FOUR E'S SCIENTIFIC Mini Vortex Mixer - Lab Vortex Shaker with Extra Silicone Cap & 300 pcs 7/32 in Mixing Balls, 5600 RPM, for Acrylic Miniature Hobby Model Paints, Green

This is the second time I've purchased this vortex mixer. The quality and durability is unmatched by lesser models in the $30-$50 range. Yes, the price tag can be a bit daunting, but paying an extra $20-$30 is worth it for a product that not only does what its supposed to do but excels at it. As an avid miniature painter (Warhammer 40k and DND) and DIYer, believe me: this thing mixes everything: rattle spray cans? dropper bottles? those fat Citadel pots? ZERO ISSUES AND PERFECTLY MIXED EVERY SINGLE TIME. This beast could probably mix pancake batter and salad dressing in a mason jar if you wanted it to. Ease of use? Plug it in, flip the switch on, and press your container down onto the rubber 'nub'. The container will slightly suction onto the nub and as you press it will feel like its vibrating the container, but if you loosen your grip slightly, you'll notice its actually spinning the liquid AND vibrating it. I use this on spray paint cans: 60 seconds upside down, 60 seconds right side up, and maybe 60 seconds on the side if I'm feeling saucy. This is the fastest way you will ever mix paint and the consistency of the mix is perfection. No more pretending you're in a Shakeweight infomercial. For something designed to vibrate and spin liquids into a perfectly mixed consistency, it's quiet. Cheaper models are much louder and take 2-3 times as long for a worse consistency.

This vortex mixer has been very effective for the use that I got it for: quick, thorough mixing of small pots of liquid or semi-liquid paints. Specifically, Reaper MSP paints, Vallejo GameColor Inks, GreenStuffWorld Fluor paints, Secret Weapon, Army Painter, MIG, AK Interactive, Games Workshop contrast paints, and generally all types of thin washes and inks all mixed very well. The only caveat was around thicker paints: outliers like Vallejo Model Color dropper bottles and Games Workshop metallics pots (e.g. Leadbelcher) were too viscous to effectively mix. The device is heavy enough and the three-leg design with rubber feet is stable enough to prevent motion or drift while running the mixer on a desk surface. Sound while running is audible not but not loud. Quality assurance: my mini vortex mixer died after just over 11 months, with an internal mechanical fault that caused it to stop rotating/agitating despite electrical power still working and the top sensor switch still functioning. To their credit, 4E's Scientific did provide good support. They were communicative when the problem was reported through Amazon, and did quickly provide a within-warranty replacement after being provided with video of the fault. I would give this a guarded 5/5 rating due to the effective use of it with (nearly all) of the miniature paints I use it with and the warranty service that 4E's lived up to. If the warranty replacement mixer ends up breaking down the ranking would go down, but this is an excellent mixer while it runs properly. ==== Update 2022-07-12: the replacement mixer is still going strong after one year, so I would now give this an unreserved 5/5. ==== Update 2025-07-20: the replacement mixer is still going fine after ~4 years, so definitely an unreserved 5/5.

I was apprehensive about purchasing this. I had many bottles of acrylic and enamel paints that were stitting for a while and separated in the bottles. No bs, this thing mixed them perfectly. I also use it as opposed to shaking by hand, it does a much better job. Back in the day Inwould mix the paint with the end of a brush and then shake them. This does it all in one. Highly recommend.

This is a great paint mixer for my miniature paints. The only thing I don’t like is it seems you could only use their charging cord as a different charging cord, even the exact same thing, doesn’t work. At least for me.

Had this for over a year now and never a problem. I premix a lot of the paints for use with my airbrushes. They are kept in individual plastic bottles for later use. I add the small stainless steel balls to help in mixing the paints, thinning agent, pearl powder, etc. Over time the pigment settles and reuse required a lot of manual shaking. I finally invested in this mixer and it was well worth the money. In just a few second my paints are mixed. And they are mixed far better than I could have ever mixed them by shaking. This in turn results in far less problems with my airbrushes. I truly wish I'd have bought this a lot sooner.

