Copper plumbing tape added to the bottom of the wet palette. The tape is naturally water resistant (it is designed to be wrapped around plumbing pipes), the tape is flat, and you can get it in different widths at your local big box store or Amazon. The surface of the tape is copper alloy. I use it in all my wet palettes
Candy and pallet in one! As a bonus they have two sizes, one for home and a half size for the road. I'm a Swedish dish cloth connoisseur myself, as they come in light neutral grey and fit without trimming. It's also big enough to toss my silicone poppy dry pallet inside to keep that paint fresh overnight.
Use Ammonia. I use a few drops of Ammonia in my wet pallet. It works WAY better then copper, or dish soap, and won't stain your sponge, or effect your paints (which copper corrosion can, and dish soap definitely will). Not to mention will kill anything that may have soured your paints (which can happen with paint pots, from sticking your damp brush into the pot), and prevents yellowing long term (due to mold that may have gotten into your paint. Again paint pots). Costs $2 a liter, can be bought at any grocery store. I paint daily/weekly and a liter of Ammonia lasts me 1 to 2 years. I have 5 wet pallets I have used over the past 10+ years. Several homemade Tupperware container wet pallets, a Masterson's, an Army Painter, Army Painter XL, and a Game Envy Exemplar. I have worked as an acrylic painter and illustrator for the past 15 years. I started using wet pallets in my work to help extend the life of my pallet while working on weeks/months long projects. Porting what I learned to the hobby of miniature and diorama painting. Hope this helps
Imagine my delight to see my exact wet palette, right down to the lovely purple color, in the thumbnail. Thanks, Vince. I've been using this for several months now and I still learned some good tips from this vid.
As a note on copper pennies, prior to 1982 they were 95% copper, after 1982 they went to the aluminum/nickel. So, check the date on the penny, 1981 all the way back to 1900 and before are 95%+ copper. Only after 82 did they lose pretty much all the copper.
Would the internal material even matter? From my understanding pennies are still coated in copper and ultimately the coat is what's in contact with the water.
@@mackpackable Yep - this is my understanding as well. I've never had to deal with mold/mildew in my palette over the last 3 years and all I use is 4 pennies. And I've inadvertently left my palette closed up for about a week (live in PNW).
I have a squeezy bottle I use to refill my wet palette which contains a premade mix of water, liquid ammonia (from cleaning section of grocery or hardware store,) and Liquitex Flow Aid. Keeps the palette clean and keeps most paints working properly for a lot longer than just using water, including allowing me to use most metallics on my wey palette without issue which is a real life saver during the hot months where metallics just become a thick paste way too quickly on a dry palette.
Heard tales of you but first time consuming content on the channel and you definitely live up to the reputation. Thanks for the dedication and high quality tips :) lots to think about and I am more informed and smarter for watching the few vids I have. Many more to go!
I had the older exemplar palette with the white sponge and had a problem with my paint drying too quickly despite submerging the palette paper for a minute and leaving a lot of water in the sponge. I used two sponges to compensate and that worked mostly, but my parent pool paints would get smushed when I put my palette lid on. I also live in the southern USA region where swamp-ass reigns supreme. The solution? Following Game Envy's instructions to the letter. Which is just wetting the sponge first, applying the paper on top, and letting the paper hydrate and expand. For some reason, that made it work flawlessly with one sponge. So if it wasn't some massive skill issue on my end, then my takeaway from that experience is 'do not overhydrate Game Envy's palette paper!' 😳 Using it exactly as intended makes it perfect. I also got their latest version with the new sponge and I swear by it now. No issues.
To anyone who is making their own for the time being.... The thin magic erasers make excellent replacements to a sponge. Way better than just paper towel does
Perfect timing. I just got my Game Envy palette and after a hiatus, planned to pick up a brush again. I've also found with brand name supplied paper, they tend to be the EXACT size of the inner dimensions of the tray, so I cut a sliver on two sides, so it doesn't overlap the sponge. If I don't, What tends to happen is if I didn't lay down the paper on the sponge perfect, one side of the paper tends to ride the edge of the plastic, causing it to curl over time faster. Appreciate all you do, Vince, fantastic vid.
learned about wet palettes in art school 20 years ago, we'd use a cooking tray, paper towels and baking paper, and clean it out at the end of the day. Just now realized people keep it wet over long period of time LOL
Great idea! For copper I just stripped an old lamp that was going to get thrown out and superglued it to the bottom of the wet palette. Someone else suggested plumbing tape - that's the simplest and has huge surface area.
Took a small kit on vacation to a different climate and oh man. I couldn't even paint with it. I get the statements about the variance in climate now, it really can make such a difference. Great vid.
I used to work in laboratories (chemical engineer) so I'm clean without being fastidious. I try to not store paint in the wet palette overnight because it often changes too much - as Vince says, mileage very much varies, even within same paint brand. For daily use I like the repeat-use paper - Redgrass, I think. I get a lot more use out of it than the 10+ times advertised. Probably 30-50 times. Rinse daily gently under the tap with warm water, right on the palette at the same time I'm washing the brushes. This rinses paint off but ideally you don't waste too much. That also flushes the palette of old water. Wipe gently with a sponge, drain excess water, and the palette is ready for tomorrow. I did this with "non reusable" paper and probably can get 2-3 reuses out of it. Bonus is that the palette is basically ready for use at any time.
