Prevent Watercolors Beading On a Plastic Palette

Painting with watercolors can be a true joy. Although many people find it to be a challenging medium to work with, once you let go of your need to precisely control the paint, you quickly come to appreciate the beauty of these paints and all of the wonderful things that they can do.

Becoming a successful watercolor painter starts by investing in the right materials. Not only do you need high-quality paints, but you also need a palette on which to mix them. There are quite a few different styles of palettes out there. Plastic palettes are some of the most popular, however, due to their affordability and the wide range of styles that they come in. You can find plastic palettes in just about any size, shape, or style that you need.

The only downside to working with a plastic palette is that sometimes watercolors have a tendency to bead up on their surface. This can make it difficult to mix paint because you can’t really see what the paint colors look like as you mix them. Fortunately, there are a few easy ways to fix this problem.

One of the most effective ways to keep watercolors from beading up on a plastic palette is to use fine grit to gently sand away the surface. The problem with some palettes is that the plastic is so shiny that the paint won’t spread out nicely over the surface. By removing this shine, the surface become slightly more porous and texturized, which makes it easier to mix paint. The only downside to going this route is that the surface will also stain more easily. However, you can easily remove watercolor stains from plastic simply by using a rubber eraser.

Another way to remove the shine from the surface of the palette is by using an abrasive cleaner. Look for any type of cleaner that has built-in grit. Thoroughly scrub the surface of the palette in order to remove any shine. When you are done, the surface should be etched enough that it makes it easy to mix paints. Again, you may run into problems with staining after doing this. However, you can always fall back on using an eraser to periodically remove stains. Check Juicy Ink Video how she prepares a Rigger Art Palette for painting.

One other method you may want to try is using rubbing alcohol to clean the surface of the palette before you use it. In some cases, this may be enough to dull the surface so that the paint won’t bead up. If this particular technique doesn’t work on the palette that you have, you can always try one of the other techniques as well. However, because rubbing alcohol is so affordable and the process is so easy, you could always try this first to see if it happens to work on your palette.

It is also worth mentioning that not every type of plastic palette causes watercolors to bead up on the surface. Some palettes already have a dull enough surface that the watercolors won’t bead up. Typically, these palettes won’t look as shiny as other types of palettes. This should make them easy to spot when you are shopping around at your local art supply store.

These are just a few of the ways that you can keep watercolor paints from beading up on the surface of plastic palettes. You may need to experiment with several different techniques before you find one that works on the particular palette the you have. With a little bit of trial and error, however, you should be able to create the perfect palette for mixing your paint.

Quick Tip – How To Store Your Brushes

For best protection for your paint brushes, carry them and store them in the canvas rollup wrap. Don’t throw them in the bag or let the shape be meshed in a tight pouch.  Check here the premium canvas brush holder organizer.

Using the canvas wrap brush holder each brush has a pocket and you can take up to 20 brushes, each in their own pocket. Roll up the canvas and know they are all tucked nice and safely inside not getting crumbed in your art bag, getting all messy and squashed. The wrap can be used as a drying place for watercolor brushes too, as they should not be left dripping upright in a jar. The best way is to leave them to air dry on a flat surface. When they are left upright the water drips down and send the pigment deeper into the ferrule of the brush, and the moisture down to the wooden handle.