Morning Class,
This week, I came across an interesting article on ‘Just Paint’ (Golden Paints Blog), which I thought I’d share with you.
It looks at the common problem of acrylic paints becoming over-diluted when stored in a stay-wet palette and tests the Masterson’s Sta-wet Palette, it’s absorbent sponge, with Golden Wetting Agent.
(The Wetting Agent was previously called ‘Acrylic Flow Release’)
I find using a stay-wet palette really helpful when my acrylics dry too quickly in the studio.
I’ll often premix colours on a tear-off palette and transfer the paint piles into a stay-wet palette. It acts as a loading bay where I can keep my acrylic mixes workable for a few days.
I currently use the Daler Rowney Stay Wet palette above, and it consists of two layers :
- An absorbent paper layer that is soaked with water – acts as a water reservoir.
- A sheet of grease-proof paper acts as a membrane to prevent all water from entering the paint immediately, as well as a lid.
I lay my acrylic paints out on top of the grease-proof sheet, and as the acrylics dry, the water in the paint is replaced by the water held in the absorbent paper layer.
It definitely keeps paints workable for longer, but there are a couple of caveats.
When I leave mixes in there for longer than a few days, the water in the palette makes the paints much more fluid, so they blend into each other rather than keeping themselves separate. And once the lid is on, and it’s a warm week, there’s also the risk of mould growing on the damp paper.
I often advise using heavy-body acrylics for their greater stability. They can handle excess moisture and are still workable even if they dilute slightly. However, I have found that using Golden Open Acrylics and Golden Fluid Acrylics, which are a lot more fluid to start with, not as successful.
The Masterson Sta-Wet Super Pro Palette – you can see the yellow sponge
In the Golden Paints tests, the Mastersons’ Palette incorporates an absorbent sponge instead of paper underneath to hold the water.
They also tried using treated water (rather than tap water, which I usually use) to see if that would make a difference. Distilled water made a huge difference; the sediments and minerals have been removed, which helps reduce mould growth. Then, they added the Golden Wetting Agent, (which is a soap or Surfactant) in different ratios to help saturate the sponge.
Heavy Body Titanium White after a month in a Sta-Wet Palette using distilled water – taken from the Just Paint Blog, Golden Artists Colours Inc.
What was interesting about the results was that the heavy body acrylic maintained a pretty good consistency for weeks! It didn’t really move; it stayed in a more stable, thicker form.
The real key is to determine how much water to add to the sponge to achieve the desired consistency for the medium you’re using.
I tend to saturate the absorbent sheet and then pour off the excess water.
You can see a video from 12 years ago of me setting up a stay-wet palette. (I’m still using the same one!)
Anyway, I will try it myself with distilled water and see how I get on. Let me know if you give it a go.
As a side note, I saw that Masterson makes a large Super Pro Palette version, similar to the A3 size Daler Rowney used to make, which is now out of production. I’m always running out of paint-storing real estate, so I think on this occasion, I’ll have to go big!
Another tip for extending the drying time of paint on your pallete ie to mix in extender to each colour that way your paint stays workable for three weeks +
Hey Stephen, glld you’ve been finding extenders helpful.
I have recently returned to painting acrylics, and am now running 2 ataywet palettes- my old Mastersons one, and a plastic A4 paper holder which I found. I just use kitchen roll double thicknes for the moisture retainer and white baking parchment (I just don’t like brown).
The secret is to minimise the water and keep the kitchen roll just damp- definately not wet. That will make the paint run and encourage mould.
Excellent information, Will. I have used the Masterson Sta-Wet palette for several years (set up following your video advice). I will certainly try using distilled water with wetting agent, and the drop of ammonia. All sound like great suggestions. Thanks for posting this.
Cheers Carla, be good to hear how the distilled water works for you.
Will
Thanks Will. This is really useful information. I’m getting through a lot of paint right now and know I need to invest at some point in a Sta-Wet, but I was put off by the diluting of the paint when I tried a home-made job. As you say the investment is probably worth it, especially coupled with this new information.
Good one Rod, so pleased you found it helpful.
I keep my Masterson Sta-Wet palette in the refrigerator between painting sessions. I find keeping it in the refrigerator reduces the possibility of mold. I give the paint on the palette a very light spritz of water, seal the lid tightly by ‘burping’ it, and the paint stays moist and workable for several weeks.