For those who want copper for a wet palette, don't buy it. Look around for electrical items that people throw away and salvage the power cable from that. Strip the copper wire out and use that. You could do what I did and use a dremel to cut shallow channels into the base of your wet palette and push the wire into those channels. This will minimise any bumps in the sponge/paper that I used to get before I cut the wire into the plastic. Edit* alternatively, go to a garden centre and buy the adhesive copper strips intended to keep slugs away from plants. It is relatively cheap and very thin.
You hit on my specific problem perfectly there. I paint a bit in the morning, but by the time I return from work later I have pools of wet paint that are good for nothing but possibly glazing. I never thought about leaving the lid ajar to prevent a "greenhouse". Thanks, I'll experiment with it.
Heh I'm a proper miser - shallow, resealable plastic box, with a couple of layers of kitchen towel and that sort of baking-paper-a-like stuff you find at self service bakeries, it's semi porous so works perfectly in a WP. Aside from that I have a piece of copper tape stuck to the bottom of the box and use deionised water rather than tap water. All of this seems to work very well, but I'm always tempted to go out and get me a 'real 'grown-up' WP when I see vids like these 😄
Another excellent video! My go to is the Masterson, but I use Games Envy sponges and paper, as they sell them for that size. Super convenient, and excellent products. Thanks for the content and work! Have a good one!
Air sealed tupperware (use the lid as bottom) + bakingpaper + kitchentowels. O2H2 as anti-life-equation (suck it darkseid). Works really well. Ty for the video, good tips.
Having a limited, and cluttered, painting space, I kept looking for smaller and smaller wet palettes. I am now down to a Geek Box Slim with a square of Wettex kitchen cloth on the bottom. I have to change the paper quite often but that suits the way I paint.
Great tips. I am pretty neglectful with my wet palette, but never get mold or other grossness. I think that's mainly down to not licking my brushes and using distilled water.
Perfect timing. I’ve noticed certain brands do and don’t work well with wet palettes, for instance AK 3rd paint doesn’t work on the Exemplar system, but Series 75 tube acrylics work terrific. Or Kimera didn’t work well either for me but Reaper does. Another note to take into consideration is water quality. I’m on a well system, not good for wet palettes, so I use bottled distilled water. Thanks for the effort you put into these videos.
That's a nice piece you're painting there Vince - I mean the lady sitting on a wall with a gun (if I read her correctly on my small screen). As for the palette, I've been not keeping it closed in general - whether because I'm not sure when I can return to painting and it is all the way open, or I think I'm returning soon but not before a few hours and it is indeed part way on, like you've shown. I still get a crap ton too much water in most Kimera paints, but that's OK. :) Originally I had a made up palette from a ham slice tupperware (I was surprised they existed), paper towel instead of a sponge and parchment paper. And I threw away everything inside at the end of each session. I've upgraded since. :-9 Enjoy your painting sessions!
I brought a cheap wet pallete and never used it. I dont mind dry palletes. This year i brought the redgrass medium sized wp. Man, leagues better then the home brand one. Worth every cent and use a wet pallete all the time now.
1954 penny under the sponge and the 4 copper weights for the corners, never have had mold issues and I’ve accidentally left water in mine for over a month before.
My wet palette was working so well until I switched to Pro Acryl -- on my Red Grass Gaming palette the paints split absurdly quickly, and I'm not sure what to do about it. It would be nice to see you talk about how different brands interact with the palettes too :)
I’ve been using the small GSW one for some time now, never any mold issues which might be water quality? No idea. The AP one would be about twice the price as I would need to order that and shipping is shipping. The main reason those are the ones I’ve looked at is because they’re small and I don’t have that much space. Many others seem way too big, or just not available. The water bottle for refilling is a grand idea, I shall implement that tomorrow.
Exemplar is the best of the wet pallets, but I'm really liking the Masterson wet palette paper for multiple unit painting. And Masterson is more affordable for your first upgrade. For heroes and display, Exemplar. For large armies over weeks go Masterson with one drop of ammonia per gallon of water. Vince RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you're feeling a bit brave, take your favourite gun barrel drill and use it to put a small hole in each corner of the lid. I live in soggy England, so I get a lot of wet palette moisture; closing the lid fully can cause mould in two days even with silver wire in the bottom of the wet palette (I'm not rich, I just happened to have some old speaker wire that is silver coated 😂) so the holes in the lid have really helped prevent mould and wet palette sweating. I imagine it would be even more useful to do it if you're in a hot area.
I myself really just use the wet palette for ease of use with the paint and not to keep the same paint for next time. Typically when I paint I will have a multi hour session and it helps with that, but I toss the sheet at the end of the session every time.
I've been hoping a hobby shop in the UK will start selling them, but no luck so far. When I got my RGG studio wet palette, I used some old speaker wire (copper wire that has a pure silver coating) and dremeled some channels into the plastic base, then pressed the wore into the channels. I still get mould (England, very damp), but I get significantly less than I did before I put the silver in.
I've used the redgrass wet palette for ages and have had 0 probs and I also have a thin copper sheet that I lay in the bottom. I don't like the generally cheap chinese food tray option because the lid often needs more force to snap it on than the purpose-built palettes
I’ve heard foil and plastic wrap referred to as “Reynolds Wrap”, but never baking or parchment paper. Baking/Parchment paper - oven safe non-stick paper product. Usually coated with a food safe silicon or silicone. Wax Paper- a definitely not oven safe paper product used for room temperature and cold non-stick needs. I actually really like the Masterson wet palatte paper. It’s thicker and acts a bit like the two density sponge setup found in the game envy. You just need to follow the directions for prep.
