This $7 Amazon Attachment Turns Any Drill Into A Paint Mixer
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Have you ever been working on a painting project and started to notice that the paint seems to be thinner or lose a bit of its color from one day to the next? This is because paint will separate over time, with the thinner fluid rising to the top of the can while the thicker sediment settles to the bottom. Most hardware stores have a special machine that’s designed to get your paint mixed when you buy it. This near-perfect equilibrium can last hours or even days depending on the kind of paint. They’ll also probably hand you a free mixing stick or two to give it a quick stir every few hours as it starts to separate again.
That’s really all you need if you can knock out a whole project in a weekend, but it won’t be much help with that half-full can of paint you kept in your garage for months in case you need it for touch-ups. A stick isn’t going to cut it when the sediment has returned to a thick, paste-like sludge at the bottom of the can. In these instances, you’re going to want a good mixing tool.
There are a lot of useful drill extensions that have nothing to do with drilling, and one of the better solutions out there for re-homogenizing your paint are drill-powered mixers. These simple attachments slot into your drill’s chuck and use the motor-driven rotational power to churn the paint from the bottom up, saving you a tremendous amount of time and effort. You can find these pretty easily at your local hardware store. That said, there are plenty of amazing tools under $25 that are actually worth buying on Amazon– including an extremely highly rated paint mixer from Edward Tools that you can get for just $6.95.
The Edward Tools Paint Mixer Drill Attachment has a clever design
There are a few different kinds of paint mixers out there. Some of them are made entirely of metal and stir the paint with a couple of curved fins. These come in both rectangular and cylindrical designs. The Edward Tools Paint Mixer Drill Attachment is different. It utilizes a patented Even Flow design, which has several spiraling fins that form a shape similar to a turbine. This head is made of plastic rather than metal, which means it won’t be as useful for stirring heavy compounds like cement as they won’t have as much cutting power and too much resistance may cause the fins to break. That said, it’s plenty powerful for lighter fluids such as paint, resin, and silicone. According to Edward Tools, this design makes mixing paint easier and more consistent. The plastic is also easy to clean, making the attachment easier to reuse without the risk of contaminating new paint cans with old paint.
The attachment itself is lightweight, at just 3.17 oz, and it is 12.48-inches long, meaning that it should have plenty of headroom when used in paint cans that are 1 gallon or smaller, but it probably isn’t going to be ideal for deeper, 5-gallon buckets. The shank is designed to fit any ⅜-inch or larger hand drill. You can buy the attachments individually for $6.95, or get them in a set of two if you want a backup for $11.95.
What do users think of the Edward Tools Paint Mixer Drill Attachment?
As mentioned above, this tool has an exceptionally high rating on Amazon. It’s received over 3,000 reviews and has an aggregate star rating of 4.7 out of 5. Customers who reviewed the mixer were extremely complimentary of its build quality, basic functionality, mixing capability, ease cleaning, ease of use, and its value. “Worked very well with my portable electric drill to stir a regular size can with acrylic paint. The can had sat for years without being moved so the components had separated,” said one user. “There was no splashing! The result was a perfect paint job. The stirrer cleans up easily under the faucet in no time at all.” Others also pointed out that the end being made of plastic meant there was less concern about damaging the can when scraping paint of the bottom and sides. The bigger issue appears to be damage to the plastic of the mixer itself.
The only aspect of the attachment that got some mixed reviews was regarding its durability. While there were several reviews that remarked it was sturdy enough for their needs, other reviewers claimed that the attachment broke the first time they tried to use it. There are also reports of the fins being damaged or breaking when the user scrapes them too aggressively against the side of the can. So, those who intend to get one for themselves may want to try to avoid getting too rough with it. Even so, the functionality coupled with the low price makes it an appealing option for those who want to take advantage of this unexpected utility for their cordless drill.
