Wet Pallet Mold Issue

[Doug Sundseth]

If you're planning to paint minis with significant lead content, you'll want to keep the vinegar far away. Acetic acid acts to catalyze lead rot.

[Ghool]

38 minutes ago, Doug Sundseth said:

If you're planning to paint minis with significant lead content, you'll want to keep the vinegar far away. Acetic acid acts to catalyze lead rot.

 

How many new painters have old lead figures though?

I have a huge pile of them. But, I'm old as dirt.

[Doug Sundseth]

6 minutes ago, Ghool said:

 

How many new painters have old lead figures though?

I have a huge pile of them. But, I'm old as dirt.

 

I too am as old as dirt ... for a certain value of "dirt". 

 

I think there are enough of us here that are either buying from companies that still use lead or that have old figures to bring it up. Especially because dipping figures in vinegar to give them a bit of tooth for painting used to be a common recommendation.

 

(Don't do that.)

[Pingo]

2 hours ago, Ghool said:

You can also put a drop or two of vinegar into the palette, then fill with water.

Soak the sponge, put copper underneath, and set up as normal.

The acetic acid is a natural disinfectant that will help prevent mold and bacterial growth, and won't affect your paint if diluted.

 

Vinegar + copper = verdigris, a beautiful turquoise green used as a pigment.  So maybe don't do much of that either.

 

(I have made verdigris.  It is very pretty.  But even in the Middle Ages artists warned that it was temperamental and tricky.  I think it may be the cause of the green-edged holes in old Irish illuminated manuscripts, and it is certainly why so many Renaissance paintings have what now looks like dark brown-black foliage on so many trees and backgrounds.)

[Ghool]

I was thinking g on this and if the mini is primed, wouldn't that prevent it from getting lead rot? Or at least coming into contact with the actual acid?

 

I haven't had a problem with oxidization. But I don't use a wet palette very often and Im not sure what the fascination with them is. I find it too much trouble and fiddly.

But I am lazy and can colour match like it no one's business. It could be because I bought a wet palette only last year. I still prefer my wells though.

[Clearman]

The research I've done has indicated that priming a model does adequately protect it from lead rot.  The challenge that I have with lead rot is how to clean it.  Most of what I've read says to wash with vinegar and then rinse well.  I struggle with this since the acid in the vinegar can start lead rot all over if it doesn't get rinsed well.

 

I've also solved my own mold issues by just squeezing the water out of the sponge after every session and let the sponge dry.  I will also occasionally rinse the sponge with Hydrogen Peroxide.

[Pingo]

I have a few old lead minis.  I prep them by washing (with dish liquid and warm water, never vinegar) and priming them with acrylic paint, even if they are just going into storage.

 

Acrylics are mildly alkaline and thus should provide a protective buffer against lead rot.

 

 

[Doug Sundseth]

54 minutes ago, Ghool said:

...  Im not sure what the fascination with them is.

...

 

Probably not regularly 8% humidity in your area. 

 

It's really useful around here. I'd say that the vast majority of painters here use wet palettes for that exact reason. Though even here if you're painting armies, well palettes might stay wet for long enough to work better simply because you use so much more paint when painting 32 figures to the same scheme.

[Cyradis]

Update on my palette: ~three weeks gone, no mold. 

 

Colorado climate in a dank basement is dry enough for a sponge to dry instead of mold. No penny. Only an open lid. 

[Highlander]

When I clean my palette and container, I use bleach.  Thoroughly.  I let it sit a bit and then clean both.  Thoroughly.

 

It seems to have stopped any mold from gaining ground.  Of course, later this week we are predicted to have 6% relative humidity.  And almost never get above 50%.  That helps.