Thanks. I've been painting for more than 20 years... I do a good job, but I always use a dry pallet.. I dont paint for really long periods of time, and it's just always just been easier. I have 2 wet pallets, but can never.. get used to them? I still don't basically because of some of the problems you gave answers to, but also not having the edge of the paint pallet to get extra paint off my brush, or sharpen the tip when needed... messes with me.
I'm currently using a Masterson's palette while I wait for my Exemplar to arrive from the recent Kickstarter. Where I struggle is with paint diultion. I find that on the wet palette, even taking some off on a paper towel between the palette and the model, that my paint is far too liquid to control well. A dry palette mitigates this somewhat but I hate how much paint gets left behind/wasted. The one thing I will say for my wet palette is that if I put three drops of paint on it practically all of those three drops are going on the model.
The wicking into the paper towel really is key. If you’re still getting that much liquid, that means you’re working very thin, so multiple touches to the paper towel until the paint doesn’t bloom.
Try baking paper at least once. I had problems for my first 6 months with my first wet pallet, Masterson and swapped to baking paper and since it is semi transparent when wet I figured it out after 2 sessions. Even if you don''t end up using the baking paper (Reynolds in my area) after you try, it is useful for many other mini related tasks. Making tufts, baking clay if you use texture rollers for terrain/bases or even sculpting, any non-stick needs.
Are you using reusable membranes from RGG? I really don't get on with them. I find baking paper (without wax coating) to be vastly superior. When I use the membranes, ProAcryl behaves really strangely. The paint gets really gritty on the membranes, but no on baking/parchment paper.
The wet palette sure was a game.changer for me! A little question: do you use your good brushes to mix paint? Did you never have them die early as a result ?
Tips to add: metallics generally don’t do well on wet palettes, not all palettes are water tight (learned that one the hard way!), clean your palettes with soap and water every now and then
But if you do use metallics on a wet pallet you can glaze with them. It’s a little tricky to use, but you can come up with some cool results. They then act almost like a contrast paint.
Hey Vince awesome video as always but I have an question unrelated to wet pallets I just got the pro acrylic basic set and a few signature set yours obviously included and wanted to ask what ratio should I use for airbrushing the white and off white colours I watched your pro acrylic airbrush video and as whites and off whites are generally more in need of thining Can I use the typical 3:1 thinner to paint or should I use more thinner because white and ivory colours are harder to thin I’m planing to paint a pre heresy colour sceme deathguard army and want to lean heavily in to the ivory and light ivory in the basics box for my base coat and highlights Than you in advance and keep on making amazing videos
Im using the red grass one, and I always heard about "water until theres a slight film on the sponge" but everytime i did that at one point or another the water would get ontop of the paper and paint would flow everywhere. Since then Ive been fully moisturizing the sponge (when i press with the thumb down, water comes out) and put some extra water to about half the sponge height, and never had a problem with it from that point. However maybe im just having user error here
Have you used the reusable hydration membranes from Red Grass Games, Vince? I am not a hyge fan of them. I find that my usual process of thinning paint doesn't work the same on them and that ProAcryl, in particular, doesn't like those sheets. As always, thanks for sharing your knowledge. You are invaluable.
I had the same experience with the membranes. I switched to their normal palette paper and noticed a huge improvement in how my paint performed, especially with Pro Acryl.
Considering paper: I learned that the paper provided by hobby companies like Army Painter is not good. In case of Army Painter, the paper is permeable to some paint additives which might alter the paints behaviour. I switched mine for non-waxed baking paper and my Vallejo paints bubble less
@@StaticSapphicVallejo paints supposedly generate little bubbles that aren't popping on themselves when the paint dry. It looks horrible on the miniatures. Stahly from Tale of Painters talks about it in his videos.
From Elrik's Hobbies - www.elrikshobbies.com/products/palette-guard?srsltid=AfmBOooDGzmuHgCyNrw8EYjr-s6e4N6rxxiA7bJTy8Qxe8NlANG0e8Tn&variant=41196207440070
Im to cheap to buy a premade one. But i get a ton of mileage out of paper towel and the costco brand parchment paper. At least here in the pacific northwest.
I love my exemplar but have had issues with their paper sort of bubbling up in the middle after a day or two which is weird and I haven't found a solution, I wish I could get army painter sheets in bigger size cause I generally prefer it but it's obviously much smaller than the exemplar
I noticed in your video (and ive seen it in other creators videos too) that the pool you make when mixing the paint beads up and almost disappears. Is that a characteristic of the paper or an indicator that your paint is properly thinned? Is that a normal thing? Im really new to the hobby and wet palettes so im still trying to figure them out.
Vince, this is maybe a bit off topic, but maybe it's somehow related to my palette or how I treat my paints, but lately I'm having a huge issue with paint beading up on the surface of my minis. It literally won't go down in an even coat and wants to bead up. It seems to be most prevalent over wash layers, but sometimes over base layers as well. If I stroke the brush back and forth I can usually get it to lay flat, but obviously this is detrimental to detail painting. Has this ever happened to you? Any idea what's causing this?
