How to stop paints drying when mixing

[Archie]

My lovely wife has joined me at the painting table to work on a craft project of her own ... not wargaming related.

She is lamenting my poor selection of colours and is mixing what she needs. Her issue is that the paints dry almost as fast as she mixes them. We have a mix of GW and Revill paints. (Mainly GW)

Is there something you can buy to keep them liquid for longer?

And / or ... whats a wet palette? I understand thats one solution but I dont understand what it is.

[Grimmnar]

You can buy and use Slow Dry. Does exactly what the name implies.

Also to ask what a Wet Palette is best to Google it. IN a nutshell you make a palette that stays moist and such keeps the paints wet per say so they wont dry out for a very long time if ever. Google it. And pretty much i have been told there is no need to buy a commercial one. You can make your own with a airtight container, sponge and baking paper. NOT wax paper. OH and after Google just YouTube "How to make a wet palette" and you should get some good vid's to watch.

Grimm

[grant]

Get a Sta-Wet palette. Best thing I ever bought.

[The Dozing Dragon]

There's even a Warmachine 'Hordes' one........



http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Warmachine-Hordes-BNIB-Formula-p3-Wet-Palette-93107-/351119431251#ht_1074wt_904

[Calimero]

There's even a Warmachine 'Hordes' one........



http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Warmachine-Hordes-BNIB-Formula-p3-Wet-Palette-93107-/351119431251#ht_1074wt_904

I got one like this one lately. Very useful especially if, like me, you take "breaks" during the evening paint session...

EDIT: It should be pretty easy to make your own using an "air tight" plastic container, sponge and parchment paper... all available in most dollar stores

[Wirelizard]

Making your own wet palette is dead simple; even a sealing one is only slightly more complex to make, and your working time with your paints is massively extended over a dry palette.

My own wet palette setup is a random small food container I rescued from the recycling bin and scrubbed off, some paper towel, and some kitchen parchment. Total cost, basically nil. Relevant blog post.

Related YouTube vid, not mine but useful:

[WitchfinderGeneral]

Yup, built a wet palette myself. A very simple one can be done in 2 minutes (depends on how long you have to search for a saucer your wife allows you to use) and I can no longer imagine how one can paint without it.

[Major_Gilbear]

Put a drop of water on the pallete first, then add your first colour and mix. Rinse the brush, and add next to it your second colour onto another drop of clean water - keep close to the first colour. Rinse again, and keeping the brush loaded with water this time, mix the two colours. This will help to keep the paint wet while you mix, but you should add a bit more water as you go to ensure the paint stays wet.

Is there something you can buy to keep them liquid for longer?

Drying retarder is one solution. You can get this in small bottles (Vallejo make it), or in bigger bottles and tubes from most big-name artists' acrylic paint brands (for example, Golden, Liquitex, etc).

Often I find the retarders very gloopy and gel-like, so what I usually do is pre-mix them in a clean dropper bottle with distilled water (you can get this from your dehumidifier or a tumble dryer too - the water you remove from those is very suitable) and shake it very vigorously for a good five minutes to thoroughly mix it.

With the Vallejo brand, I usually mix around 40:60 ratio of retarder to water - one bottle will last you forever as not only do you thin it, but you only ever use a drop or two in a paint mix anyway.

And / or ... whats a wet palette? I understand thats one solution but I dont understand what it is.

A wet palette is a shallow container with a sponge or similarly absorbent material that you soak with water. On top of that, a semi-permeable membrane like baking parchment is placed. On top of that, you put your paint. The paint draws moisture through the parchment to remain wet, but not so much that it gets unusably sloppy.

Some wet palettes have tall sides and an airtight lid so that you can keep your paint wet from session-to-session. You need to be careful though that the don't go mouldy or draw up so much water that they ruin the paint.

Making your own wet palette is cheap and easy, but can take a bit of experimentation and practice. There are loads of tutorials on you-tube and on hobby blogs on how to make your own (along with tips and tricks), so have a bit of a search.

I'd make a few first to see if they work for you or not - buying them is fine, but they are relatively expensive to buy if you later decide you don't like them. Even if buying one is more consistent, making your own first will give you a good first idea of what's involved. Besides which, even commercial ones have a learning curve in terms of how much water you need and what type of membrane to use.

[cram]

Major Gilbear I will have to try you're method for the slow dry medium, as you say, this stuff can be a bit gloopy. Good stuff though.

Archie f you use 'slow dry' do take into account the fact you only need to use a drop or two. If you are over generous, you're paint will take an age to dry.

I also have a wet palette, which I find is a great benefit.

[Archie]

As always with LAF I am overwhelmed by the generous sharing of knowledge. Time allowing I think I might have a go at making a wet palette this weekend.

It's been nice having the wife share the painting table with me so anything that helps that work is worth trying. I shall feedback on my progress.

Again thank you to all - and I'll get some retardent as well for future (careful) use.

[Mr. Peabody]

When I'm painting big units, like hordes of 1/72 Soviets, I use my home-made wet palette. I use the Sta-wet sponge and paper, but put that inside a shallow plastic refrigerator storage tray thingy. Absolutely fantastic. Paint stays wet forever.

Get a Sta-Wet palette. Best thing I ever bought.

I always thin my paint, and keep it wet, with a pre-mix of water and matte medium + 10% flow-release. I'll use this when I'm working on one or two figures.

Buy a bag of cheap 15ml dropper bottles on eBay... should be about $20.00 for fifty, including postage to N. America. You can put your GW paints in them, or your matte-medium mix or water or slow-dry, windex & water... So useful.

[Wirelizard]

I always thin my paint, and keep it wet, with a pre-mix of water and matte medium + 10% flow-release. I'll use this when I'm working on one or two figures.

Buy a bag of cheap 15ml dropper bottles on eBay... should be about $20.00 for fifty, including postage to N. America. You can put your GW paints in them, or your matte-medium mix or water or slow-dry, windex & water... So useful.

That's a good pair of tips!

We have a very good local plastics supply store with a wide and wonderful assortment of bottles and such for sale; I think I'll have to swing by there and see what they have in 15ml dropper bottles. I use Reaper paints almost exclusively, but haven't actually emptied any of their dropper bottles yet, despite several years of trying.