Phil, an alternative is to adapt a conventional jigsaw by replacing the blade with a clamp. I've found this to be very effective indeed with both tubes such as Vallejo and pots such as Tamiya. The clamp can hold the paint on two orientations, so giving it a thorough shake. Perfect and one less gadget to clutter the workshop.
Good review as always. I tried the home made shakers out of things like electric knives but am much happier with my shaker, but a couple of tips. 1. You dont need the expensive Robard one, get on Ebay and look for nail polish shaker, same thing at a fraction of the price (an usually come with spare straps. 2. have an agitator and if you cant hear that hand shaking then the machine wont do it, good angry shake by hand till that looses up and then drop it in the shaker for a few minutes while you charge your compressor or whatever. 3. (as mentioned) having the strap off center gives a better mix. 4. be careful with metal agitators on glass bottles and make sure that the lid is on tight, especially flip tops like vallejo metal color, stynelrez etc that can be kept off ya bench with a little bit of tape over the top.
I have used my Robart Hobby Paint Shaker for several years. I really like that I can set it up and go about my business while it does it's thing.Never used a Stirrer, but it looks like you'd have to clean the tool, losing paint in the process.
I use this while I set up & prep for an airbrush session. It works like a steam locomotive. I added a form matt pad to the bottom to quiet down the noise. There's just a motor, a wheel, a rod & that's it. I lube the points of motion contact with model train grease. Had mine for for about 2 decades. Straps now are easier to find on Amazon. Mine also is hard wired for outlet use, not battery power. That came later. I also use the power mixer although mine doesn't say Bager. The old version has a momentary paddle switch which I thought was better for control. For the hell of it I tried to mix up some chocolate milk in a 16oz. (473ml) glass, It worked!
Of all the mixers I've ever seen, I still like the one that I built the best. It consists of four wooden dowels, two three quarter of an inch at the top, and two one and a quarter inch at the bottom. All are set up in a frame about 24" long, with a slow gear motor from Micro-Mark in the side. I used an old round tinker toy as a driver, and use rubber O-rings between the tinker toy, and some groves in the dowels. Some of the cans I use can make a bit of noise, but for the most part, the bugger is very quiet. It works particularly well, with agitators included in the various bottles. What is more it can usually fit all of the paints that I'm using for a project, as long as they are round. When I come home, I can hit the mixer, and the slow rotation gets all the paints ready for use. It uses little enough electricity, that I can leave it on overnight, when I think I'll have the time to jump to the bench. Much of the design here was not my own, though mine is surely unique. I saw this type of thing that another hobbyist used, and I can't remember where, but it was before I had ever seen the internet. Much of the painting I do today, I do with Vallejo, so I also have a laboratory vortex mixer on the bench, to shake the stew out of these just before I use a paint. The only three downsides to this unit were in using the axils, which given that I made it out of scrap, used cut off nails. They are pretty good, and use wax as a lubricant, but I always thought they could do better. The second was the orings themselves don't last as long as one would like. I've never come up with anything to match them, but they do break a couple of times a year. The last failing, is that I've had to unscrew the drywall screws that hold the ends on, in order to change them, but they are also lubricated with wax, and so far, 33 years I think, it is holding up well. A few years ago, I found this same kind of geared motor drive on ebay, over in china, at various rotation speeds for far less. I purchased a replacement for my original (Which has begun to run warmer.), and a backup, as well as two faster speeds. Some day, I'll give those a try.
Thanks so much for this review, I found it very relaxing to watch. My main problem with the plunger / coffee frother is that first of all it might not suit everyone's needs. I use a lot of Grog Squeezers for example, it might not fit in the neck of the marker. Secondly, it's a bit of a messy option, since you're going to pull out the plunger once you're done and it'll be covered in paint and you'll have to clean it to avoid staining your work area and mixing the paint on the frother with the next tube you'll mix. But afterwards if you've not done good enough a job you'll have to plunge it again, so a lot of paint is being wasted everytime when you wipe off the plunger if I understand correctly. This review of the shaker was really nice, what I would have done is show how long it takes for the paint to be completely mixed even for the hard ones. Maybe secure the shaker and go on a walk or something, and show what happens after 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, etc.