One thing I have noticed is that ProAcryl are absolutely the worst on a wet palette. They become very watery so quickly, it’s like they’re soaking up the water at 10x the rate of other paints. Any tips for ProAcryl in particular on a wet palette?
What about using copper sheet under the sponge? Getting a thin sheet like 24g shouldn't be too expensive and it can be cut to the size of the palette so you don't need to worry about any sort of texture under the sponge.
How come your paper stays so perfect and flat? Every palette I've had has had the problem of when I put the paper on, it just wrinkles up like your fingertips if you've been in the bath for a week! So then I have to work around all these totally dry ridges. I've tried all water levels from just a damp sponge, to right up to the brim of the sponge, and it's the same.
You have to smooth it out a little after application, but it could be your local humidity as well. More full is correct and then smooth with a popsicle stick.
No matter whether I use small or big blobs, they do dry up on top forming a film. It does happen after an hour or two, so It's not too bad but maybe there's something I can do to prevent that, short of covering it constantly when in use?
Can you do an experiment to replicate Dr. Faust's cold palette? His video seems to be the only one on it and I cannot for the life of me replicate his results.
Hey Vince, I had a question regarding references and how you utilize them through painting. Do you typically have multiple references that you refer to? Do you use large screens or an ipad to look around them while painting? Do you use any programs to more easily identify areas for highlight? The reason I ask is I recently bought an ipad and the program procreate thinking they may assist me in improving my painting.
I have them on the computer screen in front of me if I am referencing them, but I don't actually keep them up most of the time, I reference back and forth. I like to look at it every so often to check in.
I've had the same issue with Pro Acryl. Their white paint dried from underneath for me. I've used a few of the new Army Painter paints on my wet pallette and they behave very well.
Copper plumbing tape added to the bottom of the wet palette. The tape is naturally water resistant (it is designed to be wrapped around plumbing pipes), the tape is flat, and you can get it in different widths at your local big box store or Amazon. The surface of the tape is copper alloy. I use it in all my wet palettes
Sir, you win the comment section!
*edit* how often do you change the tape?
@@Yo7p When/if it starts to oxidize and turn green (which is like once a year)
Great idea! I’ll have to give that a try.
I use copper seal washers as getting copper tape is not easy around here for some reason.
Make sure that it's solid copper and not copper-plated soft iron. I made that mistake and opened my wet palette to a sea of rust from the cut ends.
That water level tip is an eye opener. Thanks.
Glad it was helpful!
Ferrero Rocherre tray, car chamois and kitchen baking paper for the win!
Candy and pallet in one! As a bonus they have two sizes, one for home and a half size for the road. I'm a Swedish dish cloth connoisseur myself, as they come in light neutral grey and fit without trimming. It's also big enough to toss my silicone poppy dry pallet inside to keep that paint fresh overnight.
I made basically the same thing with a plastic sandwich container that hinges open like a clam shell and latches closed. Easy to use and care for.
yes
I literally have this sitting on my desk right now lol
Use Ammonia.
I use a few drops of Ammonia in my wet pallet. It works WAY better then copper, or dish soap, and won't stain your sponge, or effect your paints (which copper corrosion can, and dish soap definitely will). Not to mention will kill anything that may have soured your paints (which can happen with paint pots, from sticking your damp brush into the pot), and prevents yellowing long term (due to mold that may have gotten into your paint. Again paint pots). Costs $2 a liter, can be bought at any grocery store. I paint daily/weekly and a liter of Ammonia lasts me 1 to 2 years.
I have 5 wet pallets I have used over the past 10+ years. Several homemade Tupperware container wet pallets, a Masterson's, an Army Painter, Army Painter XL, and a Game Envy Exemplar. I have worked as an acrylic painter and illustrator for the past 15 years. I started using wet pallets in my work to help extend the life of my pallet while working on weeks/months long projects. Porting what I learned to the hobby of miniature and diorama painting.
Hope this helps
Imagine my delight to see my exact wet palette, right down to the lovely purple color, in the thumbnail. Thanks, Vince. I've been using this for several months now and I still learned some good tips from this vid.
My pleasure!
As a note on copper pennies, prior to 1982 they were 95% copper, after 1982 they went to the aluminum/nickel. So, check the date on the penny, 1981 all the way back to 1900 and before are 95%+ copper. Only after 82 did they lose pretty much all the copper.
Would the internal material even matter? From my understanding pennies are still coated in copper and ultimately the coat is what's in contact with the water.
Cool, just checked and I somehow have a 1957 penny lying around.
@@mackpackable Yep - this is my understanding as well.
I've never had to deal with mold/mildew in my palette over the last 3 years and all I use is 4 pennies. And I've inadvertently left my palette closed up for about a week (live in PNW).
I have a squeezy bottle I use to refill my wet palette which contains a premade mix of water, liquid ammonia (from cleaning section of grocery or hardware store,) and Liquitex Flow Aid. Keeps the palette clean and keeps most paints working properly for a lot longer than just using water, including allowing me to use most metallics on my wey palette without issue which is a real life saver during the hot months where metallics just become a thick paste way too quickly on a dry palette.
What is the benefit of the Amonia? Only for killing bacterial, or also for the paint? (As it has a strong smell to it)
Heard tales of you but first time consuming content on the channel and you definitely live up to the reputation.
