DIY Travel Palettes

[Sandra Strait]

I need another travel palette like I need a hole in the head, but I’m constantly on the prowl for tins or plastic boxes that can be used to make another.  My favorite so far was made from a Thayers lozenge tin.   They’re 3.2 x 3.2 inches.

• This topic was modified 3 years, 4 months ago by Sandra Strait.

[Sandra Strait]

My photo doesn’t seem to be showing up in the original post, so I’m trying again.

[Sandra Strait]

Question: In one of my travel palette tins, I painted the inside of the lid with white enamel paint so I could use it for mixing.  It seems to work really well, but I’m wondering if there is anything in the enamel that might eventually damage my brushes or cause problems with the paint.  Anyone know?

[Thomas Blanchard]

I wouldn’t think so.  Once dry it should be pretty stable.

[Kai Ezenami]

Like Tomas said, its very stable once dry, I have dozens of custom boxes Ive made over the years. No problems no damage.  Enamel is afterall what manufacturers use in the boxes we buy. I prefer using white car enamel (the spray cans u buy in automotive section for covering up dents and scratches on your car) its a bit more expensive but I found it to be less staining.

[Sandra Strait]

Thank you, Thomas! That’s what I was hoping to hear.

[Sandra Strait]

Thank you Kai! I have a can of enamel that I’ll use up, but I’ve got lots of tins to use it on so I’ll be buying more soon, and this time I’ll use the spray can.

 

[Paula Langford]

If you want it to be really durable, you can bake it in the oven for a couple of hours on a low heat after you’ve painted it. A toothpaste with baking soda or peroxide will clean them up if they start to get stained.

[Sandra Strait]

Thank you, Paula! Both good things to know!

[Sandra Gilbert]

Magic erasers are also useful for getting stains out of palettes.

[Sandra Strait]

Thank you, Sandra!  I use magic erasers to lift color sometimes, but hadn’t thought about using them to clean palettes.

[Sandra Gilbert]

Hold up… you can use magic erasers to lift color? I so have to try that. I wonder if I have a clean one to any with….. Goes off to check.

[Thomas Blanchard]

Oh yes it works great!  Check out the videos on YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=watercolor+Magic+eraser+&spfreload=1    

[Sandra Strait]

Lol! I was going to leave a link for you, but Thomas got there before me.  I find the only problems with using them is in only lifting the area you want, and that they can be harsher on the paper.  The videos give you some ideas on how to avoid either one.

[Jennifer McLean]

yay, fantastic idea Kai. I knew about normal enamel but hadn’t purchased as I didn’t know which kind. Now I can go find car enamel and paint the inside of my boxes (and correct color damage on old ones, lol) Thanks again.

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