Does Watercolour Expire or Go Bad?

[@elainemagliacane]

Oh one more thing, I've found watercolor paint boxes in antique shops (very old paint, maybe 100 years), some cracked up, but with a bit of water , the colors were fine, so watercolor paint does not expire. I've also cut open a dried up tube, and extracted the dried up paint from the inside re-wet and painted with it.

[@fatmasarisiregar3935]

Me too. I got huge vintage Windsor and Newton gouache from online shop with a very affordable price.. the quality is still very good.. they also gave me some dried tubes for free. I cut it open, rewet it, and it's still good to go.. 😄

[@EstrafaDC]

I agree. I've made a little list of discontinued paints/pigments that I carry with me when I travel. I've stumbled across old caches of old paint from different brands and can usually buy a few tubes very very cheaply. I've never had a problem rewetting them, with the exception of a natural pigment like the original *real* plant-derived gamboge. Dull brown because it ages unlike the mineral derived pigments. But some of the other old paints I've discovered have been really fun to play with.

[@elainemagliacane]

Sodalite is a paint derived from grinding up a sodalite ROCK, so no surprise it returns to rock... For the cracking if I have a paint like Winsor & Newton Raw Sienna (which I love but it cracks a lot) or Burnt Umber I add a few drops of Glycerin to the pan and stir that in with the paint. I do the same with my Gouache paints, I add glycerin and also use little individual plastic lidded paint pots for those, which keeps them moist and usable for a very long time. I've also heard that storing the palette in the refrigerator can help avoid mold, but I've not tried that or had an issue with mold personally. Letting your paints air dry before closing them up may avoid the growth of mold, but I don't know if that's true or not. Interesting video Teoh.

[@everartokelli]

Another suggestion for Sodalite is to buy the DS stick version (about $8.49USD) and use it as pan paint--it's very consistent and firm, but not rock-like. It's also a pretty good deal, at least in the US. I also use Elaine's suggestion of a drop of glycerin in mineral paints like Viridian, and use it for most of my Winsor & Newton tube paints, too.

[@barbaraklein.plussize]

I bought a bottle of glycerin but am afraid of that affecting the quality of the paint. Nice suggestions, thanks!

[@recoveringsoul755]

I was looking for this comment.Yes Sodalite is an actual rock, or semi precious gemstone. Blue with little white veins. Interesting didn't know they had that as a paint color.

[@conniebigelow8732]

I had some old tube colors from my mother in law and the paint separated. I just mixed them back up with tooth picks inserted in the tube and they were good as new.

[@mkbuike7895]

Yes. I was going to suggest the same thing. I learned that trick from Jane Blundell.

[@MsChucklebunny]

Such an important video that I rarely hear about from other artists. Thank you so much for sharing Teoh!

[@MalamikArt]

Silica packs can help with the mold. Keep these packets in the palettes that you close up.

[@OneTrueWord1988]

Malamik Art: What a great idea! Thanks!

[@monica-NJ-123]

Great idea, thank you 😊

[@snoozleblob]

I know some artists like to use another brush to scrub up the paint with water just prior to use then they use their main painting brush to kind of transfer the wet paint to their respective mixing area as needed. As far as I know that was to prolong the life of the main painting brush and to help deal with more difficult paints. Thanks for all the tips and info. The comments from everyone else here is also super helpful!

[@dees3179]

I do this when I have a brush with a great point. It is quite easy to get in the habit.

[@gadingsaurus]

this video is actually pretty informative and amazing. great job on the researches. i love the video.

[@teohyc]

Thanks 😁

[@MissMagic]

If it's separated, just put the cap back on and shake the tube vigorously. Viola!

[@ChrissieNicely]

I can only speak for Schmincke paints (watercolour and some guache, some being in tubes and pans from many decades ago) and a couple of Winsor & Newton paints that I have inherited from my late father. None of these paints are affected in quality even though they may have dried in their tubes. They all rewet and paint just like they were new. However, I live in Germany and the paints have always been stored in this climate where it is not hot and humid like your climate.

[@jimwalker5941]

Excellent video on a subject almost never discussed. Thank you!