I've seen people mount these on their hobby room wall, if you turn it sideways when you put a bottle in you could put your agitators down and that side to side shake action might make your agitators break up that settled pigment faster.
I have both, and I have to say the Badger mixer does a better job of mixing the paint and is less noisy. The Robart shaker is OK for small bottles, but I can agitate the paint better by hand shaking for larger ones, as the heavier the bottle, the less effective the shaker is. I find that paint bottles that have been sitting around for awhile don't mix very well with the shaker, but the Badger mixer does a great job of getting a good mix. The only down side I see to the Badger mixer is that you need to clean it right after mixing, to avoid drying on the stirrer and contaminating another color later on. A small container of appropriate thinners does a great job of cleaning it off.
I have the shaker and find it works great, especially for small tins like Colourcoat enamels. 2 bbs in each tin does the trick. Not quite as good for large bottles since the cycle rate slows down considerable.
I've had 2 of these. The first one I threw out as it was not working. The second I rebuilt and made it work better. The problem was the way the motor is held within the mechanism. It is weak plastic holding the motor, that's where the problem lay.
Yup. I've got both. Mixing paint properly and totally is the secret to great results time after time I use the shaker rotating the bottle every minute or so I've got good mixing in 3 minutes or less. I use the wand to mis thinners and drops of color in my airbrush cup. Probably wrong but it works for me I learned this secret from Rip of "Rips Hobby Shop" Testers and Pactra. .10 - .15 Cents per bottle Rip would put in a few BB's in your bottle. Then I'd tape the bottles to the top of my bikes handle bars. My hand brushed finishes looked as good if not better than older modelers with air brushes Mix those paints. Keep then thinned also
I made a shaker using a Quick Clamp riveted to a heavy duty reciprocating saw blade. It shakes the bejezus out of the paint. While that Robart shaker looks like a good idea it just doesn't seem to work very well.
Oh yes. Phil. I enjoy your you tube videos. Life time modeler with a styrene addiction. Just got the Mosquito. Wow. Waiting for your start. Got the 55" Type VII U-Boat also. Good job mate
Maybe I'm crazy but I kept looking at all the different ones and finally got the Four E's mini Vortex mixer. And at a hundred bucks it's not cheap and I'm not a wealthy person but I figured just get the best one and not have to replace it in a few months or possibly weeks. I say pull the trigger and fork over the money and get the best.That's just the way I saw it but I will say I'm glad I did.
i would say depending on the paint seperation and the kind of paint so maybe 2 mins to (depends on if you also rotate it seems) 15 mins. but this is also keeping all the paint in the bottle so you dont lose any paint. maybe use the stirring for the bulk of it then use the shaker.
I have both yes it takes awhile for the shaker, and its a bit pricey. Us dollar $50 bucks' the stir around $12 or $8 it depends sale. Shaker is ok. But the stir is the best. My opinion
Wow, that shaker is nice but its still kinda loud! A buddy of mine made one out of a reciprocating saw (jigsaw) and it makes about half the noise compared to this Robart.
For about the same money as the Robart, you can buy a good but used vortex mixer with veriable speed from ebay. Should make pretty short work of mixing a small jar of modeling paint.
it has problems with bigger bottles as its just a re-branded nail varnish shaker, tho for me id probable get one as I use small bottles of paint and its hard to get the stirrer in them and as said below you have to get the paint of the stirrer and then clean it out wasting paint.
I think in conclusion you need to manually disturb the pigment at the bottom either using a ball bearing et al or stirrer but once everything is floating around it probably does the job
I use a Tamiya handy drill for those types of bottles, just cut off a piece of sprue to use as an the agitator. Don't try this with a dremel, it is too fast.
My question for the paint mixers has always revolved around cavitation and how much air is introduced into the paint mix by either a paint stirring mixer like the Badger or the ball inside of the container when using a paint shaker. Creating a frothy mixture can't be good for the shelf life of the paint, and sure as heck isn't going to spray smoothly. I still shake and stir by hand. That said, I'd be most interested in hearing the experiences of others.
With all due respect... Oh hell no! That would kill the peace and tranquility feeling that modeling brings. Shaking a bottle by hand for a minute while contemplating an attack plan is way better. Next!....