Thanks for the dedication and high quality tips :) lots to think about and I am more informed and smarter for watching the few vids I have.
Many more to go!
Welcome aboard! It's all true, all of it. ;) - Glad to have you along on the hobby journey.
The last part about the greenhouse effect is the most important thing. The game envy wet hole is godly.
I had the older exemplar palette with the white sponge and had a problem with my paint drying too quickly despite submerging the palette paper for a minute and leaving a lot of water in the sponge. I used two sponges to compensate and that worked mostly, but my parent pool paints would get smushed when I put my palette lid on. I also live in the southern USA region where swamp-ass reigns supreme.
The solution? Following Game Envy's instructions to the letter. Which is just wetting the sponge first, applying the paper on top, and letting the paper hydrate and expand. For some reason, that made it work flawlessly with one sponge.
So if it wasn't some massive skill issue on my end, then my takeaway from that experience is 'do not overhydrate Game Envy's palette paper!' 😳 Using it exactly as intended makes it perfect.
I also got their latest version with the new sponge and I swear by it now. No issues.
To anyone who is making their own for the time being.... The thin magic erasers make excellent replacements to a sponge. Way better than just paper towel does
Perfect timing. I just got my Game Envy palette and after a hiatus, planned to pick up a brush again. I've also found with brand name supplied paper, they tend to be the EXACT size of the inner dimensions of the tray, so I cut a sliver on two sides, so it doesn't overlap the sponge. If I don't, What tends to happen is if I didn't lay down the paper on the sponge perfect, one side of the paper tends to ride the edge of the plastic, causing it to curl over time faster.
Appreciate all you do, Vince, fantastic vid.
Same issue. I just switched back to Reynolds.
learned about wet palettes in art school 20 years ago, we'd use a cooking tray, paper towels and baking paper, and clean it out at the end of the day. Just now realized people keep it wet over long period of time LOL
The double sponge tip is such a simple yet amazing tip. Vincy V quality has no equal.
Great idea! For copper I just stripped an old lamp that was going to get thrown out and superglued it to the bottom of the wet palette. Someone else suggested plumbing tape - that's the simplest and has huge surface area.
Took a small kit on vacation to a different climate and oh man. I couldn't even paint with it. I get the statements about the variance in climate now, it really can make such a difference. Great vid.
I used to work in laboratories (chemical engineer) so I'm clean without being fastidious. I try to not store paint in the wet palette overnight because it often changes too much - as Vince says, mileage very much varies, even within same paint brand.
For daily use I like the repeat-use paper - Redgrass, I think. I get a lot more use out of it than the 10+ times advertised. Probably 30-50 times. Rinse daily gently under the tap with warm water, right on the palette at the same time I'm washing the brushes. This rinses paint off but ideally you don't waste too much. That also flushes the palette of old water. Wipe gently with a sponge, drain excess water, and the palette is ready for tomorrow.
I did this with "non reusable" paper and probably can get 2-3 reuses out of it. Bonus is that the palette is basically ready for use at any time.
For those who want copper for a wet palette, don't buy it.
Look around for electrical items that people throw away and salvage the power cable from that. Strip the copper wire out and use that.
You could do what I did and use a dremel to cut shallow channels into the base of your wet palette and push the wire into those channels.
This will minimise any bumps in the sponge/paper that I used to get before I cut the wire into the plastic.
Edit* alternatively, go to a garden centre and buy the adhesive copper strips intended to keep slugs away from plants. It is relatively cheap and very thin.
You hit on my specific problem perfectly there. I paint a bit in the morning, but by the time I return from work later I have pools of wet paint that are good for nothing but possibly glazing. I never thought about leaving the lid ajar to prevent a "greenhouse". Thanks, I'll experiment with it.
I recently won the examplar for the Mecha May competition and it has finally made its way here. Looks like a super product!
Heh I'm a proper miser - shallow, resealable plastic box, with a couple of layers of kitchen towel and that sort of baking-paper-a-like stuff you find at self service bakeries, it's semi porous so works perfectly in a WP. Aside from that I have a piece of copper tape stuck to the bottom of the box and use deionised water rather than tap water. All of this seems to work very well, but I'm always tempted to go out and get me a 'real 'grown-up' WP when I see vids like these 😄
Another excellent video! My go to is the Masterson, but I use Games Envy sponges and paper, as they sell them for that size. Super convenient, and excellent products.
Thanks for the content and work! Have a good one!
You're right Vince, it isn't a problem for me in the middle of Phoenix! But i often find myself getting more water for the palette quite often.
This is the simple but complete overview I've been looking for. Thank you!
You are the goat, sir. Thanks for all you do to teach us your ways
Air sealed tupperware (use the lid as bottom) + bakingpaper + kitchentowels. O2H2 as anti-life-equation (suck it darkseid). Works really well.
Ty for the video, good tips.
I love how relatable pintdrops on keybord are
I've been using Swedish dishcloths as a sponge. It is a cellulose cotton blend and you can microwave it to sterilize it.
Having a limited, and cluttered, painting space, I kept looking for smaller and smaller wet palettes. I am now down to a Geek Box Slim with a square of Wettex kitchen cloth on the bottom. I have to change the paper quite often but that suits the way I paint.
In the middle of a heatwave here in San Francisco so this is very pertinent information right now, thanks Vince!
Happy to help!
