Studio Tube Wringer
In February this year I finally bought a tube wringer. Hooray! I absolutely love this little hard working device. Read on to hear why.
It was cold when I arrived in my studio so I kept my (as Tom Jones says) hat on. With the radiator slowly generating heat, a cup of tea made and Radio 3 for company (and for mental distraction); I began the task of squeezing out some fresh oil paint for the morning’s painting. This is usually a joyful process. Unless I am in one of those days when I have either run out of the colours I need or am piqued by a sense of guilt at having so many tubes of paint half used. I have hundreds! It is so much quicker and easier to grab a new tube than have the hassle of squeezing a tube which may be solidifying because I don't usually replace the tops after using.
In my defense, my painting practice involves working at speed and the fiddle of undoing caps and using up the remains of paint, means that inevitably I end up with many nearly used up tubes paint.
So every now and then I spend an hour or more conscientiously trying to eke out the last drop of paint from dozens of tubes. Coiling the tubes by hand gets to be physically hard work and mentally tiresome. And I hate the fact that a quantity of the precious pigment still inevitably ends up unused and binned.
Oil paint, especially professional quality paint ranges from moderately expensive to frighteningly dear, from say £20 for a tube to many times that depending on the quality and colour. So my efforts here are not that of a miser. Money saved can be spent on new art materials.
I grew up with parents who had lived through the Second World War and its after effects. They had a habit of using up every last drop of a product such as toothpaste. My mother would heroically cut open a tube to max out the last drop. And why not. On a tight budget such prudence was a necessity for many. I have inherited this tendency of disliking waste and see it as a way of not squandering resources and not taking for granted how lucky we are to lead more affluent lives.
So today at last, I have the help of a heavy-duty tube wringer. It saves my time, effort and money. I wish I had bought one years ago!
I did due diligence and researched online before clicking on my choice. I went for the following item from the excellent Jacksons Art Supplies of London. I have used Jacksons as well as other suppliers over many years. Jacksons have one of the best ranges of art materials and supplies in the World. They have always given me a great service. My perosnal recommendation is for the following:
Tube Wringer 401 Heavy Duty Tube Squeezer, which cost £31 pound. The Model 401 is an indispensible tool for heavy shop use. Counter top adhesives, glue, and caulking. It is made of metal and if kept in your painting studio, you will find it reliable and long lasting. It will save you a lot of energy and money through enabling you to get the very last drop of paint out of each of your paint tubes.
The fact that it could cope with 225ml Michael Harding tubes swung it for me. This is the first time I have recommended a product specifically. I want to share my love of it with you and you can have a discount too. Jacksons Art Supplies have kindly granted me a link where you will get a 10% discount on all products purchased on your first order via this link:
You are very welcome to use this link and share. Just to note that I will receive a small commission as a thank you from Jacksons if you use the link to buy above. So you will be helping me pursue my art career me at the same time.
I will be posting a video of my first ever use of the tubewringer on my website. I chose and filmed the video using the tube wringer before I made a affiliate link to Jacksons so my recommendation for this is based upon my own needs as an artist and I have used Jacksons very happily for many years.