These type shakers are very cheaply made. The strap for holding the paint breaks not soon after purchasing, the motor burns out and stops working. To sum it up, Waste of money ! Get a jig saw and a good clamp from hardware store, not harbor freight. And it will out perform this crappy design all day! Your Welcome!
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Phil, an alternative is to adapt a conventional jigsaw by replacing the blade with a clamp. I've found this to be very effective indeed with both tubes such as Vallejo and pots such as Tamiya. The clamp can hold the paint on two orientations, so giving it a thorough shake. Perfect and one less gadget to clutter the workshop.
Good review as always. I tried the home made shakers out of things like electric knives but am much happier with my shaker, but a couple of tips.
1. You dont need the expensive Robard one, get on Ebay and look for nail polish shaker, same thing at a fraction of the price (an usually come with spare straps.
2. have an agitator and if you cant hear that hand shaking then the machine wont do it, good angry shake by hand till that looses up and then drop it in the shaker for a few minutes while you charge your compressor or whatever.
3. (as mentioned) having the strap off center gives a better mix.
4. be careful with metal agitators on glass bottles and make sure that the lid is on tight, especially flip tops like vallejo metal color, stynelrez etc that can be kept off ya bench with a little bit of tape over the top.
I have the same ... and its half as loud as well
I have used my Robart Hobby Paint Shaker for several years. I really like that I can set it up and go about my business while it does it's thing.Never used a Stirrer, but it looks like you'd have to clean the tool, losing paint in the process.
I use this while I set up & prep for an airbrush session. It works like a steam locomotive. I added a form matt pad to the bottom to quiet down the noise. There's just a motor, a wheel, a rod & that's it. I lube the points of motion contact with model train grease. Had mine for for about 2 decades. Straps now are easier to find on Amazon. Mine also is hard wired for outlet use, not battery power. That came later.
I also use the power mixer although mine doesn't say Bager. The old version has a momentary paddle switch which I thought was better for control. For the hell of it I tried to mix up some chocolate milk in a 16oz. (473ml) glass, It worked!
Of all the mixers I've ever seen, I still like the one that I built the best. It consists of four wooden dowels, two three quarter of an inch at the top, and two one and a quarter inch at the bottom. All are set up in a frame about 24" long, with a slow gear motor from Micro-Mark in the side. I used an old round tinker toy as a driver, and use rubber O-rings between the tinker toy, and some groves in the dowels.
Some of the cans I use can make a bit of noise, but for the most part, the bugger is very quiet. It works particularly well, with agitators included in the various bottles. What is more it can usually fit all of the paints that I'm using for a project, as long as they are round. When I come home, I can hit the mixer, and the slow rotation gets all the paints ready for use. It uses little enough electricity, that I can leave it on overnight, when I think I'll have the time to jump to the bench.
Much of the design here was not my own, though mine is surely unique. I saw this type of thing that another hobbyist used, and I can't remember where, but it was before I had ever seen the internet.
Much of the painting I do today, I do with Vallejo, so I also have a laboratory vortex mixer on the bench, to shake the stew out of these just before I use a paint.
The only three downsides to this unit were in using the axils, which given that I made it out of scrap, used cut off nails. They are pretty good, and use wax as a lubricant, but I always thought they could do better. The second was the orings themselves don't last as long as one would like. I've never come up with anything to match them, but they do break a couple of times a year. The last failing, is that I've had to unscrew the drywall screws that hold the ends on, in order to change them, but they are also lubricated with wax, and so far, 33 years I think, it is holding up well.
A few years ago, I found this same kind of geared motor drive on ebay, over in china, at various rotation speeds for far less. I purchased a replacement for my original (Which has begun to run warmer.), and a backup, as well as two faster speeds. Some day, I'll give those a try.
Hi Phil. I use one for sometime. Practice showed if you attach bottle not in the middle but to the head it will work better.
All the best!
Phil I'v had one for years. The postman drops large elastic bands' which I pick up and use. They work great.
