Congratulations on your new palette! Before you dive into painting, we’d like to share a few steps to prepare your palette for the best longevity. Like any tool, your palette will benefit from periodic maintenance and care, so watch the video demonstration or read on to learn all about it!
Prepare a New Palette
Condition the Magnet
The first step is to condition the magnet inside your palette with a little bit of vegetable oil to help protect the rubber. Begin by removing the pans from your palette, then dip a soft cloth or towel into some oil. Avocado, olive, coconut—a little bit will go a long way. Wipe off any excess. In the end, you’ll want just a light sheen of oil. Allow some time for the oil to permeate into the magnet before putting your pans back in.
Fill Paint Pans and Allow Time to Dry
Fill your pans with paint, and once the magnet has had some time to sit, you can replace the pans in your palette. Allow at least 24 hours between paint fills, and then get ready to use your palette out in the world! Our video, Getting to Know Your Palette, is a great resource if you’re new to our supplies and walks you through labeling your pans and making a swatch card!
Once your magnet is conditioned and your palette is complete with paint-filled pans, you’re ready to go! After that, it’s just a matter of maintaining your new tool and taking the time to clean it periodically.
Cleaning Your Palette
Top Row: Titanium White (gouache), Buff Titanium, Hansa Yellow Light, Hansa Yellow Medium, Cadmium Red Medium (top), Perylene Red (bottom), Quinacridone Rose, Deep Scarlet, Lavender.
Second Row: Cobalt Teal Blue, Cerulean Blue Chromium, Cobalt, Ultramarine, Phthalo Blue (RS), Phthalo Green, Indanthrone Blue.
Third Row: Nickel Azo Yellow, Raw Sienna, Yellow Ochre, Quinacridone Gold, Quinacridone Burnt Orange, Burnt Umber, Moonglow, Graphite Gray, Lunar Earth.
Palettes can get tremendously messy, and that’s a good thing because it means you’re using it to its fullest and creating mixes that are representative of the colors in your palette. But, every so often, it can be nice to give it a full reset. To do so, start by gathering cleaning supplies.
Our Go-To Cleaning Supplies
An old brush or water brush
A cup of water (or sink)
Shop towels or soft rags
Vegetable oil
Cotton swabs
Mr. Clean Magic Eraser
Step-by-Step Cleaning Guide
Clean the Lid and Mixing Surface
Use an old water brush or the tip of a soft cloth or towel to remove paint and grime from the nooks and crannies of your palette, running it along the inner and outer edges. Cotton swabs are also handy for this step.
The palette lid might require more than a soft cloth. We have found that Mr. Clean Magic Erasers, dipped in clean water and wrung out, do wonders on our mixing surfaces for removing stubborn paint stains. A plastic eraser can also help on a dry palette lid! Note: Some colors are more challenging to remove than others due to their staining properties, such as Phthalo Blue, so a little bit of that hue might remain, but these cleaning tools will help diminish them.
If you have any Mixing Pans that need cleaning, treat them like the lids of your palette. Tip: Remember to get the tops and bottoms!
Clean the Magnet
Set your pans aside on a paper towel, keeping them in order if you love your previous layout! Remove any paint residue on the magnet with a bit of water.
Oil the Magnet
Once the empty palette is clean and dry, recondition the magnet with oil. Remember to wipe excess oil until there’s just a nice sheen. Then, set it aside to permeate the rubber.
Clean the Pans
Freshen up your paint pans with a water brush by removing paint residue from the bottoms and contaminated paint or embedded dirt in the paint surface. We suggest starting with the bottoms so you don’t get wet paint on your hands (yet). Take a clean, wet brush and give them a wipe, then place the pans paint-side up to dry on a paper towel.
Add Paint and Reassemble
This is a good time to top off paint in pans that are running low. Watch Getting to Know Your Palette for tips on filling pans with paint. Reassemble your palette, leave it open to dry overnight if you’ve added paint, and wash your workspace and hands! Just look at the difference that made!
Next time you have a new palette or one to clean, we invite you to refer back to our video demonstration (above) or these step-by-step cleaning instructions as a resource. Like any good tool, your palette can last for years with regular care and maintenance.
We’d love to hear about your experiences with your palettes. Tag us on socials @ArtToolkit or email us with questions: hello@arttoolkit.com.
Keep in touch, and happy painting!
