Masterson Artist Palette Seal 16X12, Acrylic, White, Basic Pack

Surprisingly good piece of kit. Hesitated to buy this, as it felt quite expensive for just a box. I always have paint on my palette, so that I’m ready to go any time. This made a big difference to the air quality in my studio (and I use water based oil paints) and keeps even thin piles of paint fresh overnight. And probably longer. So with just the box I get more use out of my paint. Happy with it!

I had always used the Daler Rowney Stay Wet pallet for both acrylics then alkyd oils, but while it worked in keeping them wet for longer, the quality of the plastic was brittle and prone to crack after a while. Also ridiculously expensive for a couple of pieces of moulded plastic! So thought I'd try this. Cheaper than the Stay - Wet even coming from USA, I've been delighted so far with it. I line it with household grease proof paper and squeeze out my alkyds on that. Even after three days the alkyds were usable if slightly tacky. Now if I'm going to be leaving them for more than a day I spray lightly with low odour solvent and the paints stay wet. As someone else has said, you need to go right round each side, pressing down to ensure a good seal, but it works well. Really pleased!

It’s a great box to keep oil paints from drying out as well as carry it safely without making a mess. However, I do think that it’s is a little bit too expensive.

A nice sized stay wet palette...if a bit pricey. The sponge refill is useful but I will probably use Baking Parchment for the membrane - I can get a 70 metre roll for a few pounds; and the size is basically the same width as the ones supplied for the Masterson Palette (The membrane papers supplied for the Palette are also fairly pricey). Also it is possible to get both white and brown Baking Parchment which will help in judging the colour/tone of the paint when mixing. I have heard that some peoples stay wet palettes produce condensation when closed for a period of time and have recommended leaving the lid slightly open to allow air to circulate - what I might do is drill a hole in the lid to allow air to circulate and use an ear plug to block the hole when complete closure is required. Hope that helps.

The lid is a little difficult to stay on flat and tight

I restarted oil painting this summer, and found this smart device. You can put your whole pallette in the box and then in the fridge or even freezer, and take it out even a week or two later.

On delivery I struggled to open this and needed to turn and pull at corners with all of my might. It looks perfectly capable of keeping your paint moist between painting sessions, but it could be in quite a mess after struggling to open the box. When I attempted to close the box it was even more difficult as you have to match the corners and press down extremely hard to seal corners and then wrestle to close all edges around all four sides. I dread to think what condition the paint within would be as you need to fight to open it again to use the moist paint. I don't have the strongest hands in the world but they are not the weakest either. It was an expensive purchase as I don't se me getting much use.

This does the job well. So far paint has remained wet after a few days. Basic pack doesn’t include the sponge or sheets for acrylics. Some people complain about the lid but this works very well - just follow the instructions provided and you’ll not have any problems