Something that seems to come up quite a bit in hobby forums and social media is the subject of paint storage. Pretty frequently I see people asking how other hobbyists store their hobby paints or if someone can recommend a pre-made hobby paint rack or storage unit.
Hobby Paint Storage Racks Can Be Pricey
You can spend a lot of money on a storage rack. There are some very nice desktop racks available that are made from laser cut MDF or Plexiglas. Most of these are made up of modular sections that you can set up to fit into your work area. Additionally most of these offer optional tool racks and drawer units so you can design the perfect setup for your hobby workstation. I happen to own one of these from an outfit called Back 2 Base-ix based in Australia. (Note that at the time of this writing, the Back 2 Base-ix website appears to be offline. If you want to get in contact with them you might try their Facebook Page)
The Back 2 Base-ix hobby paint rack is nice and allows you to customize your set up, but it’s pricey
This is a great setup and I love it but there are some caveats to a hobby paint rack like this. First off, it’s expensive. There’s no other way to state this. My setup as shown cost $250 – and that was with free shipping. I bought their pre-selected package and added the tool rack and another large straight section.
Aside from the price, the other thing to keep in mind is that this paint rack takes up a lot of real estate on the desk top. I have a fairly large desk that I got from Ikea, so for me in my current work space it’s not much of a concern. If you have a small desk or cramped work area then you’re going to want to carefully consider whether you have room for something this big. Lastly, if I wanted to expand this, the fact that they’re in Australia and ship from there means that the shipping cost for one or two pieces is absurdly prohibitively expensive. (They don’t have any US based companies who stock this product line, I asked via their FB page and got a definitive no on that subject.)
Another Solution: The Nail Polish Rack Re-purposed As a Hobby Paint Rack
The wall mounted nail polish rack – now filled with hobby paints and other supplies
Like many of you, I have lots of hobby paint. Eventually I outgrew the desktop rack and was looking for another solution that would take up less space and be a little more budget friendly. After considering a few different ideas and searching the interwebs I stumbled across a pretty great solution that is ready made, easily sourced and budget friendly. This solution was the acrylic nail polish wall rack.
The nail polish wall rack is ideal for our needs. While it’s made for nail polish, it turns out that many of those bottles are actually pretty wide due to their square shape or having a wider base than top. These racks are built to accommodate about 90 of the nail polish bottles which means you can store at least that many of the dropper bottle paint pots.
Additionally, this rack accommodates most if not all of the paints that miniature and model building hobbyists typically use. I store Vallejo, Reaper, Games Workshop, Tamiya, AK/MiG, Minitaire and more in the rack. They all fit. There’s plenty of room for these paint pots and plenty of height between each shelf. The paint rack can be leaned up against the wall but also comes pre-drilled with holes at the corners so that you can mount it on the wall above or next to your hobby desk.
Where Can I Get A Nail Polish Wall Rack To Use As A Hobby Paint Rack?
These racks are available on Amazon and are very hobby budget friendly, currently at under $35 shipped. This is a great solution for storing your paint. It allows you to have the paint with the labels out where you can see them and it doesn’t take up much desk space if you need to just lean it against the wall instead of mounting it with screws. I do want to caution you that if you decide to mount it to the wall, be gentle when tightening the screws. It is made from plastic and if you just power the screws in with a drill/driver you’re likely to crack or break the plastic around the mounting holes. Other than that potential issue, this paint rack is perfect for storing all of your hobby paints and I definitely recommend it.
Get your own nail polish/hobby paint rack at Amazon here
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