Badger Paint Mixer, 'The Dip', and applied heat...
Oct 25, 2013 8:44:29 GMT -5
monkeywithtacos likes this
Post by sgtslag on Oct 25, 2013 8:44:29 GMT -5
Thought I would share this with the community. Found a reference to it, a few weeks ago, on Theminiaturespage.com. It was inexpensive, so I took a chance and ordered one. It is fantastic at mixing paint, Minwax Polyshades (aka, The Dip), and any mixed liquid used for crafting.
I opened a tin of Minwax Polyshades Tudor stain, to Dip some figures (my 60mm Cherilea Viking figures, painted as Frost Giants), and when I stuck one in, head first, it hit a very thick, viscous layer, just below the surface -- this was after I had rolled the sealed can on its side, for two full minutes, to thoroughly mix the stuff!!! The thicker Tudor that hit the figure, was clearly marked, and I had to spend a bit of effort to even out the shading...
Later, I inserted the shaft of the Badger into that same can. I covered the top of the can, and the shaft, with a paper towel, to avoid splatter. After around 30 seconds of mixing, the consistency of the Tudor was uniform, no thicker layer below the surface, and it covered evenly, and quite nicely. I am aware that by brushing on the stain, you can get much better control over it, but it also takes considerably more time to apply it. I dunk, then brush off the excess, after which I blot the figure with a paper towel to further remove excess -- it seems like it takes less time, but I am not certain. The results are the same, so whichever approach you prefer, go for it. I had a dozen, or so, Giants to Dip, so I wanted to move on the project as quickly as possible.
The Badger works marvelously well on craft paints as well. I found one of my favorite brown paint bottles had dried out to a thick paste, which was not workable. I added some water to it, shook it violently, for around a minute, but it did not mix very well. I stuck the Badger shaft into it, and after 30 seconds, it was very well mixed, much thinner, and easy to squeeze out of the bottle. I've started using it in all of my paint bottles before squeezing paint out of them, and it does make a difference. Any settling of the pigments is completely eliminated, and paints go on much better, no matter how much I shook the bottles.
Back to The Dip... One of the drawbacks to using the Minwax Polyshades stain, is the drying time: for me, it can be 4+ days, to fully cure, and if I touch them too soon, trying to determine if they are fully cured, I end up with permanent fingerprints on them! I used to bake my Dip'ed figures in my oven, at 170 F, for 30 minutes (works well, but you need to vent the fumes, and prop the oven door open, besides), but I hit upon a better idea: I use a Crockpot/Slow Cooker, set to 'Warm', which is around 160 F. The Crockpot is used solely for curing mini's, and it only cost me $20, at Wal-Mart. I line the oval bowl (more room than the round units) with aluminum foil, to catch any run-off. I also bake them out in the garage, to avoid the fume issue stinking up the house. After 30 minutes, they are ready to matte coat, and then game with. Cheers!