Thanks so much for this review, I found it very relaxing to watch. My main problem with the plunger / coffee frother is that first of all it might not suit everyone's needs. I use a lot of Grog Squeezers for example, it might not fit in the neck of the marker. Secondly, it's a bit of a messy option, since you're going to pull out the plunger once you're done and it'll be covered in paint and you'll have to clean it to avoid staining your work area and mixing the paint on the frother with the next tube you'll mix. But afterwards if you've not done good enough a job you'll have to plunge it again, so a lot of paint is being wasted everytime when you wipe off the plunger if I understand correctly.
This review of the shaker was really nice, what I would have done is show how long it takes for the paint to be completely mixed even for the hard ones. Maybe secure the shaker and go on a walk or something, and show what happens after 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, etc.
I've seen people mount these on their hobby room wall, if you turn it sideways when you put a bottle in you could put your agitators down and that side to side shake action might make your agitators break up that settled pigment faster.
My shaker just died and I used it quite a lot over at least 10 years or more. Robart makes a quality product and I will purchase a new one soon.
I have both, and I have to say the Badger mixer does a better job of mixing the paint and is less noisy. The Robart shaker is OK for small bottles, but I can agitate the paint better by hand shaking for larger ones, as the heavier the bottle, the less effective the shaker is. I find that paint bottles that have been sitting around for awhile don't mix very well with the shaker, but the Badger mixer does a great job of getting a good mix. The only down side I see to the Badger mixer is that you need to clean it right after mixing, to avoid drying on the stirrer and contaminating another color later on. A small container of appropriate thinners does a great job of cleaning it off.
I see a velcro strap working well as a replacement band !!
I can see the missus loving that going while she is watching coronation street!!!! 😂😂😂
If she starts stuttering she maybe using it also !!!!
I have the shaker and find it works great, especially for small tins like Colourcoat enamels. 2 bbs in each tin does the trick. Not quite as good for large bottles since the cycle rate slows down considerable.
I've had 2 of these. The first one I threw out as it was not working. The second I rebuilt and made it work better. The problem was the way the motor is held within the mechanism. It is weak plastic holding the motor, that's where the problem lay.
The Badger paint stirrer is a rebadged milk frother and the paint shaker is a nail lacquer shaker.
Yup. I've got both. Mixing paint properly and totally is the secret to great results time after time
I use the shaker rotating the bottle every minute or so
I've got good mixing in 3 minutes or less. I use the wand to mis thinners and drops of color in my airbrush cup. Probably wrong but it works for me
I learned this secret from Rip of "Rips Hobby Shop"
Testers and Pactra. .10 - .15 Cents per bottle
Rip would put in a few BB's in your bottle. Then I'd tape the bottles to the top of my bikes handle bars.
My hand brushed finishes looked as good if not better than older modelers with air brushes
Mix those paints. Keep then thinned also
I do both, Agitator balls in the paint and then on a nail polish shaker ( same thing, the model paint ones are just rebranded )
I made a shaker using a Quick Clamp riveted to a heavy duty reciprocating saw blade. It shakes the bejezus out of the paint. While that Robart shaker looks like a good idea it just doesn't seem to work very well.
you guys should check out Vortex mixer's. they are made for Lab use, But work great for mixing paint
very hard to find a mixing element to put in the hobby size bottles though, most are 22mm mixing elements
Are 5he vortex ones available in U.K. and if so do you know where from
@@Steve-dr7rr they're on Amazon
Oh yes. Phil. I enjoy your you tube videos. Life time modeler with a styrene addiction. Just got the Mosquito. Wow. Waiting for your start. Got the 55" Type VII U-Boat also. Good job mate
Maybe I'm crazy but I kept looking at all the different ones and finally got the Four E's mini Vortex mixer. And at a hundred bucks it's not cheap and I'm not a wealthy person but I figured just get the best one and not have to replace it in a few months or possibly weeks. I say pull the trigger and fork over the money and get the best.That's just the way I saw it but I will say I'm glad I did.
i would say depending on the paint seperation and the kind of paint so maybe 2 mins to (depends on if you also rotate it seems) 15 mins. but this is also keeping all the paint in the bottle so you dont lose any paint. maybe use the stirring for the bulk of it then use the shaker.
