Wet palette: what it does, and how to make one for nothing
A wet palette is a shallow sealed tub with a damp layer under a sheet of baking parchment. Paint sitting on the parchment draws moisture up from below, so acrylics that would skin over in ten minutes on a tile stay workable for hours, and often for days.
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Acrylic paint dries by evaporation, which is exactly what you do not want while you’re mixing a colour. A wet palette interrupts that: water moves up through a membrane into the paint from underneath, replacing what evaporates off the top.
Why a wet palette changes how you paint
Three things follow from paint that stays wet, and the third is the reason experienced painters won’t go back.
- Mixes survive. The exact skin tone you spent ten minutes arriving at is still there tomorrow evening, so a figure painted over a week stays consistent.
- Thinning gets easier. Paint on a dry palette thickens continuously, so you are chasing it with water. On a wet palette the consistency holds while you work.
- You waste far less. Most paint on a dry palette is thrown away, not used. That’s real money over a year, and it is the argument that usually persuades people.
How to make a wet palette: a DIY wet palette from a takeaway tub
You need a shallow container with a lid, something absorbent, and a semi-permeable sheet. That is it.
- Take a clean takeaway tub, the flatter the better.
- Cut a sponge, a few folded sheets of kitchen roll, or a kitchen cloth to fit the bottom.
- Soak it, then press the excess out. It should be thoroughly wet and not standing in water.
- Lay baking parchment on top, cut to size. Greaseproof paper works; ordinary kitchen roll doesn’t, because paint sinks straight into it.
- Smooth out the air bubbles, put paint on the parchment, and keep the lid on between sessions.
No brand recommendation here, because we have not tested any and won’t repeat somebody else's. The bought versions are a tub, a sponge and a pack of paper, sold together.
How long paint actually lasts on one
Overnight is reliable. Two or three days is normal with the lid on. Beyond that it depends on your room and how wet the layer underneath is, and in the end you will know by looking - paint that has begun to gel on the parchment has gone, and stirring water into it does not bring it back.
What surprises people is that the useful window isn’t the paint staying liquid, it is the MIX staying available. Re-mixing a colour from scratch is the part that eats an evening, and a palette that holds it for two days removes that.
The two things that go wrong
Too wet, and paint spreads and thins itself on the parchment until it is useless. The fix is to press more water out of the layer underneath, not to add thicker paint.
Left too long, and it grows mould - a wet sealed box is exactly the environment for it. Change the water weekly if you paint often, let it dry out completely between longer gaps, and rinse the sponge, not just topping it up.
Parchment, and why the brand of paper matters less than the fit
Cut the sheet slightly smaller than the tub, not larger. A sheet pressed up the sides wicks water round the edges and floods the corners, which is where most paint gets ruined.
Smooth the air out from the middle when you lay it down. A trapped bubble is a dry spot, and a dry spot under the parchment is a patch of paint that skins over while everything round it stays wet - which is confusing enough to make people blame the paint.
Storing it between sessions
Lid on, somewhere cool, and out of the sun. A palette left on a warm windowsill dries through the lid faster than you would expect, and one left in a cold room lasts noticeably longer.
When a wet palette is the wrong tool
Metallics, which separate if they sit. Washes and inks, which are already thin and will thin further. And a fifteen-minute session where the setup takes as long as the painting.
Once the figure is finished
When the figure is finished, photograph it before it goes back on the shelf: soft light from one side and a plain background are enough for a print.
Match the palette to the paint
For preparation and maintenance, see The Army Painter’s wet-palette guide. Different paint formulas need different handling; check the maker’s instructions before thinning. When your miniature is finished, use our miniature photography guide to record the paintwork. If you’re still choosing colours, see our paint scheme ideas guide. Deciding whether to buy one? Our miniature painting supplies guide lists it as optional and puts the first purchases in order. New to the whole process? How to paint miniatures follows a figure from priming to the finished base.
Questions and answers
What is a wet palette used for?
Keeping acrylic paint workable. A damp layer under baking parchment feeds moisture up into the paint, so mixes last hours or days instead of drying out in minutes.
What paper do you use in a wet palette?
Baking parchment or greaseproof paper. Kitchen roll does not work as the top sheet - paint sinks into it instead of sitting on it.
Why has my wet palette gone mouldy?
A sealed damp box is ideal for mould. Change the water weekly if you paint often, rinse the sponge instead of topping it up, and let it dry out completely between longer breaks.
Is a wet palette worth it for a beginner?
Yes, and a homemade one costs nothing. The paint you stop throwing away pays for a bought one within a year anyway.
What is the difference between a wet palette and a dry palette?
Where the water comes from. On a dry palette, a tile or a plastic well, paint sits in open air and skins over within minutes. On a wet palette it sits on parchment over a damp layer that feeds water up into it, so the same mix stays workable for hours. A dry palette still suits washes, inks and metallics, the three jobs the wrong-tool section above sets aside; a wet palette suits layering and a colour you’ll come back to.
Do I need to thin my paints on a wet palette?
Usually, though by less than on a dry palette. Paint on the parchment takes up water from below, so it loosens the longer it sits. Thin it to what the job needs, then check it again before each load, because a mix that has been out an hour is wetter than when you made it. Washes and inks are already thin, so they’re better kept off it.
How do you clean a wet palette?
Throw the used parchment away, rinse the sponge or paper towel under the tap and squeeze it out, then wash the tub with warm water and a little washing-up liquid. Let everything dry before you rebuild it. A sponge that smells or shows spots of mould is cheaper to replace than to rescue.