What Wet Palette Works?

by Snow Man Dan

Wet palettes! They are a tool that has become popular over the last several years, helping us get better results when painting up our little plastic/metal/resin minis. But won't they be all the same? In theory, they should all function the same, that being, keeping our paints hydrated enough so they don't dry out whilst we are sitting at our hobby stations working diligently against the tide of grey that we have all accumulated over the years.

Well, I am in the process of finding this out, as I go about seeing what and if there are any differences out there. By no ways is this a review, more so just my comparison between 2 separate palettes that I have gotten, and if my musings help anyone out there, all the more better.

I was so over the moon with the results that I could achieve when I got my first one, the Everlasting Wet Palette by Red Grass Games, back in 2018. Well, I guess technically it would have been my second one, as before that I had a simple homemade one using a tupperware container, dish sponge and baking paper. That homemade one will always be remembered for that strange waft that I got from it upon opening the lid. Even though I regularly changed out the water and ran the sponge through the wash. But the main thing was I was now able to mix colours, something that I never used to be able to do. I used to just slowly build up layers of all different colours, which meant that my paint collection had to be vast in order to achieve what I was after.

Now all that changed, bye-bye old hex pots, hello dropper bottles. The appeal of spending money on a wet pallet was right there in the title of it, everlasting. No more realising that the sponge had dried out, caking up all the paints that I was working with overnight, as it came with a special micro-bacterial treated one, so no more stank either. That's a win-win in my book. It also came with a handy maginitized paint well, perfect for mixing up custom washes and glazes in. And the paper that came with it I found, was better than the baking paper that I had previously been using, allowing more moisture through, giving my paints a much nicer consistency and life out in the open. But over time, there were little things that would get to annoy me. The elastic strap that was used to keep it locked together, that if you managed to seal the lid correctly, meant that the whole pallet had to be picked up to take it off and on. This often meant that it would cause my paints to run about on the paper, mixing into ones they were meant to be separate from. The fact that I could never get the paper to stay nice and smooth on the sponge, it would always want to curl up on the edges when I laid it down, then when they stayed down, there would always be wrinkles and creases form in it. And then the biggest one was, it didn't live up to its name, as there would be too many times when I would be sitting there painting, and could watch the paper drying out. But it had been a huge improvement on my homemade job, so I just took it in my stride and accepted it for what it was.

Now, some 7 years later, I figured that there were a lot more companies on the market offering their version, and that it was a good time to see what else was out there. I went for a Game Envy Exemplar PRO, because I could get it with a new painting lamp. Hopefully, it would live up to the quality I was accustomed to from using their painting handle that I got years ago, as it's been the most-used thing that I have gotten for the hobby. It arrived earlier this year, and I have been putting it through its paces before coming to any conclusions.

First off, it's a bigger footprint on the desk than the Redgrass, but that's not a bad thing; it means more space for mixing up paints. The lid has a much better-designed way of closing, using a snap lock-like way of securing, meaning it can stay flat on the desk whilst the lid goes off and on. In the top of the lid, there is a handy little storage compartment, big enough to hold brushes and some tools, along with a supplied brush rest and removable paint well.  Also, the sponge and paper are a much better fit internally, going all the way to all the edges. I think this could be a leading attribute to the fact that today was the first time that I had to add any water under the sponge since first setting it up. It means there is less area for evaporation to occur. Even the paper seems better, without the curling on the edges or wrinkles forming. I did end up getting some fancy weights that go in the corners of the paper to help keep it nice and flat. But even without using them, I still don't have anywhere near as much of a problem as I previously did.

Overall, I much prefer using this latest palette, it just works better for me. As everyone has their own preferences and painting styles, you may not share the same views as me, but that’s ok,  each to their own. I am still going to be keeping the Redgrass palette, as it is going to come in very useful for when I have friends over that are wanting to give painting a try. But that's going to become a whole different article…