"Do You Save Extra Paint On Your Palette?" Topic

If you put extra paint on your palette or are interrupted for some reason, family, phone call etc. that will leave some behind, with consideration that there is enough to use again:

1: Do you scrape it up and return it to the bottle?

2: Do you just leave it or throw it out?

Last night I put too much on my palette and scraped it up, returning to the bottle. Mind you this is craft paint.

I don't use a palette. But if I did I'd use a wet palette.

1.
However there is always some dried paint left on the palette afterwards. To keep the dried paint out of the environment I soak the palette, pull off the dried paint and put it in a tall glass jar, which I tell people is an art project. I'm rapidly filling my second jar.

Where I live it's hard to source new paint, especially my favourite Americana. So if too much goes on the palette, definitely back into the container!

not worth the effort to save

No.

I use only a few drops at a time, and often add some slo-dry to thin it. I'd worry more about the paint still on the brush… ;-)

I leave it as a new addition to my greatest work of modern art in titled as "The paint blob!"

No, I have a hard enough time getting paint out of my Vallejo bottles--putting it back in would be worse.

See you in a few weeks Thomas. Looking forward to it as always.

No. I'd be afraid to put a solution that is beginning to solidify back in a "virgin" bottle.

The only I time I return paint is if I take too much out to start with. As Winston said, I would be afraid to drop dried paint back in if I waited.

No, but I do look around to see if I have other unpainted figures that could use the color I have too much of.

Grelber

I paint from the lid when using craft or paint that comes in a bottle.

If there is more in the lid than I can use I do put it back in the bottle.

A bit of water or thinner depending on the paint if it is drying.

Once acrylic dries, you can't reconstitute it, so I just throw it away. I haven't used any other kind of paint for decades.

No, I only put a small amount out at a time and use a wet pallet. If I have to leave for a couple of hours, the paint will still be ok when I come back.

For the most part I use a wet pallet, so if I need to go away for a few hours or even days I just put the lid on it and pick up where I left off.

KSmyth – yes looking forward to it. You are of course always invited to the "Canadian Party". I'll buy you a beer.

freerangeegg and Thomas O – What to you use for your wet palette base? It stays wet for hours? Do you loose a lot of paint using it?
I'll have to give this a go.

I am with Wackamole, same palette for over 10 years! My paint blob has mountains, ravines and so much history inluding failed transfers from my first 28mm army.

Wet palette is pretty amazing esp if you are doing mass painting and want to avoid the conundrum of save or not save paint plus the drying out factor. Means you don't have to thin!

Google to be absolutely correct but i used a Chinese takeaway container, wet kitchen sponge thin, paper towel or baking paper on top and done.

Since I have started using craft paints (like others on this forum) that come in bottles larger than Vallejo (and cheaper, too!) I do not worry about saving paint.

I keep an empty craft paint plastic "squeeze" bottle nearby. Any paint leftover at the end of a painting session (except metallics) gets scooped up with a large brush and scrapped into the mouth of the old craft paint bottle. Greys, browns, greens, reds, yellows -- all go in together. Produces a dark grey / brown color which I use for painting figure bases and terrain.

Great idea dBerczerk!