Hobby Hack: The Wet Pallette

By PATM Dave

Here We have our first article from Dave! Dave is the creator of the Left handed panzerfaust blog. he creatively put forward this inspiring hobby hack article. We hope you really enjoy it, like we all did. Check out left handed panzerfaust blog for some more dave related content.

About 10 years ago I returned to the hobby for the 3rd time and I wanted to up the level of my painting.  I noticed many of the established miniature painters were using wet palettes.  I did some research and there were a couple of commercially available wet palettes, however I also noticed that this is an extremely easy thing that any hobbyist can make for almost zero cost. Some commercially available wet palettes need their own refills and in my opinion is just an unnecessary cost.

My wet palette has lasted the test of time as it has been in almost constant use for 10 years.  I have used it to paint hundreds and hundreds of miniatures. I have formed an attachment to it and its been an absolute game changer in my miniature painting.  There are many advantages to using a wet palette.  Colours are easier to mix, your paint is preserved for a significant amount of time and most crucially, it makes thinning paints extremely easy.  There are some drawbacks as some paints simply do not like a wet palette, scale 75 paints are one such example. Metallics also do not like a wet palette however you can find some success with them depending on the brand of metallics and what effect you are going for.  

I would not recommend a wet palette for speed paints and contrast paints however you can still achieve some great results.  Wet palettes allow you to experiment and find out what works and doesnt work for you and your chosen paints.

There are many ways to make a wet palette but my way is by far the cheapest and easiest.  Some materials can be substituted and I will mention what they are. 

My wet palette consists of the following:

  • A takeaway container (can be substituted for a airtight food container)

  • A piece of kitchen paper towel (can be substituted for a sponge)

  • A piece of non-stick baking paper (I have used cheap, expensive and recycled baking paper and it has all worked)

  • Water 

Kitchen paper towel, the thicker the better and Baking paper

An airtight container is probably better than a takeaway container but I have been using mine for such a long time, its proof it isn’t needed. I like to use the lid as a dry palette and it is great for preparing a dry brush or using technical paints.  My container is old and battered which adds to its charm. It is cracked in one corner and the lid once split open. Rather than replace it I simply used some duct tape to fix the split.

I also believe kitchen paper towel is better than a sponge as its obviously cheaper, easier to replace and reduces the chance of mold and unwanted odours.  If you spill paint on kitchen paper towel it can be easily replaced and does not need cleaning like a sponge. If drying out, water can easily be added, I use a pipette for control when doing so.

Any takeaway container can be used and some scissors are required for cutting our baking paper

Place a piece of kitchen paper towel into the container. Simply fold over the excess and don't trim it to size. Take a close look at the edges of my container, it is well-worn but still keeps an adequate seal. I once cracked the lid, you can see where I used some duct tape to repair it.

I tear out a piece of baking paper and trim it roughly just bigger than the base of the container to create sides to keep paint from flowing into the kitchen paper towel.

I add a generous amount of water and drain the excess. I leave some residual drops on the baking paper as they are convenient to mix into droplets of paint to thin it.

A drop of paint is added and you are ready to go.

I would encourage hobbyists to use a wet palette as it might just up your painting game. It makes thinning paints and mixing paints super easy and your paint can be usable for weeks. They can even be stored in the fridge for even more longevity of your paints. Hopefully my simple yet effective solution inspires you to create your own wet palette and get experimenting.

PATM Dave