Liquified paint/split cakes! HELP!

When I opened my kit to set up at the Farmer's Market early Saturday morning, I found that nearly all of my split cakes had LIQUIFIED. Some had turned to goo - like we've all experienced in extreme heat or humidity with some paints... but a bunch of them had turned to liquid. The paint was running out of the boxes all over the place and mixing into pools of swirly messes.

The day before the gig, I had loaded my fatmax into the minivan and drove for 5 hours in moderate temperatures. It was in the low to mid 70's. We stopped for about 1/2 hour at a scenic view point where I locked the car with the windows rolled up. It was not scorching hot when we got back or anything. No hotter than painting outdoors on a hot summer's day.

I loaded into the car last thing before we left and unloaded it first thing when I arrived at my destination. What I'm saying is, it wasn't like they were exposed to extreme heat or anything and they were brought indoors and sat at room temp all night. The morning was a bit cool, maybe 60 degrees.

So....... WHAT would cause my split cakes to turn to liquid and the rest of my paints are fine - not even soft?

Brands affected: Arty Cakes (the newest ones were the worst) and my beloved TAG.

I was mortified and am at a loss as to what caused this. The only thing that was "different" in my kit than ever before is that I had my sample FAB silver in there, uncovered - AND the lids were all off of the split cakes because I was in such a hurry from my last gig a few days prior. I've left them all open many times before - out on my table with no ill affects, so I didn't think there would be any harm in it.

The ones that were just "gooey" are hardening back up. The ones that were turned to pure liquid are very, very soft and tacky.

ADVICE?

Could the split cakes have been really wet when you finished last? Don't know why it happened, but I'd leave all open to dry out either near the a/c or heat register....whichever you have on now.

Some of them I had not used for some time. So it's not because they were too wet.

They are sitting open under a ceiling fan. Some of them are cracking now as they dry out.

It's all very upsetting!

I'm suspicious of the FAB silver paint possibly outgassing whatever chemical they use in it to keep it soft and creamy. It really is the ONLY factor in the equation that is different from anything I've ever done before. It was also open in the top compartment where I keep all of my split cakes. When I opened the lid to my fatmax the perfume smell was overpowering.

I did an experiment and shut it into my regular pallet case overnight, and it had no affect on my cakes. However, those are all larger cakes of DFX, as opposed to the smaller quantities and different brands of paints in my split cakes.

Still... can't help but suspect it had something to do with it.

Some arty cakes are made of kryolan, I have the wonder palette from silly farm, and the kryolan colors on the split cake always melt.

Do they turn to liquid or just get soft and gooey? I've had the gooey problem before, but these were liquid that poured out into puddles - like thin gravy.

I'm mystified by it and just want to avoid this ever happening again! It's a huge loss when 20+ of your split cakes turn to liquid and swirl together into unrecognizable colors a
nd unusable end products.

SuzySparkles wrote:hmmm I have no clue, I have left my paints in a hottt car for a whole day... Lids off of splits and they were perfectly fine. So I am not sure what happened in your case.

Yes, me too! I'm stumped.

When I moved makeup into a smaller palette to take to a convention with me, the glycerin from a lot of my Kryolan cakes started to bead at the top - that's likely the liquid you're talking about, I'm thinking...

Still usable, but then again these were single colours. If you wipe the tops off can you use them still? Maybe after they firm up a bit?

Kristal wrote:When I moved makeup into a smaller palette to take to a convention with me, the glycerin from a lot of my Kryolan cakes started to bead at the top - that's likely the liquid you're talking about, I'm thinking...

Still usable, but then again these were single colours. If you wipe the tops off can you use them still? Maybe after they firm up a bit?

I wish. Imagine the entire contents of paint in the container turning to liquid - the consistency of thin gravy. All the colors. From top to bottom.

When you tip the container sideways, it just POURS out into a puddle. If you jiggle it even a little, the colors swirl together and mingle. It's LIQUID.

So, being that it was lugged in the car, stopping and going, turning around corners, etc. and then you tilt your fatmax and roll it up the curb and over the bumpy grass to your spot halfway down the market lane... well, you can imagine the end result.

Not the kind of swirls a facepainter is after! Lol! Even if they do firm back up, some of these are a total loss having leaked out all over the kit or mixed up into gross colors.

That's heartbreaking...and a mystery.

D.

Oh my goodness, what a terrible thing to have happen. This is the second post about silver in as many days...I wonder if it is something to do with silver. There was a thread about silver having a sooner expiration date and crumbling. It just seems like a possible culprit.

So sorry. We all feel your pain, I cannot imagine losing so much all at one time.

I'm wondering is it possible they were sitting on a hot part of the van floor?.. it would have to get pretty warm indeed for everything to turn to liquid.
I never leave me paints in the car for that reason.
I feel terrible for you... I would of freaked out in the same situation.

I'm surprised the Tag splits melted - I have had them in the full sun for four hours in 30 degrees C + and the worst that happened is they went gooy and kind of separated away from each other.... and they were fine for the next gig.
How baffling!

Tash wrote:I'm wondering is it possible they were sitting on a hot part of the van floor?.. it would have to get pretty warm indeed for everything to turn to liquid.
I never leave me paints in the car for that reason.
I feel terrible for you... I would of freaked out in the same situation.

I'm surprised the Tag splits melted - I have had them in the full sun for four hours in 30 degrees C + and the worst that happened is they went gooy and kind of separated away from each other.... and they were fine for the next gig.
How baffling!

Hi Tash ~

The split cakes were in the top compartment of my fatmax toolbox. In the mid-section I have my Wolf white & black, Snaz red, and a few full-size rainbow cakes, plus a bunch of other random stuff. In the bottom section of the toolbox I have my full-size pallet case of DFX 32g cakes.

None of my other paints were even soft, let alone gooey or runny. Everything else in the kit is fine. It's just the split cakes which were the furthest from the floor of the van. And as I said - the van didn't even get very hot while we took a pit stop.

I've also had mine sitting in full sun and I've had them in a hot car and I've had them in humid (drizzly) conditions outdoors and I've never, ever had any paints turn to pure liquid under any circumstances.

It's just "baffling" as you said. That's why I posted here... wondering if anyone has ever had anything like this happen to their paints and what could possibly have caused it.

Very mysterious!

This is a good question to ask Rebeca, she is the arty cake creator, my kryolan melt specially the blue, but the color next to it doesn't so they don't mix.