Re: [GZG] Paint drying out....

To what Los said:

I have some paints from when I started painting, maybe 25 years ago,
that are still usable. I have some from the middle stage that dried up
in a very much shorter time - maybe 4-5 years.

The main culprits, as far as I ever figured:

1) Painting with open paint jar (a no no, but all of us have done it)
2) Crappy jars (the plastic D&D paints with crappy plastic tops were the
worst)

Good bottles and good lids make a lot of difference. The life
extenders just help allow you to paint open-pot if you want to and to
ensure your investment.

Also, all climates are not equal. For example, 14 stories up in
Ottawa, in the summer you could be sitting in my apartment and not
bother with a shower because the humidity is so high you've already
had one. In the winter, if you don't humidify fairly extensively,
you'll wake up every morning with desert dry sinuses and anything open
with moisture doesn't last long.

I think the Tamiya paints had reasonable bottles. Humbrols were okay
if you got the lid on right, but no one uses oil-based enamels
anymore. The Ral Partha (I think) D&D paints were crappy bottles. The
Armoury paints I got were good bottles with crappy lids, but they sold
a much better optional lid and I bought a boatload of those. GW paints
are fairly well contained. Many craft/folk paints are in at best okay
containers, but some just aren't great for long term storage. The
Vallejo paints I have look like the containers will keep them good for
a long time.

So, get a good paint container or buy brands that are well contained,
don't paint with the paint pot open for hours, and live in a
moderately humid area and your paints may well last a long, long time.

T.
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