Cheers Betty.
Hello Will, please tell us did Golden all of the same process as what you did, but sauturating the sponge then pouring off the with distilled water?
Also, was the Golden’s Wetting Agent applied directly to the sponge or mixed into the distilled water first… and how much was applied?
Hi Nancy, the process I demonstrate in the video is a different stay-wet palette and doesn’t use the same process as the Golden article. It’s more to show how much water i add to the stay-wet palette.
Hi , Will , hope you are doing good , this is great because getting back into acrylics … this makes sense , the wetting agent added to sponge , love gloss glazing liquid , and some water if need be , no stay wet palette , had no problems saving paint , just not for a great amount of time , a week tops , this would be wonderful , hmmmm thanks for passing this on
Will, I have always tucked a few cotton balls saturated (but not dripping) with rubbing alcohol into my closed palette—seems to deter mold when my palette is shut up for longer periods.
Thanks for the tip Rhonda.
Hi Will! I’m so glad you brought this up, as I ran across this information also and wondered what you thought. I have been thinking of switching to distilled water on my stay wet pallets now, but the article also mentioned that using tap water when mixing or diluting paint can also have negative effects. Will you use distilled water exclusively for paint and brushes?
I live in Arizona and acrylics dry quickly here anyway. Golden Gloss Glazing Liquid is a lifesaver. I’m also considering making paint mix diaries to keep track when I remix. On certain colors, I have to do this anyway. Also, thank you so much for your response to isolation coat question, which I will heed. Blessings!
Hey Linda, I imagine I’ll still use tap water for washing brushes, and I’ll see how the distilled water goes with the stay-wet palette.
I usually keep a couple of copper pennies under the sponge in my Masterson’s Sta-wet palettes along with a dribble of hydrogen pyroxide and have had my paints stay good for weeks. Like you mentioned I do find one has to have the correct amount of dampness or the paints can be come too wet. I will have to try distilled water
Glad the pennies have been helping Robin!
Thanks, Will. More great tips from the master teacher! I am going to try the distilled water since I don’t change my paints every few days and mold does show up after a while.
BTW, I use the Masterson Sta-Wet Super Pro Palette (10.5 x 14) It’s a little bit smaller than the red or blue topped Masterson palettes, but I like the hard top so much better. It is easier to put on and take off, and works great.
Good to know about the hardtop, thanks Janice.
Hi Will, I do have a Masterson Stay Wet, and also a smaller Rowney Stay Wet. I have a few observations. The Masterson sponge quickly went mouldy and fell apart, and replacements are expensive. The paper is thicker than greaseproof, so that’s good. But for a cheap alternative, I bought a couple of A4 sized plastic document boxes on eBay, with lid. They are about 25mm (1 inch) thick. Using kitchen paper and then kitchen greaseproof paper, they make excellent staywet pallets.
On paint, I have found that Golden Heavy body dries faster than Liquitex Heavy Body, Winsor and Newton professional and Daler Rowney Cryla (this last is really excellent, imo). The Golden white for instance seems to set long before the other paints. Fast drying is a virtue for acrylics (one should lean into it’s qualities), but it’s worth experimenting with different brands..though of course you know this very well.
Hey Roger, thanks for sharing your observations and experiences with the different palettes, and for the idea with the document boxes.
Will
Hi Will!
I tried using distilled water with prepping my stay wet pallet on my latest painting. It worked! The paint did not run and kept a good consistency all week. I used regular water with my brushes, but did not put much back into the paint on the pallet. I use more of the Golden glazing liquid, anyway. Thank you for your input. Hope this helps everyone. Enjoy!
That’s fab news Linda, thanks for reporting back on the success with distilled water.
I just re- read this, it really opened my eyes. I have a stay-wet pallet, but only thought to use it to store paints between sessions. It never occurred to me to pre-mix and place the mixes in the pallet during the session. I’m in southern California, it’s very dry. I’ve been frustrated that as I move about the painting (or pause while following a tutorial), the paint on my pallet would dry. I’m looking forward to trying this out with the wetting agent.
Best regards,
Jonathan
Good one Jonathan, hope your stay wet palette experimentation goes well!