"Brol": where I come from it means as much as: utter rubbish, not worth the money spent on it.

I know, it seems odd to refer to paint on the market for many years, and that I, and many others continue to use to good effect as rubbish but I am talking, again, about those miserable jars the paint comes in.

Just look at the following: an almost new bottle of black paint




If you look carefully, you notice that the lid is not closed tightly and when I took that picture I tried to push it closed at least a dozen times. The tiny overpressure in the bottle cause it to open again, simply because the lid doesn't fit!

Lets try again:



seems closed now, let's do a careful test:



and its open again without any effort



That means that this paint will have turned in a solid stone before I can use any of it, unless I can find another jar from Tamiya for instance.

This is NOT a first, it happens regularly.

Well, I have settled for the other shortcomings of these jars but if they now also refuse to close properly then ...
Maybe its easier to buy Tamiya paint from the start, if only I was not hooked on using enamel.

Do others here have the same experience?

Tamiya bottles can become rather tricky to open....

Vallejo droppers are the filet of the neighbourhood IMHO.

Hi. I have heard of and seen this occur.

You can fix this by simply with small hammer and something hard that is slightly larger than the INSIDE DIAMETER of the lid.
A tap or two and you have increased the lid's diameter making for a firm seal.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Karl.

happen to me few time but was not the lid to big but the internal pressure when you close the lid push the lid back,it's enough push the lid on one side before and usually i fix the problem.

Some time becose to much pait in the jar or lid/internal diameter dirty expecially with wet paint

But becose for me Humbrol is the best pait in the worse jar and i have a big collection of it,i buy for 20cts each 100 jars in glass with rubber seal like the model master one and change the Humbol Jars....no more problems!

sincerly i have problem also with Tamiya jars,to hard to open and then the lid craks...


....My 2 cts!

I wouldn't sweat Humbrol containers too much. As I was opening a brand new bottle of Testors Model Master this morning it completely shattered in my hand as I was twisting the cap off. Almost sliced my thumb open as I was twisting it. Maybe great paint in sh----y metal containers is not so bad after all.

Best wishes,

Ian

If you can bear the expense, decanting Humbrol tinlets into mixing jars avoids the nastiness of dealing with the tins.

Ian that happened to me the other day!
Looks like we both used the same size of channel locks

Hey Richard! Yeah, it was bizarre. I've never had a bottle do that. Funny part was, I walked upstairs to clean up and I am covered in red paint and my wife thought it was all blood. Fortunately it was just a lot of Insignia Red. I was very lucky.

Best wishes,

Ian

I have only had a single bottle of Tamiya refuse to open - one of their clear colours. I find those horrible for this.

To open the stubborn bottle of Tamiya paint, I use channel lock pliers, The key is to use them for the extra torque, not to squeeze the bottle (because THAT will make it shatter.) Get a pair with teeth and they grip the lids perfectly, hold the bottle itself with your other hand.






I agree completely with the Humbrol rant, I think their tins are ridiculous and they also make it hard to mix the paint. I refuse to use them.

I use a medium sized flathead screwdriver to pry the lids off, I press them back in by hand, and then use the end of the screwdriver's hand to wedge the lid in. Hold the jar in you hand using your pinkie and ring finger, then the handle of the screwdriver with your middle finger and pointer. If you leave the can sticking out of the bottom of your fist a little and then slam your fist on the table, you'll find it gets those suckers in there pretty good.

I dont like the Drop bottle like Andrea,Vallejo,AK,Ammo for mé the best jars is the Lifecolor and i relly like also the paint much more then the oters Acrilycs

Humbrol tins for me have this issue usually when there is paint on the lip of the tin or the lid that creates a seal before the air can be expelled from the tinlet, not cleaning the tin/bottle edges is a sin I'm paricularly guilty of but some colours do seem more prone to this than others.

Ref the glass jars getting stuck, my first attempt is always to stand the jar in a dish of very hot water lid down, this usually softens the dried paint enough to turn the lid without the use of grips etc. Shake off the excess water before trying to unscrew thelid of course. I found a borrowed teatowel to get some purchase on the jar & lid usually suffices & saves scalded fingers if the water is too hot. If it doesnt ease on the first, try repeating and even tightening the lid when hot first to break the hold of the paint.

Keith

While I've never used Humbrol paints in those nasty tins, I've had my issues with Tamiya bottles. I've actually cracked one lid, but the bottle didn't shatter.

Now if I have a lid that I can't turn easily, I just run it under hot water for a min, then using a smallish pair of Channel locks plyers, the top unscrews without much effort. I do try to keep the tops and the threads clean by periodically wiping the threads down with Denatured Alcohol.

Joel

I still have Humbrol paint tins that I got that go back to the early '70's that are still usable (14 tins). I have not used any of them in quite awhile. I might open one two up to see how they are. Maybe post the results.

Cheers

Same with me. I have quite a few of the old "authentic" range that are in fine shape.

Cheers

Karl.

Same Same, i have some tin from the '80 and their are still good

Hi all

Like Robbie, Karl and J.Red, I also have some absolutely ancient pots of Humbrol still going strong, so there's definitely something to be said in their favour. (I also have a couple of old original bottles of Airfix paint - but the least said about that, the better! )

Going back to the comments about gummed-on screw lids - I always stand the pot upside down in a shallow tot of very hot water straight from the kettle. The different expansion-rate of the metal or plastic lid from the bottle usually loosens it straight away. Trying to force it off with a wrench is just asking for an accident and isn't worth the risk.

All the best

Rowan

PUHAHAHAHHAHA!!!! Sorry Ian, I know it is really messy and disturbing but your MM bottle photo hit a trigger inside me. They were, and still are, my favorite paint bottles but hey we learned that even Lemmy wasn't immortal ain't it? So yeah anything could happen. On the other hand I am one of those who have still active Humbrol tins...with a difference. I am the 3rd generation using them. Some from my late dad and some from my grandfather. Yep they are as good as new.
Seems like you can't kill a tin of humbrol even though it has that horrible lid. Even when they seem dry I put a scarpel inside the surface of what seems to be dry paint and voila! There is still a bit of paint underneath still perfectly servicable. I didn't witness similar things in similar bottled brands like Molak or Revell.
Drabslab you, as far as I know, were lucky. Once while shaking a fully covered tin of Humbrol with my thumb on the lid I spreyed a very expensive pair of trousers of my friend who, took the blame, decided to keep his office clothes while building models instead of slipping into slacks. So yes they can be a nightmare.