Usually, getting ready to paint miniatures looks something like this: making your wrists sore while you shake and mix the paint by hand. Not cool! In order to avoid the headaches of shaking paints by hand, you have to make sure you’re choosing the right paint mixer, and you have to make sure you know how to use it.

By the end of this article, you’ll know exactly how to use the best low-budget warhammer paint mixer like an elite tier painter!

For the visual learners among you miniature hobbyists out there, we’ve created a no-nonsense video tutorial on our YouTube channel. Click here to watch that now.

If you’d rather follow along with written instructions on how to use this warhammer paint shaker, feel free to read on!

1.) Getting Started With Your Warhammer Paint Mixer

First thing’s first, before you think about shaking your paints, you need to have the right miniature paint shaker at the ready. There are literally hundreds of options on the market, but the majority have debilitating negative aspects about them. For example, vortex paint shakers, which require you to push the paint pot into the machine for it to operate, actually cause significant nerve damage from prolonged usage.

One paint mixer that works perfectly with Citadel and Vallejo paint pots (plus any other brand of mini paint you can think of) that I recommend is the ForPro Polish Paint Shaker. I’ve been using this for my hobby paint shaking needs for years, and it still produces a perfect paint consistency and hasn’t failed me!

If you want to read our detailed review about this shaker, click this link.

But, before you even get started with your paint mixing, you need to begin with your preperation. It’s a very simple and often forgotten aspect about mixing hobby paint, but, if you do it now, you’ll thank yourself later. Always remember to add 2 stainless steel mixing balls to each of your paint pots before you shake! Now that you’ve got your preparation out of the way, let’s show you how to use this paint shaker properly.

2.) Unboxing – What Comes Inside The Box

When you first unbox your ForPro nail polish shaker, you’ll find the contents of the box comes with everything you need.

There’s a simple 3 page instruction manual, an A/C power adaptor to plug your paint shaker into an outlet (you can also run this paint mixer with 3 double A batteries, but it runs at a lesser power level, and the batteries are not included).

There’s also a pack of elastic bands that you’ll use to secure your paint pots to the mixing machine, and finally, the amazing paint mixer itself.

3.) How To Set Up Your Mini Paint Pot Mixer

The setup for your mixing machine is literally as easy as one, two, three!

First, plug your A/C power adaptor into the back of the machine, and then into the outlet.

Next, place your paint pot in the center of the paint pot holder, and use the elastic straps to secure the pot to the mixing machine.

Then finally, press the power button on the front to start mixing your mini paints! There’s no easier, nor more efficient paint mixer on the market today.

4.) How To Increase Your Mini Paint Pot Shaker’s Life Span

There’s nothing more useless to a miniature hobbyist than a broken tool. This tip is the most important because it will increase the lifespan of your machine. Both the instruction manual and I both agree that you should only use the machine in small bursts.

The good news is, the machine stirs your paint in such a quick and efficient manner, that you only need to let it run for about 20-40 seconds tops.

This allows your hands to be free to set up the rest of your hobby station, but remember, never ever turn the machine on and walk away! If you do that and leave it running for hours, you might burn out the motor in the mixing machine!

We’ve never stress tested this machine on our own (yet) but we still advise you to only mix your paints in small bursts. After every 2-3 paint pots, give your machine a little break to cool down too. A minute break between every 3 paint pots is more than enough to increase your hobby tool’s lifespan.

5.) DIY Paint Pot Mixer Tips & Tricks

If you want to get the most mixing potential out of this machine, there’s several small bits of advice that compile into being extremely useful for your miniature hobby needs.

The first nifty trick I can give you is for if you lost your elastic safety bands that keep your paint pots secured to the mixing station.

If you ever do lose them, you can replace them with these elastic hair bands that you can find in almost any store you can think of! They’re a cheap and potent replacement if you ever lose your original safety bands. 

Another tip I have for you will make sure your paint mixes at just a fraction of the original time, while also increasing the paint’s mixture consistency. Using stainless steel mixing balls, like the ones by the army painter, will streamline your paint mixing, and when used in combination with the Warhammer paint mixer you read about in this tutorial, you’ll have perfect paints every time.

The final tip I have for you is for particularly troubling colors you might have, which refuse to mix properly. You ever have a pot of Corax White by Citadel? If you do, then you’ve probably noticed that no matter how hard you shake, the paint remains unmixed with the tint, and there’s this grey liquid residue floating above the color.

If that ever happens to you, all you have to do is add just the tiniest droplet of water into your paint pot, and mix like normal. After you do that, your consistency should be perfect once again!

6.) Wrapping Up Your Miniature Paint Mixer Tutorial

The short length of this tutorial is a testament to the ease of use that comes with this paint shaker. I bought it at such a low price many years ago, and it still functions like brand new, thanks to the care I put into keeping it maintained, and due to the quality craftsmanship of the machine itself.

Any miniature hobbyist who enjoys painting needs to get this mixer as soon as they can. I cannot stress enough how useful this little tool has been in my toy soldier hobby experience, and I sincerely hope you find the same amount of functionality that I did. The only other thing left to master now is brush care! Our friend Andrew at Tangible Day has a great article that can teach you how to keep your brushes in pristine condition.

As far as the mixer goes however, this tool is a practical addition to any mini hobbyist’s arsenal, and after reading this tutorial, now you know how to use it like a pro.