncan, and Epic Duck all have one.

[Terminatorinhell]

Yeah I've transferred mine into the dropper bottles but they gum up a little too.. Not as badly. I used cheap ones, but the tops actually crack somehow which is weird :cuss: lol. 

[Grotsmasha]

Before I switched to droppers, I used to pull lids off old pots before I discarded then, then clean them so I could swap them out for any gummy ones.

[crimsondave]

I have close to as much army painter as citadel.  My biggest issue with dropper bottles is when they clog up and explode and you lose 90% of your paint.  Doesn’t happen often but when it does there will be f bombs galore.

 

I just scrape my pots out after every use.  I also thin them in the pot some and put ball bearings in them.  It’s a pain but my pots never dry out.  Like most things in the hobby it’s personal choice.

[Firedrake Cordova]

 

My biggest issue with dropper bottles is when they clog up and explode and you lose 90% of your paint

Aye, a painty Vesuvius is not fun.  The key is to notice when there's resistance and not squeeze any harder. An old airbrush needle is really useful at lancing the clog out of the nozzle.  

[sbarnby71]

I decanted a load of my paints 3, 4 years ago as it was the "thing to do".  What I have found is similar to the bomb experience.  I have added a ball-bearing and used some flow improver to help get all the paint from the old pot.  Now for some colours they just clog the nozzle and I have to keep a pin handy to clear them.  Other colours (Mephiston Red (base paint) and Baharroth Blue (edge paint) I shake, I remove the lid and the paint is almost fountaining out of the dropper bottle before I even turn it upside down, so I lose so much paint.  I've tried a few different bottles, even gave up adding an extra like flow improver but these 2 colours just make such a massive mess and it's annoying as I use them a lot, but I only need a tiny spot each time.

 

For the paints I use a lot of (volume of paint, not frequency), I stick with the pots and just have a session every few weeks of digging the dried paint from the rim of the lid.  One word of caution, don't be too aggressive as you can damage the rim and that makes the seal worse and you end up with more paint getting in the rim and cycle gets worse.  Another thing I do is try and let the lid drip into the pot for a while after use so less paint is hanging around that funnel thingy in the lid.

 

I'd say which ever way you go, expect to lose a fair bit of paint due to clean-up, which is better than losing half a pot because it dried up because the lids are rubbish.

[DemonGSides]

 

I really like the citadel paints but I've noticed they gunk up and jam the lids so they don't close pretty easily. I just lost another pot to drying out when I thought the lid was closed properly. Is it worth moving these over to dropper bottles? And does anyone have any idea how much that would cost?

 

I transferred all of mine this spring and it was the best decision I ever made. 

 

Amazon has the funnels and the bottles and get a container of AK's stainless steel balls. 

[Spaced Hulk]

There is actually a fairly quick and easy way to 'de-gunk' Citadel paint lids. Basically take the lid completely off the pot (obviously including the O-ring that holds it in place) and then turn it inside out. It takes a little bit of force but the flexible plastic of the lid can be twisted in this way. The dried paint then comes off really easily and you can simply reattach the lid and it's good to go.

 

I've found this a real game changer with Citadel paints and I'm surprised it's not more widely known. If I was GW I'd probably put a tutorial on YouTube about it (although that would mean admitting that it's a problem in the first place! ).

[Bryan Blaire]

I purchased a 40 pack of 1 oz HDPE squeeze bottles with screw cap droppers similar to the ProAcryl ones (super easy to clean if needed, but never gotten one clogged) and using stainless steel bearings to agitate with - the size allows two full pots of Citadel paint to fit inside the bottle with about 5 ml of a flow improver + thinner mix I used to clean out the pots as best I could in each during the transfer.

 

To move the paint over, I actually got metal frosting piping tips (medium to large sizes) and tipped the pots over into those to drain down (did have to hold them while they drained) - those were much easier to clean than anything else funnel-wise and I didn’t have to throw a bunch of paper/plastic away.

 

You can also peel the label off the pots and stick it to the bottles easily.

 

It was the last bit of GW paint I’ve bought - I still use them, they are still just as fresh three years later and mix up every time I need to use them (which isn’t as much lately because I have other paint lines I like to use more now).

Edited August 14 by Bryan Blaire

[sbarnby71]

 

There is actually a fairly quick and easy way to 'de-gunk' Citadel paint lids. Basically take the lid completely off the pot (obviously including the O-ring that holds it in place) and then turn it inside out. It takes a little bit of force but the flexible plastic of the lid can be twisted in this way. The dried paint then comes off really easily and you can simply reattach the lid and it's good to go.

 

I've found this a real game changer with Citadel paints and I'm surprised it's not more widely known. If I was GW I'd probably put a tutorial on YouTube about it (although that would mean admitting that it's a problem in the first place! ).

I've never thought to try that!

 

Going to give it a try later today.

Edited August 14 by sbarnby71
grammer

[Cleon]

 

There is actually a fairly quick and easy way to 'de-gunk' Citadel paint lids. Basically take the lid completely off the pot (obviously including the O-ring that holds it in place) and then turn it inside out. It takes a little bit of force but the flexible plastic of the lid can be twisted in this way. The dried paint then comes off really easily and you can simply reattach the lid and it's good to go.

 

I've found this a real game changer with Citadel paints and I'm surprised it's not more widely known. If I was GW I'd probably put a tutorial on YouTube about it (although that would mean admitting that it's a problem in the first place! ).

Whuuut, why did no one tell me this years ago, I just tried it you paint wizard.

[crimsondave]

 

There is actually a fairly quick and easy way to 'de-gunk' Citadel paint lids. Basically take the lid completely off the pot (obviously including the O-ring that holds it in place) and then turn it inside out. It takes a little bit of force but the flexible plastic of the lid can be twisted in this way. The dried paint then comes off really easily and you can simply reattach the lid and it's good to go.

 

I've found this a real game changer with Citadel paints and I'm surprised it's not more widely known. If I was GW I'd probably put a tutorial on YouTube about it (although that would mean admitting that it's a problem in the first place! ).

Dude.  If this works, you’re a legend.  I’m trying it today.

 

For ball bearings, I use these because they’re cheap and I have lots of paint.

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0BJ2DVNPV?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

[sbarnby71]

It works!!! How have I missed this! One cavet, if you have the older black lids they are not as flexible so take a lot more bending. I just cleared out 4 pots in seconds using this.

 

And agree on the ball bearings, just buy generic ones from Amazon, no need for specialist ones.

[crimsondave]

 

It works!!! How have I missed this! One cavet, if you have the older black lids they are not as flexible so take a lot more bending. I just cleared out 4 pots in seconds using this.

 

And agree on the ball bearings, just buy generic ones from Amazon, no need for specialist ones.

It sure does work.  I just tried it too.  No idea how I haven’t figured this out after all these years.  This needs to be a sticky or something.

[Firedrake Cordova]

 

This needs to be a sticky or something.

I'm working on something - I'll add it to that  

Edited August 15 by Firedrake Cordova

[sbarnby71]

I'm going to add an extra step if I may, put the lids in some warm water to help soften the lid a bit (don't use boiling water as the lid could warp).  I know it's an extra step but it also removes any wet paint that splatters all over you if the lid snaps back as you try and turn it inside out.  Yep I got a blue glaze paint over my nice clean grey t-shirt from that.