Are my settled Alcohol Ink Mixatives beyond help??

[mrsclark2001]

I just scored a huge lot of Tim Holtz Adirondack Alcohol Inks at a garage sale and can't wait to try them out. Included in the bunch are mixatives such as pearl, silver, copper and gold. I understand from research that each bottle includes a mixing ball but all of the mixitives have settled on the bottom and the ball is stuck too. I've tried shaking but no luck so far.

Does any one have experience in shaking them back to life or some other method to get them mixed and usable?

If I can't salvage them, it's not a big deal, because the rest of the colors I got were such a good score. Thanks in advance.

[TeeGeeDee]

Have you tried rolling the bottles to loosen the ball? Or, tap the bottle on the side OPPOSITE where the ball seems stuck (both tips were passed along to me a very long time ago).

Hope something helps and...
Great score!

[RenT]

Yep I'd suggest holding the bottle by the cap and smacking the side of it on your table a few times. Then hold it straight up and down and slam it onto the table, like you're slamming down a drink lol. These have worked for me after several minutes of shaking didn't.

[meeyore151]

My mixatives did the same thing not that long ago (probably December?), I shook them like crazy and banged them off of anything in arm's reach but the balls were stuck in two of them and I assumed I'd have to replace them. Then just a week or so ago I went to play with my alcohol inks again, forgot which colors were stuck, shook them all and suddenly the balls were loose in all of them! I have no idea what changed. So I recommend to keep trying!

[Bohodiva]

In addition to the settling it could be the temperature of the storage area causing them to thicken.

[rockybeta]

Maybe putting them in hot water up to the neck of the bottle will loosen things up for you.

D

[TeeGeeDee]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rockybeta

Maybe putting them in hot water up to the neck of the bottle will loosen things up for you.

D

Sometimes rolling them between your palms is enough warmth to get results. Worth a try, imo.

[mrsclark2001]

Thanks for all the tips. I got them all unstuck with a combination of banging them on a desk and shake-shake-shaking until I almost worked up a sweat!