How much to you shake your cans?

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BABAR

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Asked with fear and trepidation, given the recent "do you lube your rod?" fiasco.:y:

For the rattle can crowd, how much shaking do you really HAVE to have before spraying? For me, once the ball starts rolling I give it about 100 shakes.
 
100 is excessive in my experience. You can feel the paint loosen up, once the ball is totally free inside the can and there is no apparent change in viscosity, a few more shakes are fine, and a few as you go during the painting to keep it loose. I prefer to paint on warm, dry summer days with no wind, and as always it takes more than one coat. I usually do most of my painting in black, so it is quite forgiving.
 
Let me just start off this reply by getting this out of the way now, and saying, GIGGITY!

I've got paint cans dating back 10 years [only ever used yellow once]. Generally, once the ball starts bouncing around, I'll shake vigorously for 60-90 seconds. After that, I can no longer tolerate the rattling noise.
 
Depending on the paint, about one minute to a minute and a half. In my experience, some paint will "sputter" with less shaking and ruin the finish, while other paints are just fine with 45 seconds or sometimes even less. Of course sputtering is sometimes due to a nearly empty can, but I have had similar experiences with full cans.
 
I first put the can in a bowl of hot water to warm the paint, even in 50F plus environment. I then usually shake for 60-90 seconds after the ball starts rattling. I make sure I "swirl" the ball around the interior of the can to get all the corners, etc. Not sure it's neccessary, but I want to do everything to make sure my paint is consistent. I've had very good luck. I use Rustoleum Ultra 2X.
 
I use the "swirl" method to mix a can of paint. Once the ball is moving, i give it about 60 to 90 seconds more. I worry that shaking may introduce some air bubbles into the paint. When i buy house paint, the stores open the can after they have shaken it to check the color, and there are always bubbles on top. I know that the pickup tube is on the bottom of the can, and any bubbles should rise above it, but i just feel better with "swirled not shaken". Just what works for me.

Mike
 
Until I have enough in my waistband for whatever kit I want.:wink:
 
I let the cans sit out in the sun for a bit before doing any shaking. During the winter, I let them stand in warm/hot water for the same reason.

Shaking is usually a bit more than required to get the agitator ball moving. Periodically during spraying I will stop and shake for a few seconds and then continue shooting color. Metallics seem to like to be shaken a lot.
 
When I was a kid, my Dad taught me 100 shakes. It's probably a little excessive, but I stick with that for colder days and cheat a little on warmer days.
 
That was probably a little too hard.
ALL of my cans look like that!
Shake can. Place in warm water. Shake can. Paint in low humidity.
Check nozzle before spraying on rocket.
Cornyl
 
After shaking for awhile, I then hold the can horizontally and slowly tilt it in one direction so that the ball rolls to the other end of the can. I'll gauge how the balls rolls in order to determine whether or not the paint is evenly distributed throughout the can. If it starts to roll Ok but then slows down then I continue to shake.
 
The instructions on the rattle can paint I use say to shake for 1 to 2 minutes.

I punch 2 minutes into the microwaves timer/counter and hit the 'start' botton. The rattle cans are shaken until the the microwaves beeper goes off.

While I have never counted the shakes, it's probly over several hundred times.

So far, I have gotten pretty good paint jobs from the dreaded New Krylon.
 
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The instructions on the rattle can paint I use say to shake for 1 to 2 minutes.

I punch 2 minutes into the microwaves timer/counter and hit the 'start' botton. The rattle cans are shaken until the the microwaves beeper goes off.

While I have never counted the shakes, it's probly over several hundred times.

So far, I have gotten pretty good paint jobs from the dreaded New Krylon.


Plus, the can is shaken even more as I head out of the house to paint in the back yard. :D
 
The instructions on the rattle can paint I use say to shake for 1 to 2 minutes.

I punch 2 minutes into the microwaves timer/counter and hit the 'start' botton. The rattle cans are shaken until the the microwaves beeper goes off.

While I have never counted the shakes, it's probly over several hundred times.

So far, I have gotten pretty good paint jobs from the dreaded New Krylon.

Plus, the can is shaken even more as I head out of the house to paint in the back yard. :D


The can is also shaken between light applications of the paint. :y:
 
If you are shaking it for 100 shakes then you are playing with it.

Asked with fear and trepidation, given the recent "do you lube your rod?" fiasco.:y:

For the rattle can crowd, how much shaking do you really HAVE to have before spraying? For me, once the ball starts rolling I give it about 100 shakes.
 
I use the "swirl" method to mix a can of paint. Once the ball is moving, i give it about 60 to 90 seconds more. I worry that shaking may introduce some air bubbles into the paint. When i buy house paint, the stores open the can after they have shaken it to check the color, and there are always bubbles on top. I know that the pickup tube is on the bottom of the can, and any bubbles should rise above it, but i just feel better with "swirled not shaken". Just what works for me.

Mike
Back in the 70s I went to Auto Body trade school for 4 years.
My instructor taught the SWIRL method. I have done it that way ever since.
Havent done any AutoBody since then tho........Well, thats not entirely true, I have painted a few pickups of mine over the years. But ,just a few.
 
Anyone remember the original Hawaii Five-O opening? Just tape a can to the hips of that hula dancer and it would be ready in about 5 seconds. And by it, I do not mean the can of paint. :wink:
 
I think that Seinfeld used a swirl technique, some prefer the clockwise...



Back in the 70s I went to Auto Body trade school for 4 years.
My instructor taught the SWIRL method. I have done it that way ever since.
Havent done any AutoBody since then tho........Well, thats not entirely true, I have painted a few pickups of mine over the years. But ,just a few.
 
If the paint cans have been sitting on cold concrete, in my garage, or in a 45-degree basement, I usually dunk (completely) my paint cans in a bucket of warm (not hot) water for a couple minutes, spin 'em while they're floating, then shake 'em about 30 seconds when I take 'em out.

Haven't had many problems with globby paint so I guess I must be doing OK.

:cool:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgZOYt5kH9Q
 
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  • One to two minutes for standard-sized spray paint cans.
  • Thirty seconds to one minute for Testor's and similarly sized cans (e.g., Krylon Short Cuts).
  • Three to five minutes for Rusto-Leum's extra large cans. I use the longer time if they appear to have been sitting on the shelf for awhile. I have been in some paint stores that look like they were last stocked during the Clinton Administration.

I check the time on my watch to insure that I continue shaking for the required duration. I switch hands when one gets tired.
 
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