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Does anyone have a palette recommendation and are they worth it or should I just use like a lunch bag. Another issue with cidital paints I find is that you always have to keep the paint bottles open or have something to scoop them out which can be annoying.

Any tips here guys?

I used to use a wet pallette but kind of went off it. Too much hassle for too little gain. I still have a pallette and thin my paints, just not with a wet pallette. The wet pallette is handy if you're using a lot of paint - you can leave it for the next session, or if mixing - you can use the same batch rather than trying to mix it the same again.

If you do want a wet pallette you can make one for basically nothing. No need to buy one. Mine's a plastic tub (that was once the home to some takeaway rice from the local Chinese), paper towel in the bottom and some grease proof paper on top. All stuff I already had.

YouTube has loads of videos on how to make one.

 Whittlesey40k wrote:
If you do want a wet pallette you can make one for basically nothing. No need to buy one. Mine's a plastic tub (that was once the home to some takeaway rice from the local Chinese), paper towel in the bottom and some grease proof paper on top. All stuff I already had.

This is my setup too. Works a treat, and isn't hard to get ready either

There are a couple of tutorials in the P&M section already. Here's the one I used - https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/695774.page#8787283

As for the paints, I like to pop them on the palette by brush; perhaps it is just Vallejo paints, but when I used their dropper bottle paint it separated upon contact. Haven't had any problems with Citadel, and it's easy to add more paint on the palette if it waters down too much.

I've also used wet palette and walked away from it. It is completely useless with more diluted paints like those of vallejo which dry up slower than GW's anyway. With GW's (or other paints with similar viscosity) you have to drop a significant drop on the palette and at this point the paint loses its homogenity so you have to constantly stir it and lose yet more paint to the brush itself (wiping the extent).

A wet palette advanced my painting skills a significant amount in a very short period of time.

It is no wonder to me why professional miniature painters use a wet palette. I'm not sure why anyone would "walk away" from using it. That makes zero sense to me, but everyone is different. Not only will it improve your skills, but it will save you loads of money on paint. I have virtually no waste at all.

I use my wet palette all the time, but that's because I mix my own shade and highlight colours from the base colour.

If I'm just using the colour as it is in the pot, then I use my plastic palette and add a bit of water. Although Vallejo Game Colour dry pretty quickly, so they are often better on the wet palette too.

wet palette is as mandatory as a brush in my eyes.

keeps the paint wet while you paint as well as naturally helps thin it. the automatic thinning is a godsend for new painters or guys who struggle to thin properly

It doesn't matter if you are using a lot or a little paint, paint drys and a wet palette solves this problem

no high end painters with a brush that I'm aware of are not using a wet palette. go buy one too. sure making one is nice but the plastic masterson ones are so good

btw... what is this lunch bag talk lol. I would buy eye dropper bottles off ebay and move the citadel paints into them

Excellent.

eosgreen wrote:
wet palette is as mandatory as a brush in my eyes.

keeps the paint wet while you paint as well as naturally helps thin it. the automatic thinning is a godsend for new painters or guys who struggle to thin properly

I've never used one, but I can see the utility of it. I'm pretty confident of my ability to thin paints in a normal palette, though, so at best it would seem to be a small time saver (not having to go back and water down a paint repeatedly if I'm using a lot of it at once). I might give it a go.

Most of the DIY wet palettes use a sealable plastic container. Given that these rarely have a flat bottom (structural purposes) and the price point on actual arts store wet palettes (less than $20 for a palette and a pack of replacement papers), there doesn't seem much point in going DIY. The last thing I'd want is my paint deciding it wants to roam around on the palette (into other paints) because it's on an uneven bottom with lumpy paper towel and crinkled parchment paper atop it.

I started using it and have never gone back. Just knowing that the paint will stay fresh on the palette and properly thinned, takes away that little element of stress, and color mixtures etc. stay consistent for longer time, giving you better time to work on your model.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
And there is no investment to speak of, if you have a functional kitchen. (I live with a woman so I was good.)

As others have said, there isn't really an investment to it. Something like a tofu container, paper towel and some parchment paper (the baking kind) and you are ready to go.

I had a lot of trouble with paint drying out, so I decided to give a wet palette a try. I made my own out of a recycled resealable plastic container with a flat lid, damp paper towel, and parchment paper. I use the Reynolds cookie baking sheets parchment paper which are flat, not the kind on the roll, which tends to curl up. My personal experience is that the wet palette is somewhat helpful in slowing my paints from drying out while painting. As a bonus, I was pleased to find that the wet palette helps me save paint between painting sessions. I can come back days later and still have wet paint ready to go.

 General Annoyance wrote:
As for the paints, I like to pop them on the palette by brush; perhaps it is just Vallejo paints, but when I used their dropper bottle paint it separated upon contact.

This may be an issue with the paint, but also may be an issue with bottle design/your mixing technique in relation thereto. All acrylics separate (at varying rates and to varying degrees) over time, and dropper bottles will trap some of the lightly or completely unpigmented acrylic medium in the neck of the bottle if you simply shake up and down. Stirring is always best at mixing paints, although it's messier, more wasteful, and often more of a hassle. With droppers, I always swirl first, either by rolling back and forth between my hands or by turning upside-down and whipping around, not unlike a 10 year old cowboy impersonator hopped up on 10 pounds of sugar. These techniques are prescribed by both Acrylicos Vallejo and Liquitex, respectively, by the way. Adding agitators (stone or glass, ideally, as even stainless steel will oxidize and tint your paint with rust) only eases the process.

