Well pulled out my tackle box and did inventory

[calcmandan]

Surprisingly, I got alot of paint but never used it. I will rethink the glue. Got a few ideas taken from a youtuber.

The box had a smell of paint thinner, so I was afraid it slowly leaked out. It may have but not completely. The thing feels full still. The tools were obtained at Lowes. The brushes and everything else were sourced at a hobby shop that may not be around anymore.

 

[Edbert]

Hard to tell with the little square bottles, but the model master ones...can you hear liquid inside if you shake them?

I pulled out about 50 bottles of model-masters paint back in 2024 when I picked the hobby up again. About 40 of them were okay, the rest were ruined. They had been stored in a cool/dark place (a box in my closet) but 25-30 years did take a toll on some of them.

I bought a clean bottle of Testors thinner in the orange-label, still sold at Hobby Lobby, and added it to some that were liquid but "thick", several came back, revived if you will, but some had globs that didn't want to dissolve. Or they settled out really quickly and the "clear" part was yellowish. I tossed those.

Edit: regarding the glue...mine was Testors squeeze tube and it was all hardened. But since those days the liquid cements had come out, and speaking for myself, I'd never want to go back to the tube-glue again. It was a game-changer!

 

[Jakko]

Stir them with a flat stick. This may take some effort and time, but unless the seal on the cap was poor, it should normally bring enamel paint (like that Testors) back to useable state.