Thinning Paints and Using a Wet Pallet

[Sir Dibblet]

I have finally begun using a wet pallet and now am wondering how much I should thin my paints while using said wet-pallet. I have my pallet set up so that there really isn't too much water and the parchment paper feels as if it is basically dry but I have also noticed that the moisture does come through a bit and now I am wondering if I am going to over-thin my paints. I mean I think the answer would probably be to thin my paints just a little less but I have only been using the wet pallet now since last night so I don't know how much or how little water will seep in. I am not adverse to using a drop of fresh paint everyday and starting anew just to make things clear, I just need to retard the pain drying significantly as I paint throughout the day while "working" from home as I am not always present to paint. I love the wet pallet as it clearly will save paint considering my last pallet dried out every 10 minutes.

So, any advice?

 

[Pygmalion]

I think it depends on how wet your wet palette is. I use a wet paper towel-parchment bakers paper setup and artists paints which thin noticeably after a day or so on the palette.

if I am planning long term paint use I try to keep the paper towels merely damp.

 

[khavor]

The idea of a wet palette isn't really to keep the paint usable for days, just to keep it at the right level of thin-ness for longer. So the answer is thin your paints to the same consistency you normally would on a dry palette. You should notice though that instead of drying out in 45 minutes or an hour or whatever, that the paint stays at that good level for the entire painting session. You'll find this is REALLY useful if you start mixing paints as you don't have to try and re-mix the exact same color.

As to what level of thin-ness is right, you have to figure that out as you go along. It depends a bit on what you're doing (basecoat, highlight, etc) and on the brand of paints (because some brands work better thinned out than others). I think most people say thin to @ the consistency of milk. Also, I personally haven't had any luck thinning the newer GW paints, they don't seem to have enough pigment to work well when diluted.

 

[Daegond]

I want to second Khavor.

In my experiences, the wet palette is really more of a 'per session' solution than an 'overnight' one. After a few hours my paints (mostly vallejo) will start to thin out and separate a little bit if I had mixed a large batch on the wet palette. Especially when I used to seal up my palette overnight to resume painting the next day, most of my paints were too thin to be effective and needed to be remixed.

Wet palettes have really helped me be economical with my paint use. Since small amounts of paint last a long time with a wet palette, it makes it easy to just mix what you need, as opposed to pouring enough paint to remain wet for a whole session.