Wet Palette Question

[vcina]

So I've started using a wet Palette, specifically the Reaper Miniatures one. I'm finding that within a day of using the paint and leaving the lid closed when not using it, all of the paint turns into a big watery mess. I've tried less water and the paper curls up and I'm guessing I have too much water when the paint melts into a wash. Anyone have a suggestion on how to correct this? Should I go to the paper towel form of wet palette and get rid of the sponge?

[Mosstrooper]

I've used one for a while and think it depends on the type of paint you use (valejo etc.) and the pigments in the colour ' metalics don't stay moist and go 'gummy' but black and browns stay usable longest , I tend to keep my sponge  relatively moist to stop the paper drying out .

[vcina]

I'm using both valejo and artist acrylics, good brands like Winston-Newton etc..

[Orctrader]

I use a wet palette - home made.  Parchment paper on top of some damp paper towel.

I use this so the paint doesn't dry out during the session.  I have never been interested in keeping unused paint to use in another session.  So, although I can't answer your question I wonder why you (and others) are trying this?  What is the advantage to you?

[vcina]

Let's say I mix a color but can't finish the number of figures I need in that one sitting. I can then keep the paint for a day or more until I can back to it. Then I don't have to worry about trying to remix the color.

[Mick_in_Switzerland]

Here is a video wet palette tutorial from Vallejo

[vcina]

Well that's neat.  Is that a special palette or just a normal everyday painters palette?

[Orctrader]

Let's say I mix a color but can't finish the number of figures I need in that one sitting. I can then keep the paint for a day or more until I can back to it. Then I don't have to worry about trying to remix the color.

I can see that.  Mainly a "character" painter myself so not an issue for me.  (And I keep notes on colour mixes.  Sad, I know... )

[vcina]

I don't think that's sad. It certainly helps when/if you need to repaint or paint another figure just like it. Cuts down on the guess work.

[vcina]

It's a kiddie palette from a local discount store but I've seen them on eBay.

So any plastic palette will work.

[vcina]

I've cut up some parchment paper tonight and have laid it out in the box with a wet sponge and put a few drops of paint on it. I'll see what happens tomorrow

[Mr Tough Guy]

I tend to keep paint on a wet pallet for days, even weeks sometimes, and it's all about the right amount of water, too much and the paint becomes watery, to little and it starts to dry, but if you can find the sweet spot, it stays good for days. And even if you don't have enough water and the paint has dried a bit, adding more water to the pallet will usually let you revive the paint if it hasn't dried too much, similarly if it's watery, I remove some of the water from the bottom of th epallet and use a tissue to directly draw some of the water out of the paint, you lose some paint but usually you can still use what's left. I tend to try to keep my pallet on the dry side, as reviving slightly dried paint is easier then removing the water.

[Major_Gilbear]

I use a very wet palette, and unless I'm using the paint continually, I find that it runs everywhere. Thin paints (like "air" paints) and inks are especially bad for this, and with metallics the binder tends to just drop all the metallic flakes once it gets to this stage (and there's no resurrecting them at this point).

However, if you put less water in the palette's reservoir, and if you keep it covered (shallow containers which hold less air are better for this), then the paints stay wet for up to a week. Despite this, I'd say that after a couple of days they're probably not very usable any more though - the acrylic binder's normally too broken down at this point.

A few things to note with wet palettes that I've found:

- I use a commercial (P3 brand) palette, whereas my friend uses a homemade one. I think his is better as the sponge in his is deeper and finer, and therefore keeps the paper correctly wet better and longer. We both use the same paper (P3 brand).

- Different papers do have different properties, and it's worth trying a few options to see what works best for you. Some baking/greaseproof papers are coated to stop them from sticking, and this varies between brands too; in these cases, you may find the paint (especially if thin/wet) can pearl or run very easily on the paper. Some tracing paper types also work well, whereas others are too impermeable.

- Big drops of thick paint put on the palette tend to still get a skin over them, even if the paint underneath remains wet. Using less paint, or giving it a quick swirl with a clean brush helps to avoid this.

- Wet palettes are best suited for smaller amounts of paint, and therefore not really very suited for batch-painting the main colours on a bigger group of models (up to three regular 28mm figs is about the limit I'd say). If you need to keep paint wet for batch-painting, I'd suggest using a little retarder as well as water, or simply adding more paint to a traditional dry palette as you need it. For batch-painting small details on lots of models, a wet palette works well.

[Malebolgia]

Honestly, I think wet palettes are only nice to use during single paint sessions. Afterwards the colours get weird, the paint starts to act weird and it just doesn't work well. But for single paint sessions (up to several hours) they are great. Good for blending, smooth coats, colour mixing, etc.

[vcina]

Just and update on this. I tried the parchment paper and it has worked out really well.  The paint has stayed wet but hasn't turned into a muddy mess.  The sponge is still damp as well.  I think the parchment paper is a keeper for now.