I have found putting a wash on the wet pallet makes a wonderful glaze. You are limited to darker colors, but it’s good for adding shadows.
11:00 to 12:20 HOLE-LEE-SHITE I've been banging my head. Y Y WHY is my paint drying out so fast. Vince, you are the man!.
Great tips. I am pretty neglectful with my wet palette, but never get mold or other grossness. I think that's mainly down to not licking my brushes and using distilled water.
lol I have just been dealing with mould forever and assumed it was just one of those things 😂 thanks for the tips
Perfect timing. I’ve noticed certain brands do and don’t work well with wet palettes, for instance AK 3rd paint doesn’t work on the Exemplar system, but Series 75 tube acrylics work terrific. Or Kimera didn’t work well either for me but Reaper does. Another note to take into consideration is water quality. I’m on a well system, not good for wet palettes, so I use bottled distilled water. Thanks for the effort you put into these videos.
I use RedGrass and never had problems with AK, but damned Pro Acryl separates in minutes.
@@PrzybyszzMatplanetyPA paints stay working for me on my wet palette for like 4 hours. Depends on what your environment is like.
Wow i was just looking at the game envy and almost bought it. Sounds like a good solution for my problems
That's a nice piece you're painting there Vince - I mean the lady sitting on a wall with a gun (if I read her correctly on my small screen).
As for the palette, I've been not keeping it closed in general - whether because I'm not sure when I can return to painting and it is all the way open, or I think I'm returning soon but not before a few hours and it is indeed part way on, like you've shown. I still get a crap ton too much water in most Kimera paints, but that's OK. :)
Originally I had a made up palette from a ham slice tupperware (I was surprised they existed), paper towel instead of a sponge and parchment paper. And I threw away everything inside at the end of each session. I've upgraded since. :-9
Enjoy your painting sessions!
Started with a cold palette, changed to an army painter. Now, mostly just scrap together a wet palette wherever i am.
simplistic!!! perfection!!! thanks!
You bet!
Having had a wet pallet go rancid, I appreciate the advice of using a drop of soap in the water.
Perfect timing, I just upgraded my palette! (arrived today)
Have fun!
I brought a cheap wet pallete and never used it. I dont mind dry palletes. This year i brought the redgrass medium sized wp. Man, leagues better then the home brand one.
Worth every cent and use a wet pallete all the time now.
1954 penny under the sponge and the 4 copper weights for the corners, never have had mold issues and I’ve accidentally left water in mine for over a month before.
Must be the environment I am in but I have been using wet pallete for 12 years and I only use distilled water and never once got mould.
Thanks for the tips.
Great stuff friend 👏 👍 🤙
My wet palette was working so well until I switched to Pro Acryl -- on my Red Grass Gaming palette the paints split absurdly quickly, and I'm not sure what to do about it. It would be nice to see you talk about how different brands interact with the palettes too :)
I’ve been using the small GSW one for some time now, never any mold issues which might be water quality? No idea. The AP one would be about twice the price as I would need to order that and shipping is shipping. The main reason those are the ones I’ve looked at is because they’re small and I don’t have that much space. Many others seem way too big, or just not available. The water bottle for refilling is a grand idea, I shall implement that tomorrow.
Exemplar is the best of the wet pallets, but I'm really liking the Masterson wet palette paper for multiple unit painting. And Masterson is more affordable for your first upgrade. For heroes and display, Exemplar. For large armies over weeks go Masterson with one drop of ammonia per gallon of water.
Vince RULES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I've been using the red grass pallettes and came here hoping you'd explain the oversaturation when the lid is on. Thanks heaps for that!
If you're feeling a bit brave, take your favourite gun barrel drill and use it to put a small hole in each corner of the lid.
I live in soggy England, so I get a lot of wet palette moisture; closing the lid fully can cause mould in two days even with silver wire in the bottom of the wet palette (I'm not rich, I just happened to have some old speaker wire that is silver coated 😂) so the holes in the lid have really helped prevent mould and wet palette sweating. I imagine it would be even more useful to do it if you're in a hot area.
11:09 that's a great explanation, thanks!
Glad it was helpful!
I myself really just use the wet palette for ease of use with the paint and not to keep the same paint for next time. Typically when I paint I will have a multi hour session and it helps with that, but I toss the sheet at the end of the session every time.
Have you tried the copper corner pieces Game Envy makes? They come with the bonus of holding the edges of the palette paper down!
I've been hoping a hobby shop in the UK will start selling them, but no luck so far.
When I got my RGG studio wet palette, I used some old speaker wire (copper wire that has a pure silver coating) and dremeled some channels into the plastic base, then pressed the wore into the channels.
I still get mould (England, very damp), but I get significantly less than I did before I put the silver in.
I really like mine too! I was skeptical but I haven't had a mold/funk issue since buying them
I’ve been wanting to get them, but I have 3 copper pennies and I’ve just been using that.
I've never tried them, but I am not sure they would be touching the water enough to do it.
@@VinceVenturella I can say (very anecdotal evidence of course) that they’ve worked well for me where 5ey sit on top of the pallet paper
I've used the redgrass wet palette for ages and have had 0 probs and I also have a thin copper sheet that I lay in the bottom. I don't like the generally cheap chinese food tray option because the lid often needs more force to snap it on than the purpose-built palettes
Great video. I found this really useful. Thanks.
