Cool trick!

[Angelle Sambre]

I was in a local hobby shop yesterday, gathering this and that. I popped the lid off a couple paints I was buying. In response to the owner's funny look ( here is a guy that sees me monthly, so I am far from a stranger!) I unapologetically announced, "I am tired of buying paints at $3 a pop or more, and getting them home only to find they have emulsified! I stir them up with a toothpick, but that dosen't always work so well, and it is messy!" Now the shoe was on his foot! "Yeah, some of those HAVE been sitting on the shelf for a while! But why don't you try this? Pop a BB pellet or small screw into the jar, and shake it around?"
Damn, and I always wondered what that ball in a spray can was for! Since the box of pellets I got was cheap enough (250 for $2 at WalMart on the way home!), I decided if some is good... more is better! I popped 2 in each "problem child", and so far... works great! I don't know if I just missed the bus, and this is fairly common knowledge; or nobody else is having this problem... but I thought it was cool, and wanted to pass it on!
Next times topic: Why you should not squeeze the superglue too close to the 19" flatscreen monitor! Ha ha!

[ModernKiwi]

Well so long as you keep in mind that the ball bearings will eventually rust. Of course if you're not planning on keeping your paint in the bottle for long enough for that to happen, then yep it works rather well I am told.


Also, moved topic to painting

[Paul]

I use small brass nuts to get the same effect. The paint I use comes in glass jars so this meant tipping it into plasic roll film containers first, I didn´t fancy trying this with the glass ones and having it shatter in my hands. It works just fine.

[poky]

have heard of it before still need to try it I keep forgetting to get stainless balls . would small marbles work or would that be to light?

[Tantallon2]

Lead shot (for fishing) would work (I think BB shot is normally lead rather than steel so wouldn't be a problem with rust). One downside of using lead though is that you should NEVER, EVER lick your brush after putting it in the paint tin. This puts me off as I have a bad habit of licking my brush a lot (also why I tend to stick to well known acrylics as these aren't a stoxic!)

[Paul]

have heard of it before still need to try it I keep forgetting to get stainless balls . would small marbles work or would that be to light?

I´ve got stainless balls, well i do wash them regularily.....er? ..I´m not sure what I mean with that. Small marbles would work, the ones in some spray cans are nothing more than that.

[The Observer]

I usually only use "Barinki balls" , small hardened and conservated balls knipped off right between the legs of the legendary "Golden Ball Apes" or "Ballbearer Chimp". The "Ballbearer" is a small , only 10-20 cm big ape who is blessed with enourmous testicles wich reaches almost a third of the whole body , covered by a yellow to golden fur. A small contingent of these hard to find chimps live in the tropical rainforests of the Barinki Area southwest of Indonesia. Collected during matrimony time (while the balls are bigger than usual) in dozens you can buy them via internet or directly by "Mr.Wong´s Delicate Deeds Inc." !
These work excellent inside paint botttles and also give a smooth , deep , banging sound while shaking!

[Paul]

I usually only use "Barinki balls" , small hardened and conservated balls knipped off right between the legs of the legendary "Golden Ball Apes" or "Ballbearer Chimp". The "Ballbearer" is a small , only 10-20 cm big ape who is blessed with enourmous testicles wich reaches almost a third of the whole body , covered by a yellow to golden fur. A small contingent of these hard to find chimps live in the tropical rainforests of the Barinki Area southwest of Indonesia. Collected during matrimony time (while the balls are bigger than usual) in dozens you can buy them via internet or directly by "Mr.Wong´s Delicate Deeds Inc." !
These work excellent inside paint botttles and also give a smooth , deep , banging sound while shaking!

and meanwhile the Golden Ball Apes are making jagged , high pitched, screeching sounds and shivering wide eyed

[The Observer]

..yes of course they do-older apes have been seen gathering together , squieking with an unnatural high voice and searching between each other legs for .. something....


but also the natural habit of those apes is too dangerous for them , as mother nature haven´t think too good , because many of them were killed while peeing from a mangrove tree and losing weight due to the enormous weight of the balls regarding to their own weight!
Seriously reduced were the population of the "Ballbearer Chimp" through another strange phenomen- The "Tzaaa-Tzziiik-Ihh" or "Ball Pointer Bird"-a little Coolibri Variant Bird with a stencil-like mouth who picks into anything which looks nearly the same as a ball-many of the little apes lost their lives after being investigated by the "Ball Pointer Bird" , holding their testicles with both hands while plunging to the ground , because their tail cannot solely take the weight and hold them up in the trees....... Hmmm thats nature

[Paul]

Just a mo. Putting these animals in the paint pots and then the shaking action. Maybe that´s why it´s refered to as "bashing the monkey" or?

[The Observer]

no no no-don´t hurt the animals!

In our days the "Barinki Balls" were usually produced at so called "Barinki Ball Farms" in which thousands of the "Golden Ball Chimps" were held and feed. They are watching t.v.series like "Baywatch" , "Sex and the City" and "Knight Rider"(for the converted ones ) even 24h a day ,wich let grow their testicles to an enormous size . Then ,in the comercial break , they were put upon a shelf with a cut out line underneath them . Then they have to watch the whole episodes of "Rome" - while watching concentrated, the apes are quickly twisted two times , causing them to smile in exstacy while under the shelf a double bladed rotating scissor is cutting off any prominent parts. Afterwards the strangely smiling apes were collected and - after medical advice and support - , were then brought out to the "Wah-rushnakh- Isles" wich means "Island of neverending Smile".
Here they live happily together - but also sometimes lonely apes could be seen grabbing between their legs, holding just only a coconut .......

[T. Dürrschmidt]

Thanks for the advise mate. Never heard of it. My dad has in his hobby room some old ball-bearings (he scratchbuilds machines like lahtes or milling machines). I think the metal balls in this bearings are stainless steel.

I will give it a try.