How to Clean an Art Palette
Art palette is a useful tool for all artists, whether he is a novice or an expert in his field. The palette allows them to hold the paint while they work and refresh their brush when they need a coat. When the palette is washed right after a paintings session, it gets cleaned very easily without any fuss. However, when it is forgotten, it can get hard on art palettes and turn rock hard. Cleaning them up can be quite hard and take a lot of time. However, with the right techniques and help, you can make palette cleaning a much easier job. Our step by step guide has some effective suggestions for you.
Things Required:
– Well-ventilated room
– Clean rags
– Turpentine
– Razor blade
Instructions
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1
After you are done painting, wipe your palette with a clean rag dipped in some turpentine oil. This prevents the paint residue from getting hard. Once it develops into a hard crust, it will hard to clean it off. So try to clean it while the paint is soft.
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2
Since turpentine has very strong fumes, it can cause breathing and several other health problems for you. Therefore it is advised that you sit in an open, large and well ventilated room while you clean the palette so that the effect of turpentine is low.
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3
Firstly, use a dry cloth to simply wipe off any soft paint. Now dip a rag in turpentine oil and moisten the hard paint deposits with it. The paint will get damp. Give it around half an hour to get soft so that it comes off easily.
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4
After half an hour, scrape away the remaining paint with something sharp like a razor blade. The turpentine will have softened the paint for you. After you scrape off the paint, wash the palette in clean water. Dry it well with a clean cloth, especially on the edges and you will have your shining palette back.
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5
If you do not want to use turpentine oil or it is not available, simply soak it in the fabric softener. The softener works on the paint and loosens it up, especially if it is acrylic paint. Soaking in even simple dish wash bar also loosens paint deposits.