Glad it was helpful!
i had a lot of success with putting the wet palette in the refrigerator over night.
I’ve heard foil and plastic wrap referred to as “Reynolds Wrap”, but never baking or parchment paper.
Baking/Parchment paper - oven safe non-stick paper product. Usually coated with a food safe silicon or silicone.
Wax Paper- a definitely not oven safe paper product used for room temperature and cold non-stick needs.
I actually really like the Masterson wet palatte paper. It’s thicker and acts a bit like the two density sponge setup found in the game envy. You just need to follow the directions for prep.
Am I missing the palette guard link, or did you forget to add it to the comments, Vince?
I was searching for the link to.
I could not find it online either.
The Mini Master Werks company website seems to be dead. No idea if they folded or just an issue.
Same. Hope it comes back.
My aologies - www.elrikshobbies.com/products/palette-guard?srsltid=AfmBOorYLdV5olxyAZOgqexmpGl2JY9W_i6ZDYO3XEm-tGnEBxDEyTsO&variant=41196207440070
Thanks. I've been painting for more than 20 years... I do a good job, but I always use a dry pallet.. I dont paint for really long periods of time, and it's just always just been easier. I have 2 wet pallets, but can never.. get used to them? I still don't basically because of some of the problems you gave answers to, but also not having the edge of the paint pallet to get extra paint off my brush, or sharpen the tip when needed... messes with me.
Personally, I use the Redgrass XL (I love the size) but with the sponge from game envy.
I live in a hot dry climate, to help keep it going I put it in the fridge when I’m not using it
I'm currently using a Masterson's palette while I wait for my Exemplar to arrive from the recent Kickstarter. Where I struggle is with paint diultion. I find that on the wet palette, even taking some off on a paper towel between the palette and the model, that my paint is far too liquid to control well. A dry palette mitigates this somewhat but I hate how much paint gets left behind/wasted. The one thing I will say for my wet palette is that if I put three drops of paint on it practically all of those three drops are going on the model.
The wicking into the paper towel really is key. If you’re still getting that much liquid, that means you’re working very thin, so multiple touches to the paper towel until the paint doesn’t bloom.
@@VinceVenturella I’ll try that, thanks!
Well, this is great timing! I just got my Redgrass palette... I've been struggling a little getting the amount of liquid right!
Try baking paper at least once. I had problems for my first 6 months with my first wet pallet, Masterson and swapped to baking paper and since it is semi transparent when wet I figured it out after 2 sessions.
Even if you don''t end up using the baking paper (Reynolds in my area) after you try, it is useful for many other mini related tasks. Making tufts, baking clay if you use texture rollers for terrain/bases or even sculpting, any non-stick needs.
Are you using reusable membranes from RGG?
I really don't get on with them.
I find baking paper (without wax coating) to be vastly superior.
When I use the membranes, ProAcryl behaves really strangely. The paint gets really gritty on the membranes, but no on baking/parchment paper.
The two sponges thing is genius...
Great content as usual… I am using the large Redgrass atm but I find the included paper not as permeable as some and i’ve been eyeing the Game Envy.
Thank you 😊
If you wanna use pennies 1981 and earlier are mainly copper. 1982 was the transition year, so those are hit or miss on copper
Thanks
The wet palette sure was a game.changer for me! A little question: do you use your good brushes to mix paint? Did you never have them die early as a result ?
I do, but I am very gentle with my mixes.
Tips to add: metallics generally don’t do well on wet palettes, not all palettes are water tight (learned that one the hard way!), clean your palettes with soap and water every now and then
But if you do use metallics on a wet pallet you can glaze with them. It’s a little tricky to use, but you can come up with some cool results. They then act almost like a contrast paint.
@@nomassgoer8350 true! I do that with my over hydrated paints
Hey Vince awesome video as always but I have an question unrelated to wet pallets I just got the pro acrylic basic set and a few signature set yours obviously included and wanted to ask what ratio should I use for airbrushing the white and off white colours I watched your pro acrylic airbrush video and as whites and off whites are generally more in need of thining
Can I use the typical 3:1 thinner to paint or should I use more thinner because white and ivory colours are harder to thin I’m planing to paint a pre heresy colour sceme deathguard army and want to lean heavily in to the ivory and light ivory in the basics box for my base coat and highlights
Than you in advance and keep on making amazing videos
Not me sitting down to unbox my Exemplar and finding out this video dropped today
Im using the red grass one, and I always heard about "water until theres a slight film on the sponge" but everytime i did that at one point or another the water would get ontop of the paper and paint would flow everywhere. Since then Ive been fully moisturizing the sponge (when i press with the thumb down, water comes out) and put some extra water to about half the sponge height, and never had a problem with it from that point. However maybe im just having user error here
Have you used the reusable hydration membranes from Red Grass Games, Vince?
I am not a hyge fan of them. I find that my usual process of thinning paint doesn't work the same on them and that ProAcryl, in particular, doesn't like those sheets.
As always, thanks for sharing your knowledge. You are invaluable.
I had the same experience with the membranes. I switched to their normal palette paper and noticed a huge improvement in how my paint performed, especially with Pro Acryl.
I've used them, don't like them honestly.
Forgot the link for the pallet guard? Good info Vince, thanks!
www.elrikshobbies.com/products/palette-guard?srsltid=AfmBOopiOxLdKC59wradkHw0dkv1lRtzFgnjgdmWABhsSeRGsPmXbsQO&variant=41196207440070
I wonder if you tried the cold pallet? I think Dr. Faust Painting Clinic uses one.