[@MsChucklebunny]

Yes, I do sometimes find that even when I buy 'new' tubes of paint that have the gum arabic already separating from the pigment. That's why I try to shop in busier art supply stores where I know the turnover rate of products is higher as opposed to a store with older stock. I find the cracks problem especially annoying when I'm too eager to paint and pick up some colour from a cracked paint and then accidentally depositing a different pigment into the cracks, making it very difficult to clean out.

[@aartadventure]

Wonderful tips and advice as usual Teoh. All the best for a wonderful and art filled 2019!

[@chammikaiser7740]

Thanks for this Teoh. I have had the same problems particularly with the cracking of the paint. The mould I have not experienced. I decided to buy some gum arabic and put a tiny bit on the paints that had cracked - left it for a few days and the paint softened and I removed most of the gum arabic. It definitely helped.

[@lindamullahy5752]

Loved the video find it very helpful and thanks for sharing your Videos with us and enjoyed it too.

[@SharonNolfi]

Thanks for this information. I think I better start painting more often and using up the many paints I have.

[@neenas_nyem3620]

Really helpful information i was looking for. Thank you for this video.

[@aisazia]

Ohhh good topic! I wondered about this! Oh I've had cracked watercolors but that doesn't bother me too much. It's always not that humid where I live so fortunately don't need to worry about mold as much. Still new to watercolors so I've only had mine for about a year. I'd be interested in others responses!

[@sannojohasshu7590]

Excellent! Thank you for this, it’s very informative.

[@jdub3853]

Hi Teoh. Great video! Here in arid Arizona mold is never a problem. We are lucky in that respect. I do have a few colors in tubes that I may not use for a long time, either because it turned out that I don't like the color, or that I will use so little of it that the tube will last a long time. I am curious to see if I can still use them after a few years! I will have to wait and see. I hope as long as the tubes are stored in a cool and dry place that they will last indefinitely.

[@Android_replicant]

2:51 some specific pigments can be rehydrated with alcohol, just leave a couple of drops to separate or dissolve the hard layer, you can also try glycerin as another comment says

[@KimberlyCrick]

I had mold develop with my local water, but I painted with a bottle of purified water instead and it fixed my problem, so tap/well water can be a contaminant. I've had the most problems with one particular tube of paint, for me it was Winsor and Newtons Indigo. I wonder if sometimes they get more moldy than usual due to less preservatives being added to that batch of paint.

[@lindyashford7744]

Kimberly Crick Art, W&N Indivo is prone to developing a bloom on the surface. I have read about this happening somewhere or another. Mine is like this, it looks like mould but isn't and dies not affect any painted work I have no idea why this should be except that indigo is an organic colour rather than a true pigment.

[@KimberlyCrick]

I wish that mine did not effect the painting, but i had to throw it out @@lindyashford7744 . I had so much tiny white particles throughout that it would appear in the wash on paper. The W&N brand's Indigo isn't the organic indigo plant though, it is made from standard pigments PBk6-Lamp Black + PB15-Phthalo Blue + PV19-Quinacridone Violet. Doubly strange all around for why this particular tube is so bad.

[@lindyashford7744]

Ah, that will be the difference, mine is a half pan, and yours a tube colour. W&N say they have a different formulation for tube paints. So frustrating for you. I have no idea of why this happens, and have only observed it in W&N colours, I have a Corman turquoise that does very similar, but other than having a rose madder genuine have no tube colours from them.

[@aoutsky]

Great video. Happy new year, Teoh!

[@teohyc]

Thanks. Happy New Year 😁

[@mightyboy527]

i cut square Bleach Wipes to fit into my kit. The bleach keeps out mold and also keeps the paint moist. But for the most part watercolor stays amazingly usable even after years of non-use. A while back i found a pan that must of been at least 5 years old under a desk that i moved. i added drops of water to it and left it for a while and it was just as new.

[@monica-NJ-123]

Thanks for another great video, I had a problem with mold growing on my paints, they weren’t expensive but I ended up throwing them out, since then I try to only use small amount of paint from my tubes, as needed xoxo 😘

[@suzalasuzala1135]

Funny, I have sodalite I two of my palettes and have not had it dry especially hard. Luck? For separating colors I'd like to nominate Cobalt teal Daniel smith. Mine hangs upside down to try and prevent the separation.

