Review and how to use a Sta-Wet Palette

The Masterson Sta-Wet Palette is my absolute favourite acrylic painting tool. It’s a system that comes with four pieces: a lid and base, a sponge and a piece of palette paper. Essentially, you wet the sponge and palette paper so you can keep your acrylic paint wet as you work on your painting. The size I purchased also came with some small plastic tubs where you can put paint mixes in, but I’ve never found them useful so I use that section as a place to put my paint brushes as I work.

Using this palette, acrylic paint will stay workable for a really long time. How long? Hours to days (if using the lid). It’s really a game-changer for acrylic painters, particularly those of us in dry climates, where your acrylic paint dries very quickly on a regular palette. I don’t expect it’s as useful in humid climates where acrylic paint drying time is much longer.

When you first purchase this palette, it comes with a small number of palette sheets. You can reuse the sheets many times. I’ve probably used each of mine dozens of times before they start to get too worn or finally tear. You’ll notice the paper starts getting a bit fuzzy when it’s reaching the end of its lifespan. Replacement sheets are fairly inexpensive. 

The downside (which isn’t too down)

I have found a couple drawbacks to using this palette. If you have too much water sitting on the surface of the paper, it can really dilute your paint. As long as you ensure you don’t have water pooling when you’re preparing the palette, I found that issue was no longer a problem. 

The other issue is that it can start to smell of damp or mold. While I’ve seen some marketing that says you can keep paint for weeks, I wouldn’t use it for more than a couple or few days in a row because I wouldn’t want mold to grow. While I’ve never seen mold in my sta-wet palette, I have noticed a musty smell so I will rinse the sponge in a light bleach solution which clears it up.

Be cautious – Masterson advises to use a 3% hydrogen peroxide solution instead of bleach to extend the life of the sponge or to simply throw it in the washing machine. Don’t try to remove stains either. Let it fully dry after doing this before using the palette.

How to use the Sta-Wet Palette

Watch me demonstrate how to use a sta-wet palette. 

1. Put a plug into a clean sink and add two or three inches of water. I’ve always used cold or lukewarm water, but others say to use hot. I’ve never noticed a difference.
2. Put your paper into the water, making sure it’s fully covered. Let it sit for 10-15 minutes. 
3. While the paper soaks, put the sponge into the same water for about 15 seconds, or long enough to fully saturate the sponge. Remove it from the water and lightly squeeze. Don’t wring – you want the sponge to last as long time! Set it in the base while the paper continues to soak.
4. Once the paper has soaked for 10-15 minutes, remove it from the water, letting the excess water drip off. I use my hand to wipe off excess water as well.
5. Set the paper on top of the sponge and you’re ready to add acrylic paint and get painting!
6. If you need to stop painting for a few hours or even a few days, you can just pop the lid onto it and come back to paint that is still fresh and ready to use.

Buy your own on Amazon:

US

• Sta-wet palette (12″x13″ version) plus additional sheets
• Sta-wet palette (16″x12″ version) plus additional sheets

Canada

• Sta-wet palette (12″x13″ version) plus additional sheets
• Sta-wet palette (16″x12″ version) plus additional sheets