Transferring Citadel Paints To Dropper Bottles

[MoriyaSchism]

Started to transfer my Citadel paints to dropper bottles and I'm unsure how much thinner I should be using or if I even got the right paint thinner. When I was ordering supplies I bought Vallejo airbrush medium after I saw multiple people recommend it. Is this the right thinner? How much do I use? Should I be using something else like distilled water instead? Does anyone have any experience with decanting Citadel paint pots into different containers?

[Grotsmasha]

I've done it many times, I choose Airbrush Flow Improver for my thinning agent.

I've since switched to Duncan's Two Thin Coat range, so haven't done one in a while, but it was something like 30-40 drops of thinner.

1- Get some small plastic funnels.

2- Get some mixing balls that will fit through the funnel (I use glass mixing balls).

3- Add thinner and mixing ball, and shake the ever living  out of the pot. Add more thinner if you feel it's not quite there (you'll be able to tell once you've done a pot or two).

4- Lever the entire lid off the citadel pot.

5- Resting on the table, use one hand hold the dropper bottle and funnel, lifting the funnel a little to allow air to escape via the neck rather than the funnel, pour with your other hand, modulating the flow to not overfill the funnel.

If once you start pouring the paint looks to be too thick, reseat the lid and add 5-10 more drops of thinner and shake again.

6- Place the spout and lid, then carefully peel the label from the Citadel Pot and add to your shaker.

Edited Saturday at 03:32 AM by Grotsmasha

[Firedrake Cordova]

6 hours ago, MoriyaSchism said:

Vallejo airbrush medium after I saw multiple people recommend it. Is this the right thinner? How much do I use? Should I be using something else like distilled water instead?

If you're adding lots of thinner (which I doubt) then using an acrylic medium will avoid problems with adhesion and durability. If you're only adding a little bit, then it doesn't matter.  

[Moonstalker]

I used a syringe and distilled water when I did mine instead of a dropper and thinner, but most of my new paint purchases have been Duncan's TTC paints.  Haven't decanted any paints in like two years.

 

I think I was using about 1-1.5 ml of distilled water per pot?  Google says eyedroppers are usually about 20 drops per mL, so a bit less than the amount of thinner Grotsmasha was using.  Otherwise, pretty much the same process Grotsmasha used, adding an agitator to the pot, shaking, and then decanting with a small funnel.  Just take it slow and do a little trial and error.  Think of the worst case scenarios for too thin and too thick.  Too thick, you leave some paint behind in the pot.  You could still try to rescue that into the dropper, or just use it out of the pot before you get into the bottle.  Too thin, and the paint might not be usable.  Start with a small amount, and add more thinner/water as needed.  Your first few pots might take a little longer while you figure it out, but by the end you'll know what works for you.  Make sure to test those early pots to make sure you're not going too thin.

[MoriyaSchism]

Thanks for all the replies. I'm going to try it on some of the spare paint pots at first. I don't really have an electric paint shaker so I ended up using a power drill with paint pots tied to an allen hex key. Managed to somewhat revive an old pot of Ceramite White that way. I'll post results once I'm done transferring the first couple of paints.

[MoriyaSchism]

The first try was a bit of a fiddly mess, but I got the hang of it near the end. Tested it on Luprecal Green, only fitting that the first guinea pig is named after the Arch-traitor. Thanks again for the advice.