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I've been painting large batches of orks and sometimes I get a little frustrated with my wet palette. The pigments in my foundation gnarloc green separate incredibly fast and mixing them on the wet palette over and over gets a bit unwieldy on the parchment paper. On cheap plastic palettes my paints dry faster than I'd like and are a pain to clean. I'm going to try a porcelain palette and I am thinking about trying Liquitex Slow-Dri to help extend the working time. I'm not certain which Slow-Dri would be best. I'm not doing any blending. I just need to extend drying time. I'm leaning towards the retarder.

Slow-Dri Blending Fluid — This clear-drying Blending Fluid is uniquely formulated for superior surface blending with acrylics. Add up to 50% of this medium without jeopardizing the strength of the paint. It increases the "open" working time up to 40%. Great for forming softer edges and modeled forms. It dries clear, and is flexible, non-yellowing, and water-resistant when dry.

Slow-Dri Fluid Retarder — Use this additive with Liquitex Acrylics to extend drying time. It increases transparency when floating, shading, blending, and washing colors. Use Slow-Dri Fluid Retarder in place of water before loading the brush with paint, to eliminate drag and improve flow. It helps to reduce paint skinning on the palette, and is excellent for liner work, transparent washes, and wet-on-wet techniques. Cleans up with soap and water.

Any thoughts, experiences, or recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

They both do pretty much the same thing. If I were you, I'd just go with a cheaper larger bottle from a craft / painting store. The Liquitex slow-dry will last you a long time (the larger, more cost efficient bottles), and is a tried and tested brand. I'd just get which ever is cheaper, if it's just for keeping a longer working time on the palette. I'd also recommend not going more than a quarter of your total mix being slow dry. I'd also recommend getting a dropper bottle, and mixing 50/50 water / slow dry, which helps you not over saturate your paint, making it take weeks to dry, and you can thin your paint at the same time

It also makes it easier for adding a drop or two on the palette when your paint starts drying out.

The blending fluid is thicker and has a glossy finish if i am not mistaken. Go with the retarder or alittle glazing medium also extends working time.

Thanks for the input. The blending fluid and retarder are the same price so I'm going to give the retarder a try

Just a little follow up post. I've gotten the liquitex slow-dri retarder. I mixed it up with a little flow aid and distilled water. It is working great along with my new porcelain well palette. I just can't wait to use up the last of my GW pots so that I can finish my switch to vallejo droppers. I always end up with more paint on my palette than I need when I pour out of the pots.

haendas wrote:I always end up with more paint on my palette than I need when I pour out of the pots.

There's your problem, in bold. Unless you need a lot of paint, I wouldn't ever pour from the pots. Dip the tip of a brush handle in there, then twirl it against your palette. Assuming your handle tip is round, rocking the handle up and down while doing so transfers all but a few small streaks of the paint, which are easily wiped off with a paper towel, keeping it clean (and, therefore, smooth) for the next transfer with minimal waste. It allows even finer volume control than dropper bottles, nice as they can be.

Don't use the word retar d, retar ded, retarder, etc; That's insensitive. The correct phrase is Down's Syndrome.

Edited to add - See, even dakka edits the words, that's how bad they are. Though they forgot to edit retarder...

Posting off-topic flamebait can result in the suspension of your account. Thanks ~Manchu

oadie wrote:

haendas wrote:I always end up with more paint on my palette than I need when I pour out of the pots.

There's your problem, in bold. Unless you need a lot of paint, I wouldn't ever pour from the pots. Dip the tip of a brush handle in there, then twirl it against your palette. Assuming your handle tip is round, rocking the handle up and down while doing so transfers all but a few small streaks of the paint, which are easily wiped off with a paper towel, keeping it clean (and, therefore, smooth) for the next transfer with minimal waste. It allows even finer volume control than dropper bottles, nice as they can be.

I had previously tried using the brush end to transfer paint from the pot to the palette and it didn't really cut it for me. I'll give the handle end a try! Thanks for the tip.

I'm not even going to bother debating the "offensiveness" OT subject.

Link to the product: http://www.liquitex.com/slowdrifluidretarder/

I'll use the bristles for tiny amounts or when thickening overly dilute mixes with more paint, since everything on the bristles will get added to the mix. Using them to transfer larger amounts just invites gunk buildup at the ferrule, due to over-dipping, and wastes all the residual paint in the bristles that needs to be rinsed out before you can start painting at the proper consistency and brushload.

One thing I didn't consider earlier is that the surface of my wet palette has a bit of give, which has a "squeegee" effect that helps remove the paint. You may have slightly more wastage on a porcelain or plastic palette, but still significantly less than by pouring.

Good luck with your experiments, as well as returning your thread to topic.