Best way to decant

Try looking at some of the Testors series paints - I thought they bottled something close to Hemi Orange in a 1/4 oz square bottle...

...otherwise, I usually just spray a puddle into a paper cup.

Rufus wrote in news:eojioq$a8l$ snipped-for-privacy@aioe.org:

possible?

PAPER!! Do not use a styrene or plastic cup!

You'll find out why not.

If you drill out the hole in the nozzle, the can wil not spray a "mist" but more like a stream of paint. Maybe this helps also.

Don't forget to "de-gas" the paint. Just leave it in the cup for about 5 mins.

Cheers,

Dennis

Yup...I said paper...

...and I think it may also help to hold the can upside down, or on it's side. You can get a stream instead of a spray from some cans, as I recall. You just have to try it to find out.

Count, Although I have never had the need to do this, some years back (10+ years), there was a thread here on this same topic. If my memory does not fail me this time, here is what you do.

1. Don't shake the rattle can.
2. Hold the can upside down and depress the spray nozzle until all of the compressed air has been let out. This is very important otherwise you'll have a mess in your hands with the next step.
3. Drill a very small hole on the bottom of the can. Do this outside just in case there is still some gas in the can.
4. Put a piece of tooth pick in the hole you just made and then drill a larger hole on the top of the can (the dome).

Once you have drilled this last hole, turn the can upside down again and place the large hole over the bottle that will catch the paint. Remove the toothpick and you'll have your paint. Make sure that the paint is allowed to degas for at least a couple of hours (a day is better).

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Ray Austin, TX ===

I use the plastic tube that comes with WD40 or CRC,I insert it into the spray nozzle of the paint can and spray into an old clean paint bottle, placing the tube thru a hole in the lid just a little larger than the plastic tube..Then as others have said let it stand for a while to de-gas. If its a commercial paint(non model paint) be careful of what thinner you use.

I decanted some grey auto primer from a Holts Duplicolour that they sell for auto touch up jobs. I thought a general purpose lacquer thinner would be ok .I put the primer into my airbrush cup and primed the model ,when it came time to clean the airbrush I put general purpose lacquer thinner in my airbrush to flush it out,The paint turned to a goopy mess. I found out quickly that the grey primer was an acrylic lacquer and acrylic lacquer thinner is needed to clean up. Luckily I had a 4litre can of this stuff in my workshop.Still a major job cleaning the mess out of my brush. I now make sure I test paint before I use it,if it's not a dedicated model paint .

Always shake the rattle can! In a paint can that has been stored for a while, you will have 3 layers. Gas on top, then liquid, and then pigment in a thick, gummy mass on the bottom. The gas tube extends into the bottom of the can. If not shaken, the tube end, which is sitting in the gummy mass, will clog up as soon as you start spraying, no matter which way the can is held. The pigment mass will not fall off the bottom when the can is inverted, just like it doesn't fall off the bottom when you invert a jar of paint. Shaking the can will mix the pigment with the liquid, and when held upside down, the mixed pigment and liquid will fall towards the valve and the gas will rise towards the bottom of the can, leaving the tube end clear of the paint.

Snip here and there.

You can degas the paint quickly and safely after you have decanted it if you have one of the sonic jewelry cleaners. Just place the bottle with the decanted paint in the cleaning solution and turn on the vibration and the gas will come out.

Steve

I'll add my two cents worth... Some of the answers are good, some so-so. as a hint, look up other posts by me, and find one that says, "I get the dumbass award". Read it VERY carefully, then don't do what I did! Do this instead... Turn it upside down and shake to mix it like you were going to spray. Then hold the spray button until the gas stops. Shake some more, and spray again until the gas is gone. Repeat four or five (or ten) times, until you are certain, down in the very pit of your soul, that nothing bad is going to happen when you drill, punch, poke, jab or otherwise compromise the integrity of the hull. The first couple times gets the main gas layer out. Subsequent shaking and spraying will help get more gas out of liquid suspension. Then you should be able to use a can opener and dump it into your favorie container. FWIW, I shake rattle cans upside down to let gravity help get the sludge off the can bottom.