Squidmar tested all the miniature painting wet palettes so you don’t have to! Let’s see what his thoughts are on all the products!
Squidmar’s channel is rapidly growing due to his great tutorials ranging from full-scale models to tips, even to practical physics! You may have been looking wet palettes for painting your miniatures, but don’t know which is the best. Squidmar is taking away the guessing and reviewing a bunch for us.
If you want to check out his other tutorials for painting, go see them out here. Let’s check out what he thinks!
Squidmar Tests Miniature Painting Wet Palettes
A wet palette is one of the most important hobby tools to have if you love painting minis. Even if you just want to get an army ready for the tabletop it’s super nice to have. With so many out there it’s hard to know which to choose. Why do the groundwork yourself? Just let Squidmar do it for you! Let’s hear his thoughts.
Red Grass Games Palette
He’s been using this for about two years now. They have two sizes, but for him, the small one is a little too small for how he paints. He really likes how many different paints you can front-load onto this palette. That way he doesn’t have to stop his flow and add or change paints. It is also really low profile so it makes storing a breeze. They also have precut papers for their own palettes, so you don’t have to do any extra work. Also, their papers work really well.
The main issue here is the price. It is by far the most expensive of them running around $55 for the bigger one. The other issue is the seal is too good. It creates such a tight seal that it keeps it almost too moist, he leaves his cracked to let out some moisture if he wants to reuse the paper or paints later.
Masterson Sta-Wet Palette
The design is far simpler and this has been around for the longest. It does feel a little more dated, but it’s still fairly large and how it seals is perfect. For him, always the bigger the better for palettes. This one has been big enough for any project he has undertaken. It is a little taller than the Red Grass, but not much.
The main issue with this one is the paper they come with. Almost unusable for normal mini paint. He just cuts parchment paper to fit, so just a tiny bit of work. Lastly, it leaves a tiny film on the paint but is about equal in usage compared to the Red Grass one. For the price, it is hard to beat.
The Army Painter Wet Palette
This is about the same size as the smaller Red Grass palette. It has a very similar material and design to the Red Grass one as well. So it feels extremely well made. It also has a cool design feature where you can keep your brushes at the top. So it is very portable and helps save on space. Anytime he’s gone somewhere, he uses this one and carries his brushes in the top to keep them safer.
The only real issue with this one is the size. For the type of painting he does, he needs one just a little bigger. Overall though, for the price, design, and portability, this one holds up extremely well.
P3 Wet Palette
This one is a bit of a dark horse because not too many people have heard about it. But it’s been around for a while. The design and materials are pretty good. The main issues here are the size and paper. It’s just so small it’s hard to get behind, basically 1/3 the size of the Red Grass one. Also, the paper breaks down quickly if you leave it for about 20-30 minutes. In his opinion, this one is just too small for his painting style to use on a regular basis.
Homemade Palette
A homemade wet palette can actually be really good! Most people think they suck, but they are easy to make and if you get good parchment paper, they work almost as well. You can just buy the sponge cloth, then cut out the paper, and boom, you’re good to go! The hardest part about this is getting a really cool box! It is obviously far cheaper but just requires some work. If you’ve never used one this is a good route to go to see if you actually like using one.
His Favorites
For the price, the Masterson is the most bang for the buck. It’s cheap, works well, and is durable.
Even though it’s more expensive, the Red Grass palette stands above the rest. Just overall it works so well. It has great paper, is super reliable, and is the best for preloading paint.
For travel, he would always go with The Army Painter one. While he doesn’t use it day to day for his normal painting, anytime he’s gone somewhere, this is the one he’s taken with him.
That does it for this quick rundown of all the wet palettes for miniature painting out there! Go grab your favorite and get painting!
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About the Author: Travis Pasch
Travis Pasch
Job Title: Head Writer & Editor
Socials: @paschbass
About Travis Pasch: Travis has been a Warhammer 40k hobbyist since the 1990s, playing the game since Third Edition. Through extensive traveling, he’s seen a lot of the miniatures hobby from across the world, giving him a unique perspective on the latest gaming topics and trends.
Travis’s brother even owns a commission painting studio, where he’s picked up a lot of good advice and techniques for painting Warhammer and tabletop miniatures over the years, as well. Travis joined the Spikey Bits team in 2019 and has been the lead writer since 2020.
Currently, he’s working on converting all his 40k Adeptus Mechanicus models and becoming a true tech enjoyer, complete with both sad and happy robot noises!
