Techniques · Finish
Wet palette: what it does and a DIY version
A wet palette keeps acrylic paint workable for hours instead of minutes. Here is how it works, how to make one from household items, and how to stop it going wrong.
How it works
Acrylic paint dries by evaporation. A wet palette puts the paint on a thin, water-permeable sheet laid over a damp sponge. Masterson, which makes the Sta-Wet palette, explains that the paint slowly absorbs moisture from the sponge through the paper, so it keeps its consistency.
The real benefit is that a colour you have mixed stays usable, rather than having to be remixed every few minutes.
Make one at home
Take a shallow container with a lid, such as a clean takeaway tub.
Cut a sponge, folded paper towel or kitchen cloth to fit the bottom. Soak it, then press out the excess so it is thoroughly wet but not standing in water.
Lay a sheet of baking parchment or greaseproof paper on top, cut slightly smaller than the tub, and smooth out any air bubbles from the middle outwards.
Put the lid on between sessions.
Choosing the paper
The paper has to let water through. Masterson warns that ordinary palette papers have a thin plastic coating that blocks moisture, and that uncoated papers can fall apart when wet. Baking parchments vary: some are coated and work poorly, so if your paint skins over quickly, try a different brand or a purpose-made membrane.
Fixing common problems
Paint spreading and going watery: the sponge is too wet. Masterson's fix is to lift the paper, wring out more water and replace it. Wring out more for thinner paints.
Dry patches: a trapped air bubble under the sheet, or a sheet pushed up the sides of the tub, which can flood the corners instead.
Mould: a damp, sealed box will grow it. Brush and Paint suggest changing the water weekly if you paint often, rinsing the sponge, and letting it dry out between long breaks.