I have both yes it takes awhile for the shaker, and its a bit pricey. Us dollar $50 bucks' the stir around $12 or $8 it depends sale. Shaker is ok. But the stir is the best. My opinion
Phil you can buy replacements from ebay or amazon. but just keep it out of the sun and it will last for years. I kept mine in a draw.
Also, you can spray those straps with silicone. This lubricates the rubber to make it last longer.
Wow, that shaker is nice but its still kinda loud! A buddy of mine made one out of a reciprocating saw (jigsaw) and it makes about half the noise compared to this Robart.
For about the same money as the Robart, you can buy a good but used vortex mixer with veriable speed from ebay. Should make pretty short work of mixing a small jar of modeling paint.
have you tried the vortex paint mixers like labs use to mix content of test tubes
it has problems with bigger bottles as its just a re-branded nail varnish shaker, tho for me id probable get one as I use small bottles of paint and its hard to get the stirrer in them and as said below you have to get the paint of the stirrer and then clean it out wasting paint.
Ponytail hair warps for replacement rubber strips last longer and are cheaper
Maybe if you secure the bottle more towards the end of the bottle you might get a bit more ''swing'' if you know what I mean...
my only issue is wasting paint on the stirrer...when you take it out it will have paint on it...
I think in conclusion you need to manually disturb the pigment at the bottom either using a ball bearing et al or stirrer but once everything is floating around it probably does the job
James Perrin. Spot on.
agreed
Hi can you tell me where you got the paint shaker from many thanks Steve
Google is your friend
I've been using a Robart for 7 years now with no problems. Place it on a pillow and the noise drops by half.
I use mine for mixing Vallejo, Ammo and AK paints as my Badger Mixer does not fit in them...
I use a Tamiya handy drill for those types of bottles, just cut off a piece of sprue to use as an the agitator. Don't try this with a dremel, it is too fast.
I filed down my mixer enough so it fit through the neck of Vallejo and Ammo, did not take much and it still works fine.
cant you just pop the lid off? thats what ive done to mine (i use the game/model air range)
I have neither , but I would prefer to stir.
That is a bit loud.
do you think the Badger Air-Brush Co. 121 Paint Mixer would work on the Testors 1/4 Fl. OZ/ 7.4 ml bottles?
what kind of adjutant-or do you use? Can you provide link on ebay? I learned the hard way not to use bbs:(
Very happy with the paint shaker
would one of these work with citadel paint pots?
mine broke after a weeks use . replaced the motor and that went too. not that great.
I tape my bottles on to my kids legs and let them run around the park Works awesome lol.
Can you tell the guys outside to knock off the jackhammer work for a few minutes, I would like to hear how loud the shaker is
I use a modified coffee frother from Ikea to stir my paint.
Strap the paint bottle to a vibrator if you have one handy.
I'll ask the wife if I can borrow hers.
Great job!
My question for the paint mixers has always revolved around cavitation and how much air is introduced into the paint mix by either a paint stirring mixer like the Badger or the ball inside of the container when using a paint shaker. Creating a frothy mixture can't be good for the shelf life of the paint, and sure as heck isn't going to spray smoothly.
I still shake and stir by hand. That said, I'd be most interested in hearing the experiences of others.
You don't have to clean the shaker unlike the mixer. Therefore it saves money in the long run
just a make a box and sell for double price LOL . Look for nail polish shakers at aliexpress
Mine broke after 40paints shaken
With all due respect... Oh hell no! That would kill the peace and tranquility feeling that modeling brings. Shaking a bottle by hand for a minute while contemplating an attack plan is way better. Next!....
Not impressed...too big, and take the same, even more time than the old bdager stirrer...
Buy extra bans
I steal my gf vib, clean it up and put it back...np
Very helpful videos but you've got to stop saying "right the way though". It's very distracting right the way through.
These type shakers are very cheaply made. The strap for holding the paint breaks not soon after purchasing, the motor burns out and stops working. To sum it up, Waste of money !
Get a jig saw and a good clamp from hardware store, not harbor freight. And it will out perform this crappy design all day! Your Welcome!
Seems like a waster of money and overall impracticable compared to the handheld Badger paint mixer.
this thing is total crap!
Garbage, they burn up. Been through 3. Buy a centrifuge mixer.