Acrylic Paint Agitators

Just before Christmas I saw these stainless steel ball bearing for sale in The Cooks Shop, Worcester. They are use to clean decanters. You place the balls in the bottom of a decanter and swirl them around.

At the time they were being sold for £5.99 a pack, but this week the last pack was reduced and I thought they would be OK as agitators to add to my acrylic paint pots and bottles.

I have added two balls to each bottle and given them a shake. Initial results are promising, although there are times when the paint is just too thick (then you have to add some distilled water) or the balls get lodged in the bottle neck or dropper. Even so I think they will work.

The final image shows the full packaging. I would estimate the container holds about 100 ball bearings.

In the past I have tried using Meccano nuts and bolts - but these rusted and discoloured the paint. I also tried some Haematite beads, but these were too expensive and I only had a couple. My advice to all figure painters is to shake the bottle every time you use a paint. It helps to keep the paint from separating and keeps the consistency uniform.

Tony