Cleaning old paint bottles?

[RedHeadKevin]

I went through my old paints today and got rid of some that are dried in the bottle. Rather than just junk the bottles, does anyone have a good method for cleaning paint out of the bottles? I'm thinking a soak in lacquer thinner or other solvent would get them clean, but is there something less messy and carcinogenic? They're Model Master bottles, which get expensive if you're buying them empty.

[southwestforests]

That might depend on whether it is Model Master enamel or Model Master Acryl.

[RedHeadKevin]

I've got a mix of MM acrylic, enamel and metalizer bottles I could clean.

[gsb5w]

I need to do that myself. I've got several dried bottle of MM enamels and I was going to use Easy Off oven cleaner.

[Kekker]

Get as much of the old paint out as you can. If it's tar, scrape it out. If it's a solid chunk, try chiseling off bits with an old knife blade.

The less you have in the jar, the less thinner you have to use. To minimize what you use, start with one jar, wait until it's done its work, then pour into the next jar. Repeat until the thinner is almost air brushable consistency. Then use a paper towel or Q tip soaked in clean thinner to do the final cleaning. Doing it this way will give you less thinner used and hopefully less in the air.

Make sure you keep those lids on while soaking and in between the pour out and the final clean. That should help keep the fumes down.

That's what I do, so I can use old jars for excess paint mixes. Then I have a spare amount and don't have to try to match a custom mix if I have to do a repair.

Kev

[irishtrek]

Since I only use the acrylic what I'll do is when the paint begins to dry is put the jar under running tap water.
And if the paint is unsalvageable I toss the jar but save the lid if it's still got the lid liner because lids will some times stick the rim of the glass and some times it winds up tearing and is unusable.

[Rocketeer]

Get as much of the old paint out as you can. If it's tar, scrape it out. If it's a solid chunk, try chiseling off bits with an old knife blade.

The less you have in the jar, the less thinner you have to use. To minimize what you use, start with one jar, wait until it's done its work, then pour into the next jar. Repeat until the thinner is almost air brushable consistency. Then use a paper towel or Q tip soaked in clean thinner to do the final cleaning. Doing it this way will give you less thinner used and hopefully less in the air.

Make sure you keep those lids on while soaking and in between the pour out and the final clean. That should help keep the fumes down.

That's what I do, so I can use old jars for excess paint mixes. Then I have a spare amount and don't have to try to match a custom mix if I have to do a repair.

Kev

Good advice all around. For thinner I use lacquer thinner, which seems to cut most paints with little trouble.

[duck]

I’ve soaked mine in a tube of purple power.

[seam-filler]

Since I only use the acrylic what I'll do is when the paint begins to dry is put the jar under running tap water.
And if the paint is unsalvageable I toss the jar but save the lid if it's still got the lid liner because lids will some times stick the rim of the glass and some times it winds up tearing and is unusable.

If the lid liner goes, just replace it with a circle cut from a silicone pastry cutting mat. The mat may be expensive, but it will provide hundreds of silicone seals for paints, etc. What's left of the mat has other uses too because it's not only non-slip, but virtually nothing will stick to it.