Loose colour in pans

[RebeccaJFleming]

Hi all,
I just got the Lukas 1982 set of watercolours (yay!) and after eagerly unwrapping all the colours and slotting them into their positions, I've noticed that with about 10 pans, the colour is loose and isn't attached to the plastic pan (see photo):

Does anyone know how I might be able to fix this? I would like to fix them in place somehow so they don't rattle around or fall out in the tray (where they could become damaged), but I also don't want to glue them in since that would potentially contaminate the paint at the bottom of the pan. Is there a way to fix it or is it something I'll just have to put up with?

Cheers From Rebecca

[claude j greengrass]

Put a drop of clean water in the pan and place the colour back into the pan. It should stick there after an hour or so. YMMV

[Aderynglas]

Hi, this is a common occurence with many brands of pan paints, including Winsor and Newton. It isn't terrible, plastic is a difficult thing to stick to

I usually just wet the bottom of the paint or put a drop or two of water in the bottom of the pan and leave it all to work - that usually sorts it out.

Or

You could try using a drop or two of Gum Arabic in the bottom of the pan, if you have it, this works even better than the water

Once you start using the paints there won't be a problem as Gum Arabic is part of the recipe for watercolour anyway

Enjoy using your new paints

[Yorky]

I have actually used a blob of Blue Tack before now.

Doug

[ingegerd]

Some water should solve the problem, but since it looks like you have 48 half pans you might not use all regulary so some might dry out and become loose again. When the paint fell out of it's place in my micro toy palette I glued it place with a small amount of honey, just enough to make the surface a little bit sticky. Severel watercolour paints are made using honey so it shouldn't cause any problems, it didn't for me.

[alexs]

Gum Arabic should do the trick. Placing a drop on the bottom of the pan then placing the paint back into the pan should make the paint stick.

[eric135]

I had this problem with my Windsor Newton field palette.. i didn't know any better and just sprayed the whole thing down with a good amount of water during my first use, and they all adhered by the end of that first use. Not just a drop though -- I gave the whole thing a heavy spray from my spray bottle.

Eric

[baeserj]

I've had similar trouble with some paints in a palette after not using it for a while. I just add a little water, mix some of the paint in it. Some paints seem to 'shrink' in time, must just be the water evaporating.

[RebeccaJFleming]

Thanks for the advice everyone I put a few drops in the bottom of the pans, put the colours back in and let it sit for a while, and they seem to be properly stuck now.

[SSB]

Every brand does this. We panned up a bunch of D. Smith and some of them did it, but not all. WN, Cotman and Lukas have all done it.

I recommend ignoring it. Usually it will stick itself once used as others have stated. I have wondered if the paint bonds to itself instead of the plastic. Maybe the plastic has something on it. I have noticed Viridian almost always does it. Some of the primatek in D. Smith as well.