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So I'm aware that there's general advice to make your own when it comes the these, however there are products out there on the market, some from kickstarters, some from general painting brands and others gamer focused. So I'm curious as to what wet pallets people here have chosen to use.

What turned out good - which ones are rather rubbihs; which are good buys and which are significantly overpriced for what you get.

Lets pool our impressions on wet pallets so that those looking to buy instead of making their own ;or perhaps looking for an affordable gift, have ideas and some idea of what's worth it out there on the market.

 Overread wrote:
So I'm aware that there's general advice to make your own when it comes the these, however there are products out there on the market, some from kickstarters, some from general painting brands and others gamer focused. So I'm curious as to what wet pallets people here have chosen to use.

What turned out good - which ones are rather rubbihs; which are good buys and which are significantly overpriced for what you get.

Lets pool our impressions on wet pallets so that those looking to buy instead of making their own ;or perhaps looking for an affordable gift, have ideas and some idea of what's worth it out there on the market.

I'm curious as well, though I am a DIY wet palette user. Something would have to be significantly better to justify spending good money and getting locked into proprietary membranes.

My wet palette is one of those plastic takeaway boxes that you can jam a lid on and it's good to go.

Lately though I've been looking into that everlasting wet palette that I keep seeing people use and I'm kind of curious as to what that's like. I see some people swear by it and the sponge they use looks like motorcycle helmet squeegee things I use for my helmet as it's great for retaining water. Not sure I'm in prepared to invest in one though.

Having used both home made and store-bought, I prefer this wet palette. It's faster and easier to use, and the paper goes all the way to the edge so you don't have that "paint runoff" effect.

Basically, it lets me be lazier and spend a bit more time painting. Other than that, it doesn't actually work all that much better for me.

I’ve had the p3 one for years and I never tried it. Do you use distilled water to prevent mold from growing?

Mold needs water and some sort of nutrient to feed on. Keep all sorts of finger greases and other organic matter off of the palette and you shouldn't be getting any mold. At least not very quickly. If you get any mold you can just discard the innards with fresh ones and you're good to go again. Might be trickier with the commercial ones if you need to buy specific sponges or parchments but at least with DIY palettes mold is a nonissue.

And no, distilled water does not prevent mold.

My water supply here is treated sewage so I'm sure there's tons of organics in it. I've actually been to our sewage treatment plant here and seen the open aeration pits where gak-eating bacteria are skimmed off and it looks like a giant frothy milkshake.

I have the Masterson wet palette. It's great but nothing you couldn't replicate with a diy palette.

 Fajita Fan wrote:
My water supply here is treated sewage so I'm sure there's tons of organics in it. I've actually been to our sewage treatment plant here and seen the open aeration pits where gak-eating bacteria are skimmed off and it looks like a giant frothy milkshake.

Okay I guess YMMV, but clean water (bottled or otherwise) will suffice. It doesn't have to be distilled.

Dont have one myself, but I have been told that adding a tiny amount of bleach in the water can keep mold off and shouldn't effect the paint.

I was also told you can adust the pH using a drop of brick cleaner (acid) or oven cleaner (basic) but wouldnt advise it unless you are very careful.. it may stop mold but the additives are potentially dangerous.

when I was using a DIY one, I would use an antibacterial kitchen sponge as the base. you could also use distilled water if you wanted to go overkill or your local water sources aren't great.

I bought the everlasting wet palette from the kickstarter and it is pretty awesome - I don't use my DIY ones any more