Just saw what happens when you store paint tubes squeezed from the middle vs the end

I traded my half-used ultramarine to someone last month and they gave me back this tube that looked fine on the outside. When I opened it, the paint was all crusty and separated because they'd been squeezing it from the middle every time. The before was a tube that still had maybe 15% left but after 4 weeks of being stored that way, the pigment was basically ruined and I couldn't mix it smooth no matter how long I kneaded it. Has anyone else had a tube turn bad from bad squeezing habits?

2 comments

2 Comments

michael6935d ago

Did you try warming it up on a radiator to see if the oil would reincorporate at all?

margaret_singh15d ago

Honestly, the radiator trick is a good thought but I tried that for like 20 minutes on low heat and it just made the crusty bits melt into a weird oily sludge. Ngl I've definitely been guilty of squeezing from the middle myself sometimes when I'm rushing and don't care, but this tube taught me a harsh lesson. Tbh I'm probably the worst painter in my local group because I'll ruin a tube of paint just by being lazy with how I handle it. At this point I figure the universe is punishing me for all those years I squeezed toothpaste from the middle too lol.