I use this when I'm doing lots of miniture painting and have a lot to mix. This mixer shines when it comes to mixing paints that have sat for a while and need a good mixing.

Original review: This shaker is very effective at mixing small bottles of (hobby) paint and there’s no mess unlike using a spinning wand or stir stick. Unfortunately, the unit has poor longevity and I question quality control. Out of the box, the USB port didn’t work. I didn’t buy a vortex mixer to charge my iPhone so I decided it wasn’t worth the hassle of returning it for a replacement. Now, exactly 6 months after first use, the unit has developed 2 issues: 1) the rubber area you press against has become much less responsive and it’s difficult to find the sweet spot where it will start, and 2) the motor ramps down and stops while mixing. I suspect whatever triggers the unit to start/run is failing. I’m not a professional artist or even a weekly user of the mixer - just a casual hobbyist - so I’m surprised the mixer hasn’t lasted longer. It’s a shame as it was a real effort saver initially. UPDATE: Four E reached out to me within 24 hours after I left my 2-star review to offer me a replacement mixer. They were very apologetic and did not ask me to change my rating. I’m surprised and impressed at the offer and will update my review based on how the replacement performs. Definitely a thumbs-up for their customer service. UPDATE #2: As promised, Lynette at Four E had a replacement mixer to me in just 3 or 4 days. The replacement works perfectly and I couldn’t be happier with Four E’s commitment to support!

Got this about 4 months ago. Used it initially to revive about 30 small paint bottles for Warhammer Citadel Pots (standard small mini paint pots, about 18 ML each). It worked great! I then proceeded to store it in my cabinet. Did not get used at all. I adhered to the manual which stated not to use it for a long consecutive period although it did not need to tell me that as using it for more than 10-15 seconds left my hand numb, and after a few paints in, I didn't have a hand so I decided to do only 1 paint at a time and go slowly. 2 Weeks ago I decided to bust it out and try to use it again as a friend was over and the paints he needed I had but they needed to be revived. We plugged it in, turned it on and...! The lights turned on, it shook for about 5 seconds, then quickly lost speed and within another 5 seconds was still. Completely motionless, dead. We tried troubleshooting it, thought maybe something got in the motor, put on the replacement cap, but nothing, the thing is dead. Tried unplugging/replugging it into different outlets and it is dead. I did notice that if I left it plugged in with it switched to "on" for about 5 minutes and tried to use it, it would turn on for 10-15 seconds, then stop moving. So, my guess was a capacitor was working but power delivery wasn't great, etc. But then when taking the cap off, I decided to try and just put my finger on the "button/switch" directly and my finger immediately got flung off. Curious I put my palm over the device and pressed down and it works BEAUTIFULLY as it drilled into my hand. So the theory was put in place that maybe the silicone just wasn't making proper connection with the button when being pressed down. A short while later (and a bit of DEFINITELY not advisable Aluminum Foil later) we shoved a small amount of aluminum foil into the silicon where it should contact the device, and it works (kinda, it still runs at about 2/3 the speed it should). So the now current running theory is that the silicon cap deformed on the original one, but then the brand new one just wasn't to the correct tolerance/spec and didn't contact it well from the beginning. Regardless, for paying nearly $100, you'd think you'd get more than 2-4 hours use out of it before the silicon would start to give out. So far it seems as though the motor is operating sluggishly but just fine, but it definitely isn't worth the headache not to mention that my temporary fix (after just mixing 2 bottles) has tiny shredded pieces of aluminum foil falling into the inner mechanism which for obvious reasons is highly inadvisable. I also had to fill it up to about halfway up before I got it to run at what appears to be nearly the original speed. If this happens to anyone, this may be a potential diagnosis as to your specific problem.