Regarding wet palettes: I swear by them, even if I don't always use them. Horses for courses, as they say - sometimes I only need a small amount of paint for a small area, so there's no danger of it drying out before I'm done. Other times, I'm looking to drybrush/overbrush (do people still use that term for drybrushing, but with more paint on the brush?) and specifically want to avoid moisture in the paint. Regardless, cost shouldn't be an issue: Parchment paper, paper towel/sponge, and a cheap tupperware/takeout container are all it takes. Even 'dry' palettes (that is, just 'palettes' ) are better than trying to paint from the pot, and a piece of aluminum foil, a yogurt lid, a glazed tile, or a styrofoam plate will do the job.

To the OP, regarding removing paint from GW-style pots: Rarely should you need more than a little paint at a time. The viscosity makes pipettes impractical and pouring is imprecise, as well as wasteful (good luck cleaning that rim...), so... just use your brush! If you need a small amount, use the bristles, while taking care to avoid dipping too deeply, then thin on either a wet or non-absorbent palette to the desired consistency. If you need a bit more, use the BACK of the brush, instead. Nearly all paint brush handles have a rounded tip on the back of the handle. Dip that in, plop the blob of paint on your chosen palette, then give a twirl to it (staying in contact with the palette), starting vertically and moving toward horizontal. You'll get 90% or more of the paint off, and a quick wipe will clean the minuscule remainder to avoid contaminating subsequent dips.

 Cleatus wrote:
I had a lot of trouble with paint drying out, so I decided to give a wet palette a try. I made my own out of a recycled resealable plastic container with a flat lid, damp paper towel, and parchment paper. I use the Reynolds cookie baking sheets parchment paper which are flat, not the kind on the roll, which tends to curl up. My personal experience is that the wet palette is somewhat helpful in slowing my paints from drying out while painting. As a bonus, I was pleased to find that the wet palette helps me save paint between painting sessions. I can come back days later and still have wet paint ready to go.

I just tried this out tonight and I came up with a variation; a sour cream tub with a flat lid. I turned the LID into a wet palette. I cut the paper towel and parchment paper into a circle, which solved my brush angle issue; just put the tub over the lid when done (it's upside-down, but whatever, right?). I found that the parchment stays flat if it's a touch smaller than the paper towel and if your paper towel is also flat - 2 flat layers seem to be enough. If it curls, just turn it over and let surface tension deal with it.

I put down some green paint to touch up my airbrushing, did that, then went to black, used up almost all the black (several drops of paint), which stayed usefully wet throughout. There was a drop off in fluidity, so some drying is happening, but it was fine for basecoating areas. The green paint was still wet after about 1.5 hours of painting, but it was more watered down to begin with.

If you're having problems with the bottom of your container being uneven, switch from paper towels to a cheap sponge. The sponge top stays level even if the bottom of the container isn't.

 John Prins wrote:

 Cleatus wrote:
I had a lot of trouble with paint drying out, so I decided to give a wet palette a try. I made my own out of a recycled resealable plastic container with a flat lid, damp paper towel, and parchment paper. I use the Reynolds cookie baking sheets parchment paper which are flat, not the kind on the roll, which tends to curl up. My personal experience is that the wet palette is somewhat helpful in slowing my paints from drying out while painting. As a bonus, I was pleased to find that the wet palette helps me save paint between painting sessions. I can come back days later and still have wet paint ready to go.

I just tried this out tonight and I came up with a variation; a sour cream tub with a flat lid. I turned the LID into a wet palette. I cut the paper towel and parchment paper into a circle, which solved my brush angle issue; just put the tub over the lid when done (it's upside-down, but whatever, right?). I found that the parchment stays flat if it's a touch smaller than the paper towel and if your paper towel is also flat - 2 flat layers seem to be enough. If it curls, just turn it over and let surface tension deal with it.

I put down some green paint to touch up my airbrushing, did that, then went to black, used up almost all the black (several drops of paint), which stayed usefully wet throughout. There was a drop off in fluidity, so some drying is happening, but it was fine for basecoating areas. The green paint was still wet after about 1.5 hours of painting, but it was more watered down to begin with.

Yes, sorry if I wasn't clear. I used the lid as the palette, and put the container over the top. I actually use a Frog Tape container. It's a nice size, flat, and hey it was free. Effectively free, anyway, once I used up the painter's tape for another project.

 Vulcan wrote:
If you're having problems with the bottom of your container being uneven, switch from paper towels to a cheap sponge. The sponge top stays level even if the bottom of the container isn't.

Using a flat lid solves the problem nicely, most margarine or sour cream tubs have pretty flat lids - any corrugations are at the edges and the lids are short and vertical. IMO that's the ideal configuration. This is something you could make in any functional kitchen for next to nothing, after all.

I tried it out with some metallic paints today, this seemed less successful, though it seemed more a matter of the paint and water separating (Vajello). Metallic paints seem to like being stirred regularly, and using a wet palette didn't change that.

This chap's even made a wet palette from a miniature blister box! Give it a shot. http://artistsunited.myfreeforum.org/create_a_cheap_wet_palette_lotz_of_pix_about2187.html

Myself, I just have a Tupperware container in which two sponges fit snugly, then the usual parchment paper. I paint to advanced tabletop, and the separated paint water I use instead of whatever additives have worked fine for my miniatures.

Here's a quick and dirty (cheap) paint pallet that I use.

https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/432312.page#3986614

The key is, keep the water level between 1/4 and just under 1/2 the height of the sponge. Too much water means your paint will actually sink through the paper and into the sponge. You don't want that.

Another tip is to not put a lot of paint onto your pallet at one time. If you need to seal it up to keep the paint fresh for two or three days, you've put too much paint on your pallet.

After I started using a wet pallet I would never paint without it. And as far as cost or time/effort is concerned it's ridiculously easy and cheap as chips.
As someone above mentioned, I can't understand why somebody would stop using one.