Home Forums Explore Media Watercolor The Learning Zone Removing paint from the half-pans?

Viewing 10 posts - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #989216
    diamondsutra
    Default

        Hi all! Here in Japan they have these AMAZING folding metal palettes for super cheap .. they are all with wells where you would let the tube paint dry and then rewet as needed.

        I am currently using a Sennelier sketch kit with 12 half pans .. I like it a lot, but the mixing area is a bit small. It was the first paint set I bought. At this point, I prefer having a big mixing area with wells of dried paint, rather than half pans. Is there a way I can get the paint out of the half pans in my Sennelier kit and transplant them into the wells of a folding metal palette? I am thinking like physically digging them out with toothpicks or pocket knife, wetting them, and hoping they sort of dry into the wells?

        I do have enough tube paints purchased to start a decent palette in my new metal one .. but I would like to transfer my Sennelier half pans to the new palette. I don’t foresee using half pans again, but I don’t want to just let them collect dust in my studio.

        josh here :music:
        my artwork: http://www.joshwalden.com
        my travel blog: http://joshwalden.blogspot.com

        #1152543
        juneto
        Default

            How about spritzing them with water until soft then scooping them out with a butter- spreader or paint knife to transfer them .
            You could probably get most of it that way . A Tedious job though.
            June:thumbsup:

            Follow your Bliss and the Universe will open doors for you , where there were only walls. Joseph Campbell


            http://blogmomcom.blogspot.com/

            #1152550
            Tred
            Default

                A pic of the palette would be nice!
                Cheers
                John

                "When I see a jumble; I paint just that" - John Yardley

                #1152542
                ingegerd
                Default

                    Wet the pans, if they have been used and have started to get holes in the middle this will be easier, place the pans in a small airtight container to prevent evaporation, wait preferbly a few days before digging them out. You might have to ad some more water during the process.
                    Save the empty pans, you can fill them with tubepaints in case you want to use pans again.

                    #1152547
                    Mayberry
                    Default

                        I’m kind of curious about this cheap metal folding palette in Japan too. Does it look like this?

                        #1152544
                        dpcoffin
                        Default

                            I’ve actually found that I get better results with the paint dry and using a metal palette knife to pry it out, in pieces if necessary. With the paint wet, I just make a mess and lose a lot of it.

                            dpc

                            (a lapsed w/c purist)
                            Eyes & Skies; My Daily Painting blog: http://eyesandskies.blogspot.com/
                            http://dpc-watermedia.blogspot.com/

                            #1152546
                            Marcio C
                            Default

                                Why don’t you just stick the pans to the new palette using blue tak until the paint in them is used up? This way you get to use the paints you like and the larger mixing areas you need.

                                #1152545
                                dpcoffin
                                Default

                                    Also, if the pans you’ve got are plastic and separate from the palette, you can use tin snips or cutting pliers to snip open a couple of adjacent corners, then break away one end or a side, and the dry paint will probably just pop out, or at least be much easier to get at with the palette knife. Or try Marcio’s approach if you treasure your pans…

                                    dpc

                                    (a lapsed w/c purist)
                                    Eyes & Skies; My Daily Painting blog: http://eyesandskies.blogspot.com/
                                    http://dpc-watermedia.blogspot.com/

                                    #1152548
                                    Cyntada
                                    Default

                                        I do this all the time, actually, with an inexpensive plastic Japanese palette. How easy it is to do depends on the paint… some of them peel out intact, like dried acrylic. Some are gooey, and a few are like trying to dig up toothpaste! (Looking at you, MaimeriBlu Burnt Sienna.) Messy messy! One thing I do NOT do is wet the paint first, that would make them all gooey :D

                                        I’ll suggest just getting a palette knife and do your best. Try to pry up a corner and if it looks like it will peel, good. If not, scrape out the best you can and either way, smash the paint into the new wells and add a dab of water or fresh paint to glue it in if needed. If you get a bunch of paint clinging to the old pans and don’t need that palette for something else, you can always use the old one until the residue is gone, then switch to the new one.

                                        CK =)
                                        I take great comfort in knowing that my genuine typos will probably be blamed on some device's autocorrect. :angel:
                                        DIY art supplies, sketches, and more: cyntada.com / @cyntada
                                        #1152549
                                        diamondsutra
                                        Default

                                            Thanks everyone! Very helpful. I also paint in oils so I have a few palette knives. I will pry the dry (er, dry as possible, quite humid here) paint out of the half pans and put them in the wells .. try to attach them with fresh wet paint. Worst case scenario, I will take my Gerber multi tool and perform surgery on some half pans to get the paint out. Sounds fun!!

                                            Thanks for all the help :D I will post pictures once I get this new guy rollin.

                                            I am super excited .. my first paint sets were like the preselected 18 color set from Holbein .. and now I have like 9 paints that I know how to use and that I love, so my palette feels very “intentional.” I know just how to work it. And trust me, unlike that Holbein kit, it will not have 3 convenience mixtures of green!!! Or the embarassingly fugitive Alizarin Crimson or Rose Madder .. :cool:

                                            josh here :music:
                                            my artwork: http://www.joshwalden.com
                                            my travel blog: http://joshwalden.blogspot.com

                                          Viewing 10 posts - 1 through 10 (of 10 total)
                                          • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.