Laoke Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 In my experience it's worth putting some actual copper in the wet palette - I glue some copper coins to the bottom, others have used copper wire. It really helps stop runaway biologicals & keeps the funk down to manageable levels. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pingo Posted September 30, 2015 Share Posted September 30, 2015 In my experience it's worth putting some actual copper in the wet palette - I glue some copper coins to the bottom, others have used copper wire. It really helps stop runaway biologicals & keeps the funk down to manageable levels. I use aluminum foil as a liner in my palettes and copper is decidedly not sympatico with them. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruizu1990 Posted October 4, 2015 Share Posted October 4, 2015 (edited) I cannot imagine going back to a dry palette. I think there is a small learning curve when you first start using a wet palette, but once you get over it you will not go back. I use distilled/deionised water and my water reservoir is a Minky anti bacterial soak up. Never had a problem with mold. Also remember to clean the palette occasionally ;) Edited October 4, 2015 by Ruizu1990 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranky Dog Posted February 8, 2016 Share Posted February 8, 2016 Thread resurrection! I'm also now more adept at using the wet palette. But again because my work takes me away from home a week at a time, I've developed some tricks to avoid mold. First of all, the day before I leave I wring out excess water from my wet palette sponge, put it and the paper aside where they are well ventilated and let them dry naturally. Being a sponge, it shrivels up and becomes firm, while the paper itself stays pretty much the same. When comes time to get back to painting, I go to the kitchen sink, put the sponge back in it's receptacle and pour *boiling* water over the sponge to bring it back to life, then I place the paper over it and add a bit more water to cover it. After soaking for a while, giving it a chance to cool down, I pour out excess water and get back to business. Now I don't know if the boiling water really helps prevent mold growth or not, but I haven't had any even when I leave the palette alone for a week. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pingo Posted June 13, 2016 Share Posted June 13, 2016 Hmm. I have discovered that while my cobbled together wet palettes (square paper plates covered with aluminum foil, one as lid, one with a wetted folded paper towel and a square of parchment paper) worked beautifully in the warm, dry painting space at the upstairs table and in my cool basement studio during the dry winter months, downstairs during the humid spring / summer they grow mold like a goblin's arse. Seriously, I made a test palette with clean distilled water, wiping the foil clean with alcohol, and no paint, and within a week it had magenta and yellow and black splotches. Since copper + aluminum in the wet seems to = nasty black corrosion, but copper also = a good fungicide, I am attempting new wet palettes in plastic boxes with old pure copper pennies under the paper towels for the high humidity area. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Willen Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 Let us know how it goes. My house is very humid, and aluminium foils gets mold or rust or something black patina -like by just being in the drawer for several months. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pingo Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 The other thing I noticed is that in the humid basement, one of my aluminum foil palettes got a little corrosion hole eaten in it, and so far as I can tell it may have been simply from the presence of an iron oxide pigment in the paint. It was a big dollop of paint, and it took perhaps a week, but still ... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NomadZeke Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 I tried making a wet pallet before and failed. Not sure what I did wrong...so using a ceramic tile still Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cranky Dog Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 When comes time to get back to painting, I go to the kitchen sink, put the sponge back in it's receptacle and pour *boiling* water over the sponge to bring it back to life, then I place the paper over it and add a bit more water to cover it. After soaking for a while, giving it a chance to cool down, I pour out excess water and get back to business. Now I don't know if the boiling water really helps prevent mold growth or not, but I haven't had any even when I leave the palette alone for a week. Don't know if it's meaningful or not, but I opened up my wet palette last weekend for the first time in over two-three months. Still looks fresh. No funny smell. No noticeable growth of anything. Everything is moist as it should be. But again, this was sealed and boiled water was used. So limited contact to the outside environment and a somewhat pasteurized container. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug Sundseth Posted June 14, 2016 Share Posted June 14, 2016 The other thing I noticed is that in the humid basement, one of my aluminum foil palettes got a little corrosion hole eaten in it, and so far as I can tell it may have been simply from the presence of an iron oxide pigment in the paint. It was a big dollop of paint, and it took perhaps a week, but still ... You might want to try plastic wrap instead of aluminum foil to make your fluid seal. I was initially surprised that iron oxide would react that way, but then I remembered that one version of thermite is rust (iron oxide powder) and aluminum, so there's clearly a strongly exothermic reaction possible. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
althai Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Seriously you people, the masterson sta-wet handy palette is only $10 [amazon], the perfect size, works perfectly, and is very portable. I don't understand why so many people resort to making their own. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ludo Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Because my tupperware and sponge was $2. Since they come in 4 packs three of my fellow painters also got wet pallets. I was able to get it while at reapercon. The lid is water tight so if I do want to save paint I don't have to worry about it leaking when it accidentally gets turned sideways I just keep a whole roll of parchment paper on hand. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serenity Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 Seriously you people, the masterson sta-wet handy palette is only $10, the perfect size, works perfectly, and is very portable. I don't understand why so many people resort to making their own. Even Jessica Rich says in her Dark Sword videos that she makes her own. I think she prefers something smaller than the Handy Palette. When I go with a wet palette, I use the Masterson one. I use baking parchment on it, though. It does a great job of holding in moisture and only rarely gives me issues with mold, and only if I really neglect it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edz16 Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 OK - help me understand what i'm missing with the wet palette. I have a wet palette and I've used them in the past, but I just can't get away from my ceramic well palette. It makes it easy for me to drop 2-3 drops of RMS paint in, 1 drop of thinner concoction and go to town. I usually use RMS triads and fill out 7 wells as such to layer (most of the times not all at the same time): 3 dark + 1 thinner, 2 dark + 1 mid + 1 thinner, 1 dark + 2 mid + 1 thinner, 3 mid, 2 mid + 1 light + 1 thinner, 1 mid + 2 light + 1 thinner, and finally 3 light + 1 thinner. Works perfectly for me. In a wet palette this goes all over creation and i end up with a big watercolor-like mess. I also really hate mixing my paints with my good brushes and all the videos I see online of people using wet palettes show them abusing their brushes as they mix on the wet palette. Not interested in that. Everyone is raving about them so I am sure i'm missing something. Help me understand? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sylverthorne Posted June 16, 2016 Share Posted June 16, 2016 I .. don't mix paints that way, and I do have a wet palette. I need to try that thing with the copper. I don't have mold problems, but the smell ... ah, that's a thing I could live without. If your paints are mixing over, the palette may be /too/ wet. I find the thing works best when the paper is just barely damp. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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