IKEA Paint Mixer ~ Tuesday, September 07, 2010

I saw this "Produkt Milk-Frother", officially for making cappuccinos, a few months ago in the cheap bins by the checkout line in IKEA.



A model railroader is always on the lookout for anything that can be used for something other than its intended purpose, and to me the obvious application of this device was not coffee but model paint; the ring at the tip is just the right size to fit in standard jars.

I bought one, and got around to using it yesterday. I thought it would just vibrate but it actually spins--fast! I took off the spring-like "frothing wisk thingie" since that looked like it would be hard to clean--and probably result in a huge mess. The bare wire ring is fine for mixing paint, since we don't want bubbles.

The paint I wanted to use was metallic, "stainless steel", which made a good test, since it had separated and needed a lot of mixing. The "Improvised Produkt Paint Mixer" did a pretty good job. The only downside was that it spins pretty fast. I had to use short spurts to keep the paint from sloshing right out of the jar. A better solution might be just to use halfway used-up batteries.

Cleaning the tool is easy--run water over it, then take it outside and turn it on.