Storing Lifecolor Paint

[Camus272]

Does anyone have any recommendations about storing Lifecolor? It seems to dry out much faster than any other paint. I like to stock up when I make orders since they have some great colors that no one else makes. But, sometimes I'll get a new bottle and when I open it a year later, it is dried out. I have bought bottles of thinner, and when I take them out of the drawer they are completely empty. I am considering trying to shrinkwrap the bottles. Any other suggestions?

Thanks,

Brian

[Triarius]

I haven't used Lifecolor yet. What type of bottles do they come in?

[galileo1]

I haven't used Lifecolor yet. What type of bottles do they come in?

They are soft plastic bottles. I have a couple of them and I noticed that their lids do not provide much in the way of a tight seal. I like the paints themselves but I don't buy many simply because they do indeed dry out faster than other paints. Too fragile of a bottle, in my opinion, for a paint product.

Rob

Edited February 3, 2011 by TOPGUN

[Edgar]

Check the lid; if it has a paper wadding, in the top, it'll be porous enough to allow evaporation. We found this when Alclad II started, and had to change to caps with polypropylene inserts. You might be able to stop the evaporation by use of kitchen clingfilm over the mouth of the bottle, before screwing down the cap; otherwise it'll mean decanting into a better bottle/cap combination.

Edgar

[Triarius]

Edgar is essentially correct, but cling-film or even Parafilm will not help too much with solvent loss. Many paints come with a treated paper seal, which is adequate for aqueous solvent systems with very low volatile component concentrations. Alcohols solvent system paints require heavier nylon or other plastic seals that are not permeable to the solvents in the system.

This is one of my objections to plastic containers for paint. You can try improving the seal with various materials (aluminum foil works well) but the plastic of the bottle itself may be to blame. Also, if the sealing surfaces of bottle and cap don't form a flat seal, solvent will be lost regardless.

The best solution is to decant them into better bottles.

[balls47]

As I look at the stack of bottles, I notice that almost all of the lids are not screwed squarely onto the bottles. A plastic lid on a plastic bottle is just asking for trouble. They are just like flat paint. Not really flat. Even my unscientific, simple mind can see that these lids will not completely seal to the bottle. If you have a plastic lid on a glass bottle (i.e. Tamiya), make sure that the lids are screwed on very tight. One other thing comes to mind. How and where do you store your paint? Make sure it's stored in a cool, dry, and even dark place. Lastly, save your glass model paint bottles when they are emptied. Like it was mentioned earlier, you may need to decant your paint from plastic to glass. I have also done the cling wrap thing on occasion. Good luck.

[RichardL]

But, sometimes I'll get a new bottle and when I open it a year later, it is dried out.

This is unusual because none of my LifeColor bottles show any sign of drying out after more than one year. I store them at room temperature.

[Mike C]

Just started using Lifecolor myself, but so far I have not experienced paint drying up. My LHS stocks tons of 'em, and they don't seem to have that issue either. Sorry for asking such an obvious question, but... you sure the cap is screwed on real tight?

[stevehnz]

I'm guessing the trick is tight but not too tight. Plastic bottles & containers can easily distort if they are overtightened & then they won't seal properly in any case. They should just need nipping up firm but not screwing the heck out of. The other thing will be to be sure that there is no bits of dry paint to get in the seal area.

Steve.