If your paint dries on the palette before it reaches the model, or you spend half a session re-thinning the same colour, a wet palette solves it. It keeps acrylic paint at a consistent, workable thickness for hours, and you can build one from things already in your kitchen.
The short answer: put a damp sponge or folded kitchen towel in a shallow airtight container, lay a sheet of baking parchment on top, and put your paint on the parchment. Water seeps up through the paper and stops the paint drying out.
What is a wet palette?
A wet palette has a water reservoir underneath a thin sheet of paper that lets moisture through slowly. Water passes up into the paint and replaces what evaporates. The result is paint that stays wet and at the same consistency for the whole session.
Why use a wet palette for Warhammer 40,000 miniatures?
Consistency is everything when painting miniatures, and on a dry palette your paint thickens minute by minute. A wet palette keeps layers and highlights smooth, wastes far less paint, and lets you leave a mix overnight and carry on the next day. It's especially useful for edge highlighting and batch painting.
What do I need to make one?
A shallow airtight plastic container such as a sandwich box, a thin sponge or a few sheets of kitchen towel, and baking parchment. If you already have the container, the whole thing costs pennies.
How do I make a wet palette?
It takes about five minutes.
- Cut a sponge or fold kitchen towel to fit the base of the container.
- Soak it in clean water, then squeeze out enough that it's wet but not dripping.
- Cut a sheet of baking parchment to the same size.
- Soak the parchment in warm water for a few minutes so it lets moisture through.
- Lay the parchment flat on the sponge and smooth out any air bubbles.
- Add your paint, and put the lid on whenever you take a break.
How wet should the sponge be?
Damp, not swimming. If paint spreads out or turns watery, there's too much water, so tip some away or blot the sponge. If paint thickens within ten minutes, add a little more water to the reservoir.
Which paper works best?
Baking parchment and greaseproof paper are the usual choices, and results vary by brand. If paint beads up or dries quickly, the paper may have a coating that blocks water, so soak it for longer or try another brand. Specialist hobby palette paper is available if household paper won't cooperate.
How long does paint stay wet on a wet palette?
With the lid off, paint stays workable for a normal session, often several hours. With the lid on and the palette kept somewhere cool, it can last for days. Metallics and older mixes eventually separate, so remix them before use.
How do I stop a wet palette going mouldy?
Mould appears when the same water and sponge sit for weeks. Replace the parchment every session or two, rinse or replace the sponge regularly, use clean water, and wash the container out every week or so.
Can I use metallics, washes and one-coat paints on a wet palette?
Metallics work, but keep them to one corner because metallic flakes spread into other colours. Washes and one-coat paints are already thin and run across the wet surface, so use them straight from the pot or from a small dry palette. See our guides to washes and one-coat paints.
Do I still need to thin paint on a wet palette?
Yes, but less often. The palette holds paint at whatever consistency you mix, so you thin once at the start rather than constantly. Our guide to thinning paints explains how to judge the right consistency.
Where does a wet palette make the biggest difference?
Fine work that needs consistent paint flow, such as layering, glazing and edge highlighting. It also helps when painting a whole squad in one sitting, because the same mix stays usable from the first model to the last.
Should I buy a wet palette or make one?
A homemade wet palette does the same job and costs almost nothing, so it's the best place to start. Shop-bought versions have better seals, sponges and paper, which mainly helps if you leave paint on them for days at a time. Many painters only upgrade once they're using one every session.
Can I mix colours on a wet palette?
Yes, and it's one of the biggest benefits. Mixes stay workable, so a highlight colour mixed at the start of a session is still the same colour for the last model in the squad. Mix gently with an old brush rather than your detail brush.
Can I drybrush from a wet palette?
No. Drybrushing needs thick, almost dry paint, and paint from a wet palette is too wet and loaded. Use a dry tile or a pot lid instead; our guide to drybrushing explains why.
Why does paint on my wet palette go grainy or separate?
Paint left on the palette for days slowly separates, and over-wet paper can dilute it too much. Stir it back together with a brush, or simply put out fresh paint. Changing the parchment regularly helps too.
How do I clean a wet palette?
Peel off and bin the used parchment, rinse the sponge under the tap, and wipe the container out with warm soapy water. Let everything dry if you won't use it for a while, then re-soak before your next session.
More hobby guides
- How to Thin Paints for Warhammer 40,000 Miniatures
- One-Coat Paints for Warhammer 40,000: A Beginner's Guide to Painting Armies Fast
- How to Use Washes on Warhammer 40,000 Miniatures: Shading Made Simple
- How to Edge Highlight Warhammer 40,000 Miniatures
- Warhammer 40,000 Hobby Guides & Free Tools
Warhammer 40,000® is a registered trade mark of Games Workshop Limited. This is an independent hobby guide and is not affiliated with, endorsed or sponsored by Games Workshop.