I would like to present some thoughts on caring for paints and paintbrushes. First we will take a look at the care of paints. Paints can have a very long shelf life if the amount of thinner in the paint can be maintained at an appropriate level. The thinner can be water for the acrylics, or the appropriate thinner for other paints. The first thing to do is to limit the amount of exposure to air. This is done by two major practices. First, the seal of the bottle must be as tight as possible. This means cleaning the rim and threads of the bottle and keeping the cap clean. Any spills in this area should be thoroughly cleaned before resealing the bottle. As you want as clean a cap as possible, all paint should be stirred and not shaken. Stirring also allows you to find lumps of unmixed pigment which do not show up when the bottle is shaken. Second, you should never paint from a bottle. Not only does this allow air to the unused paint for awhile, but it also increases the possibility of having paint in the seal. Instead, a portion of paint should be placed elsewhere and used from there. In my house we drink a lot of pop, so popcaps are used. You can also use a palette consisting of a piece of glass. The glass is good for mixing and can be cleaned by scraping with a razor blade. Also, the glass can be used to catch any drips instead of newspaper. Also, add a couple drops of thinner before resealing the bottle. Now for the brushes. Only about the first third of the brush should ever be dipped in the paint. The object is to keep the paint out of the area usually covered by metal. Also as soon as you are through, the brush should be washed out and reshaped. If you leave a trace of soap in the bristles, a brush can be used for very long times. Therefore, buy a good brush and keep it in good condition. It is much cheaper in the long run. A couple of ideas on the actual painting. First try not to paint a darker color where a lighter color will go. Regardless of what you do, the darker color will dull/degrade the lighter. Also, I prefer oil metallics to the acrylic ones. I find that after four days I can paint the oils over the acrylics, and that after a week I can paint the acrylics over the oils. Back to MWAN # 23 Table of Contents Back to MWAN List of Issues Back to MagWeb Magazine List © Copyright 1986 Hal Thinglum This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com