Haven't tried it.
I get a gallon of distilled water and put 10 drops of chlorine bleach into it. Never had mold in may palette again.
Considering paper: I learned that the paper provided by hobby companies like Army Painter is not good. In case of Army Painter, the paper is permeable to some paint additives which might alter the paints behaviour. I switched mine for non-waxed baking paper and my Vallejo paints bubble less
what do you mean by bubbling?
@@StaticSapphicVallejo paints supposedly generate little bubbles that aren't popping on themselves when the paint dry. It looks horrible on the miniatures. Stahly from Tale of Painters talks about it in his videos.
Where do you get those palette guard drops? Can’t find on Amazon or eBay. Great vid, thx!
From Elrik's Hobbies - www.elrikshobbies.com/products/palette-guard?srsltid=AfmBOooDGzmuHgCyNrw8EYjr-s6e4N6rxxiA7bJTy8Qxe8NlANG0e8Tn&variant=41196207440070
What do you think about using metallic paints on a wet pallet? I've heard both sides saying it fine to saying never do it.
Most mettalic paints are quite hydrophilic, and under careful suspension, so it's a bad idea generally, as they will break up more easily.
Im to cheap to buy a premade one. But i get a ton of mileage out of paper towel and the costco brand parchment paper. At least here in the pacific northwest.
My question when watching any of your videos: where did you find all of the MtG angel images for your PC background?
Just google search. :)
I don't use a wet palette, but appreciate all your video's.
lol how can you appreciate this one tho?
@@derpstick5467 Still appreciate the work he puts into the video's.
I love my exemplar but have had issues with their paper sort of bubbling up in the middle after a day or two which is weird and I haven't found a solution, I wish I could get army painter sheets in bigger size cause I generally prefer it but it's obviously much smaller than the exemplar
8% humidity in AZ right now fml
I noticed in your video (and ive seen it in other creators videos too) that the pool you make when mixing the paint beads up and almost disappears. Is that a characteristic of the paper or an indicator that your paint is properly thinned? Is that a normal thing? Im really new to the hobby and wet palettes so im still trying to figure them out.
another alternative to prevent mold is to put the palette in the fridge...
Vince, this is maybe a bit off topic, but maybe it's somehow related to my palette or how I treat my paints, but lately I'm having a huge issue with paint beading up on the surface of my minis. It literally won't go down in an even coat and wants to bead up. It seems to be most prevalent over wash layers, but sometimes over base layers as well. If I stroke the brush back and forth I can usually get it to lay flat, but obviously this is detrimental to detail painting. Has this ever happened to you? Any idea what's causing this?
One thing I have noticed is that ProAcryl are absolutely the worst on a wet palette. They become very watery so quickly, it’s like they’re soaking up the water at 10x the rate of other paints.
Any tips for ProAcryl in particular on a wet palette?
Much, much less water.
What about using copper sheet under the sponge? Getting a thin sheet like 24g shouldn't be too expensive and it can be cut to the size of the palette so you don't need to worry about any sort of texture under the sponge.
For sure, that works fine as well.
Cold pallete
How come your paper stays so perfect and flat? Every palette I've had has had the problem of when I put the paper on, it just wrinkles up like your fingertips if you've been in the bath for a week! So then I have to work around all these totally dry ridges. I've tried all water levels from just a damp sponge, to right up to the brim of the sponge, and it's the same.
You have to smooth it out a little after application, but it could be your local humidity as well. More full is correct and then smooth with a popsicle stick.
I threw some scrap sheet copper under my sponge
No matter whether I use small or big blobs, they do dry up on top forming a film. It does happen after an hour or two, so It's not too bad but maybe there's something I can do to prevent that, short of covering it constantly when in use?
MOre water in the palette could help that, some flow improver in the water could also help.
Thanks! I didn't try dish soap or anything else in water yet, maybe that's what I've been missing.
Can you do an experiment to replicate Dr. Faust's cold palette? His video seems to be the only one on it and I cannot for the life of me replicate his results.
Yeah, that one is something I want to try at some point.
Do you err on the side of less water when using Pro Acryl since they are more hydrophilic than other brands?
Yes, with PA, less water is good.
I use it within 12 hours and when my 12 hours are up, I swap it out, regardless of if I THINK the paints still good.
Hey Vince, I had a question regarding references and how you utilize them through painting. Do you typically have multiple references that you refer to? Do you use large screens or an ipad to look around them while painting? Do you use any programs to more easily identify areas for highlight? The reason I ask is I recently bought an ipad and the program procreate thinking they may assist me in improving my painting.
I have them on the computer screen in front of me if I am referencing them, but I don't actually keep them up most of the time, I reference back and forth. I like to look at it every so often to check in.
I’ve found that Pro Acryl won’t last long on the we palate. How does the new Army Painter line hold up for prolonged use?
I've had the same issue with Pro Acryl. Their white paint dried from underneath for me. I've used a few of the new Army Painter paints on my wet pallette and they behave very well.
Generally AP is pretty good on the wet palette.
What do you do if you're not going to use the palette for a while? Do you dry it?
A real while, like a week, yeah, just take off the paper and dry it out.
@@VinceVenturella great! Thank you! 🙏