Paint Pots - Shaken, Not Stirred

From time to time I need to paint this or that. I prefer potted paints because spray cans produce a considerable mess. Painting with a Neoprene roller produces smooth surfaces that are nice enough for my requirements. Usually the surfaces to be painted are not too large, so a part of the paint remains in the pot for later use - and for in(de)finite time.

Re-opening a paint pot after it was in stock for some time can be a little adventurous, and whenever this is done, the paint in the pot needs to be thoroughly stirred (which, in itself, can produce some mess).

When, on the other hand, you have your paint mixed in your desired colour tone at your friendly neigbourhood DIY store, they do it there with an automatic shaker that I always have regarded with some envy.

My idea was to have my paint pots shaken, too. But not manually.

The idea itself - as most of them - is not new, and my solution is far from being rocket science. There even exists another instructable showing the use of a jig saw for shaking small paint flasks (https://www.instructables.com/Paint-Pot-Mixer-Shaker-With-a-Jig-Saw/). But designing a shaker with an electric motor and a lot of mechanical components seemed to be a little overkill for my purpose, and so that was out of the question for now.

But a virtually new vibrating platform called 'VibroShaper' was hanging around in my basement. I had used it only a few times, but it was laid off soon after because it caused me some knee joint troubles and back pain. So I thought, why not give it a new purpose and transform it into a VibroShaker instead of throwing it out?

So the VibroShaper was set up for a quick-and-dirty test. However, just putting the paint pot on it and switching it on is not the best of all possible solutions - the paint pot either jumps off, or it bounces to the center where movement is minimum.

Fixing the paint pot near the VibroShaper's edge with some pieces cut from scrap wood and some bungee straps was the path of least resistance for me. It also prevents the paint pot's lid from popping off while shaking, which might produce a considerable mess. I made the diameter of the wood pieces so that they fit into the lids of the two paint pot sizes I have in stock. As an afterthought, I added some pieces of a sturdy rubber mat that was lying around in my workshop, too. Top and bottom views of two of these adapter pieces are given in step 4.

BTW: The circular shape of the wood pieces was my first idea. But after all, I think that wooden squares can do the job well enough - and then it perhaps can be done even without the recesses for the bungee straps.

• An unused/cheap/old/retired 'VibroShaper' or similar product (see picture above)
• Some scrap pieces of sturdy plywood (or some other wood, or MDF, or chipboard - whatever)
• White wood glue
• If desired, some scrap pieces of heavy-duty 'anti-vibration' rubber mat (the type that is used, e.g., to be put under washing machines)
• Polyurethane (PU) wood glue or contact adhesive for attaching the rubber to the wood
• Some short bungee straps (60 cm or less)

I only had to buy the bungee straps, two of them cost me about CHF/EUR/US$ 5.

Tools: Power tools are not really necessary. However, when using them, you can save yourself a lot of elbow grease and transpiration.

• A band saw - or jig saw, hand saw, hack saw, whatever
• A disc or belt sander - or some sand paper wrapped around a sanding block made from a piece of scrap wood
• Some C-clamps
• Some more pieces of scrap wood for putting under the rubber pieces for clamping while the glue sets

• Cut your scrap wood pieces (and the optional ruber mats) to the desired outline(s) and size(s). BTW, cutting the heavy-duty rubber mat with the band saw very slowly nicely worked and showed to be rather efficient, because cutting it with a knife is very tedious.
• Cut four recesses (if needed at all) into the upper wood piece for fixing the bungee straps
• Smooth the edges with the sander or sand paper
• Glue the pieces together with some wood glue (see pictures of the finished pieces above)
• Clamp them together while the glue sets - you can do something else during the curing time
• Glue the rubber pieces to the lower side of your wood stack. When using PU wood glue, clamping the assembly again is recommended. When using contact adhesive, coat both surfaces, let them air until the adhesive is dry to the touch, and then clamp them together - they should adhere instantly

Done!

• Put your paint pot on the VibroShaker
• Put your wood-and-rubber 'interface' parts upon the paint pot
• Fix all of it on the VibroShaker using some bungee straps
• It is a good idea to put one of your knees onto the platform so the Shaker will not move around while you pull on the bungee straps
• Tie a knot into the bungee straps if they should be too loose
• Set the integrated timer to maximum (10 min in my case)
• Turn it on and have some coffee (or tea) while your VibroShaker is busy with the hard work

Done!

A short video clip of the VibroShaker under full steam can be downloaded below.

In case you should prefer spray cans, then why not strap one of them onto the shaker? I imagine that might work out ok as well.

The pictures above show some dark gray paint within the same pot, before and after 30 minutes of shaking at top speed. The paint in this example pot had been in my store for several years, and I admit that shaking it up thoroughly took some time - while I was happily busying myself with something else.

Considering the long shaking time, manually stirring old paint seems no more like a totally bad idea to me. But since I have my shaker now, it goes without saying that I feel obliged to use it. :-)

It's clear to all of us that buying a VibroShaper, for the single purpose of converting it into a paint pot shaker, is neither economical nor does it make any sense.

But if you have one that is hanging around doing nothing else except taking up space and collecting dust, then don't send it to the recyclers or even to the landfill. It seems a good idea to me to (ab)use it for shaking your paint pots. The same applies if you can find a used one for next to nothing at a backyard or garage sale or at your local flea market.