# mixing palettes for epoxy and other small jobs



## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

I drink bottled drinks with screw on/off lids. they make great throw away or even reusable epoxy mixing palettes. soda caps, milk jug caps, lotsa places to find em. ask friends, family and neighbors to save em for you if you don't use those types of bottles yourself. sgrig and I swear by em! any other ideas?


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## Dslot (Sep 2, 2007)

I always have three sizes of small ziplock poly bags (jewelry department at Hobby Lobby) on hand for small parts storage. Just cut some cereal-box cardboard to size and slip it inside to give the bag some stiffness & weight. Mix on the poly surface. Once the epoxy's cured, you can just peel it off and you have a fresh surface for the next batch.

Actually anything made of polyethylene is great. I store stuff in poly storage cases, so there's usually one on the table. I often mix epoxy right on top of the storage case. The cured epoxy just peels or pops off, and any uncured goo wipes off with a tissue or paper towel.

If you have a useless little dog, and a wife who insists on feeding it the expensive 'gourmet' dog food (grrrr), the little pans make good worktable parts and project trays. Turn them over and they make a decent mixing surface, with a slight lip at the edge to stop any runover. They clean off pretty well, or you can just toss them because there'll be another available right after the next doggie dinner. Now, if I could only figure something to do with the little pebbly-foil peel-off tops ...


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## Hornet (Dec 1, 2005)

I use the plastic lids off coffee cans for mixing on,but i like Al's idea better:thumbsup:
Rick


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

I use big lids for when I need some brush touch from an aerosol. Spoof enough on to pool it, and go to work. If it thickens or dries too fast, a dollop of thinner rejuvinates it. Toss it when I'm done.

I use medium lids for wet sanding. They keep me slopping too much at one time. They're also quite helpful for keeping the parts for individual projects organized/seperated; but still handy. I couldnt work without mediums!


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## wheelszk (Jul 8, 2006)

I don't fix stuff, I just throw it away, or get new.


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## tjd241 (Jan 25, 2004)

*Cat's gotta eat, so why not?*

I use 6 inch disposable paper plates. Not the very cheapest kind that have a raw unfinished surface, but the next step up that have a shiny surface. Dixie makes them and many supermarkets have their own store-brand version. They come in handy for mixing small amounts of glue, mixing custom paint colors from bottles, or even spraying bomb-can spurts for touch-ups when only a small amount is needed. Doesn't hurt that the cat eats off them too. When they get a little crowded with paint or dried epoxy puddles you just toss them. I also cut them up and in strips they make good spatulas for gathering up a puddle of freshly mixed epoxy. 10 inchers work too.


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## sidejobjon (Jun 3, 2010)

Old Playing cards, Don`t take up much room on work bench. Also has a tuff surface. I use craft popcicle stick for mixing cut in half on 45 % degree angle .
ALL good ideas
Thanks


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## Mexkilbee (Apr 17, 2008)

Dslot said:


> I always have three sizes of small ziplock poly bags (jewelry department at Hobby Lobby) on hand for small parts storage. Just cut some cereal-box cardboard to size and slip it inside to give the bag some stiffness & weight. Mix on the poly surface. Once the epoxy's cured, you can just peel it off and you have a fresh surface for the next batch.
> 
> Actually anything made of polyethylene is great. I store stuff in poly storage cases, so there's usually one on the table. I often mix epoxy right on top of the storage case. The cured epoxy just peels or pops off, and any uncured goo wipes off with a tissue or paper towel.
> 
> If you have a useless little dog, and a wife who insists on feeding it the expensive 'gourmet' dog food (grrrr), the little pans make good worktable parts and project trays. Turn them over and they make a decent mixing surface, with a slight lip at the edge to stop any runover. They clean off pretty well, or you can just toss them because there'll be another available right after the next doggie dinner. Now, if I could only figure something to do with the little pebbly-foil peel-off tops ...


Burnish it flat/smash the dimples out & work it smooth, cut to size. Now you have non-feris magnet shims. 
Next, cut strips to fit inside rails of top plate, cut slot just big enough to let the arm shaft, cluster gear shaft slide into it, like a gear "feeler gauge" tighten arm gear & cluster gear down to wear its snug. pull out guage and disgard, enjoy your smoother/faster t-jet.


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## AfxToo (Aug 29, 2003)

I use the plastic lids from Yocrunch yogurt containers: 

http://www.yocrunch.com/#/yocrunch

and Dole fruit cup containers:

http://www.bing.com/search?q=dole+f...08B15F7EB4F664652D26EE3EA1E71&first=0&shash=1

I use these for brush painting lexan bodies and scenery. I also keep a few of these in my pit box and use them for keeping all the parts from a car tear-down together at the track so they don't end up scattered or lost. At home on the bench I use something similar to the following for tiny parts management (TPM):

http://www.origincrafts.com/tg550439.html

I'm always looking for opportunities to recycle and repurpose ordinary stuff from everyday life into my hobbies, much to the chagrin of my spouse. I think I have a couple feet worth of those yogurt caps. I finally did break down and toss out a big stack of AOL CDs that used to come in the mail every day a few years back. The 5 1/4" floppies followed, and then the 3 1/2" ones, but not before I pulled them apart and rescued the springs from the shutter doors. I always dissect dead electronics for reusable parts. Hard drives and optical drives have some incredible neo magnets, lots of tiny screws and nuts, springs, LEDs, wires, plastic doohickeys, connectors, and various other "you never know when you might need that" sorts of things. I keep them all in parts bins organizers. Lots of parts bin organizers....


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## jobobvideo (Jan 8, 2010)

great now I have to expand my parts bins after dissecting old electronics...already have a good supply of parts for house/car...thanks for the tip:thumbsup:


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## Bill Hall (Jan 6, 2007)

"I'm always looking for opportunities to recycle and repurpose ordinary stuff from everyday life into my hobbies, much to the chagrin of my spouse." 


...which remindeds me, I better go see what I left fermenting in my delicously aromatic pinesol filled cottage cheese container.....from under the kitchen sink.... right next to the Tarnex vat of stench, the **** and span rouge bucket of grit, and the anti friction concotion of mineral oil/bon ami container.


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## bearsox (Apr 22, 2006)

*A sign of getting old but as i now eat lots of JELLO for late eve snacks ( sugar free ) i save and use those cups to mix up all kinds of stuff ! Very handy for my short run rubber projects and former resin projects as well .

Bear :wave:
*


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## GTHobbyandRaceway (Nov 23, 2011)

I had some old baby food containers, the new gerber organic ones come in these rectangular deep containers, nice wide opening with lids that snap on. of course it was far too late when I realized they're application. my daughter was starting to eat solid foods.
Also I work at an autobody jobber in Scranton and we always have leftover pt and qt lids from burnin up cans tinting paint when we cant get a color match. so we'll mix variants and do camera shots until it's right, this leaves me with pack upon pack of Ball lids. these are awesome for mixing anythign right in as upside-down they have a very tall lip with a smooth, level surface. 
We also sell "Clean Sheets" a Bondo mixing pallete with 100 re-useable sheets attached to 1/4" mdf board with thumbhole. they are non-bleeding and when your done tear the sheet off and toss. Got many useful things from airbrushes to touchup paint and the custom fill aeresol cans we make(awesome, any color in a buzzcan!).
more recently I disovered the use of Prostripe pinstriping we stock. very nice for lane striping as they have a wide array of colors and even dual stripes to get two lines down at once as I did last night on my oval.


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