The Bottom of Paint Jars

How to Revive that 'Sludge'

by David Doty


Frequently, users of Howard Hues, Armory and other acrylic paints find themselves with an almost unusable mass of thick sludge instead of paint inside the jar.

To bring this goo back to a usable state, we usually use water. This is not a particularly good method as water is a poor replacement for the vehicle the manufacturer actually used to make the pigment flow onto our figures. A better way to restore the paint to its original viscosity is to use airbrush thinner.

Airbrush thinner has most of the components used as a vehicle in the original paint and will not alter the shade of your paint.

I use the "Golden" product myself, but the Liquitex version is equally suitable. Use just enough thinner to bring the paint back to life. It won't take much. For Howard Hues and Armory paints, in particular, a drop or two in a new jar is a good way to delay the drying out process that particularly affects these brands.


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