Dried Paint

[Sebstar]

Hey fellas,

damn, it sure has been a while! anyway, after a 4.5 year absence, I decided to take out the old kits and start painting again. anyway, some of the lids of the paint jars are now stuck to the bottles themselves (tamiya paints)... Some have taken some brute force but others haven't budged....

I've tried getting between the lid with some paint thinner but it appears to be a futile attempt.

So anyway, does anyone have any tips on how to get the paintlids unstuck?

ta

[MPWR]

Wow, welcome back!

My favorite way of opening Tamiya acrylics that have sealed themselves closed is to turn the bottles upside down, fill the lip around the lid with 99% isopropyl alcohol and leave them sit for 10-20min. They usually open pretty reliably then.

[pirata12]

You could dunk them in boiling water to loosen things up?

[Sebstar]

thanks mate.
will give that a go tomorrow... gonna head to bed now. 12:45am!!

[racer917]

You could also try tapping the plastic lid with a screwdriver, hammer or whatever and then wrap some rubber bands around the lid and the bottle. You'll be surprise what a tight grip they will give you and prevent your hands from slipping.

[drunken monkey]

Hot water on the lid and a rubber band help me a lot.
Then again, I've never had to deal with years old paint.