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DIY Palette Saver
What do you do with your oil paint when you’re done painting whether in the studio, or Plein Air? If you’re anything like me, it breaks your heart to let all that beautiful paint go to waste!
Here in this short blog entry, I want to show you a simple idea that you can make yourself, to save the paint, and cut the waste. So, with that in mind, let’s make a “Palette Saver”!
I’ve seen this idea around and thought “hey it can’t be that hard”. It’s just a few bits of plumbing pieces, so I’ve put together this handy guide on how to make your own paint saver. Enjoy!
All the materials you need to build your own palette saver can be found at the local hardware store in the plumbing section.
As I stood there, I thought to myself, this is what the dream looks like, one day, I’ll have a studio just like this…
Well, I’m sorry to say, I haven’t quite got the Fechin studio, yet, but I do have a pretty nice space, nonetheless. In this blog I want to share with you my approach to lighting in the hopes you can enjoy working under the consistency, and quality of the lights I work under, without breaking the bank, or trying to build a Fechin studio replica.
Materials Overview:
Here’s what you’ll need.
- PVC Pipe – 50mm
- Aluminum L Channel (to fit inside pipe)
- PVC cement
- Screw Cap with collar
- End Cap (to glue on)
Tools:
- Tape Measure
- Hacksaw
- Sand Paper
Here I’ve measured and cut a piece of aluminum “L” channel. I want this to fit inside the pochade box, snuggly. The idea is, I can rest that “L” channel inside the box… This is what we will use to place our oil paints on.
When cutting aluminum, there are much easier ways to cut this than I have done here. If you have access to a vice or clamps, I would highly recommend it – It will make your life much easier.
I make the pipe slightly longer than the L channel, and the end caps will add a bit of dimension as well.
A hacksaw makes quick work of PVC pipe, although it can leave the edge a bit rough. Give the ends of the PVC pipe quick sand to take off the roughness, this will also give the glue something to bind too.
Now we need to fit our collar (for the screw cap one end) and our end cap.
Preparation is key here. Acetone has a chemical reaction with the PVC and will dissolve the outer layer, giving the plumbing glue better adhesion. This can give off some fumes, so if you can do this outside or wear a ventilation mask.
When gluing PVC together, I use PVC solvent cement. I’m no plumber, but I’m sure they would suggest the same.
Now the brand I’m using here doesn’t matter, whatever you can get your hands on will work. Make sure you get a good coverage on the ends you’ll be gluing together.
Once you have pieced it all together, give it 30 mins to dry. But to be 100% sure it’s cured, give it 12 hours.
All you have to do next is deposit your paint and place your aluminum L channel in the tube.
Here’s the best part. For a result that will last ages – fill the tube with water! Oil and water don’t mix, right? So with that in mind, this will prevent the air touching your paint.
Now, I’m no expert here, I’m sure there’s adjustments you could make to improve on my methods. I’ve seen one where the tube is polycarbonate and clear. That’s cool!
I hope this tip helps!
Enjoy!
Tisch
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