[@InLiquidColor]

My Sodalite is also fine, and I'm surprised because I know Teoh lives in a much ore humid climate than I do!

[@MissMagic]

I didn't have any trouble re-wetting any of the DS paints people complain about being hard to pick up. It's pretty humid here in the UK but much colder than where Teoh lives obviously.

[@mariacuarela]

The mold thing scared me so much 😨 thank you so much for the information!

[@tmp0922]

When squeezing from a tube adding a bit of honey will prevent your paints from having these kinds of issues just avoid adding so much honey as it becomes unmanageable in in travel palettes which is not an issue in studio palettes, over time you may encounter “cracks” but they will not crumble. Great vid Teoh thanks!

[@justacatwhocantype]

My parents recently found a bag that contained some little plastic watercolour tubes that must be about 20 years old. They are very cheap paints that came in one of those art sets with a bunch of different supplies in them. I was super excited to check them out, and while some of them are pretty dried and have to be scraped out of the tubes to be used, all of them work and none of them are moldy or smell weird. I think that if people experience problems with watercolors going bad, it's either a result of improper storage (like putting them away while they are still wet) or because they live in a climate that is not really favorable to watercolors. Personally, I have always lived in areas with moderate climate, and I have never seen any watercolor or gouache go bad, at least not as long as it was treated properly.

[@mayraaliciaglz1046]

NICE! I had this and more doubts because my Koi watercolors cracked and I couldn't tell why or what should I do

[@nauci]

Woah. Thanks for the tips!

[@jenniferaboufadle7118]

Great video. I had no idea about the mold. Thanks so much

[@J.Dibble]

Also it is a good idea to keep the threads of the tube opening and cap clean. That way, if you don’t open the tube often, the paint won’t have dried hard around the threads and you don’t have to wrestle to get the top off. (Ask me how I know! 😳😠😆)

[@XDamainI]

I seen in a previous video of yours that paint could have mold problems. Thanks to that I have been vigilant with my paint and always leave my boxes open overnight after using them. I've had some cracking issues but I usually just try and fill the cracks with more paint. Luckily none of the pigments I like to use have hardening issues.

[@Via_Von]

One would think, living in Illinois here, that I would have experienced the mold issue because it’s a fairly humid State, but I haven’t. I have however encountered the cracking to the point where I’ve got an unusual lava flow crater thing going on in my DS quinacridone gold that I have to be very careful not to damage my brush around. I’ve got the sticky bits going on in my Sennelier paint set because of the honey binder. Like yours, I leave that residue where it stuck and use it from there.

[@tattinggirl4341]

Very helpful as always!

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

Thank goodness I live in a less humid part of the country and not have to deal with mold in my paints.

[@maryanharrell5642]

This was an informative video. I have had paint to dry, but so far, no mold. I use Mijello Fusion palettes and they seal very well. I do like to let my paint air before I close up my palette, but I would imagine that since I paint mostly in studio and air conditioning, that is why. I use DS paints, exclusively, except for 1 or 2 M. Graham colors.

[@teohyc]

Air from air condition is dry. I can turn on my air con unit and see the paints turn from glossy to matte dry surface in half hour. When I switch of the air con, the paints go back to their glossy (wet) surface.

[@chelseas1169]

For solving the issue of bacteria and mould, you can add a small amount of phenol into your watercolor paint as a preservative.

[@MartinoMeraiah]

Had the same mold problem ( hot and humid climate) had to throw full palettes because of it. Haven't been hoarding paints since then.

[@sandyheath1888]

Meraiah Martino I live in the mountains in sunny Queensland Australia and have had a lot of problems with mould, I scrape off the mould and place the pan into a container with water and add a couple of drops of dettol, let it sit for a while, then use the paint to pour over a painting. I have been doing this for a long time and have not noticed any negative effects from the dettol on any of the paintings.

[@tainadelcaribe]

The separation with cerulean blue chromium (pb36) happened to me with the Da Vinci tube I just bought last week. Also, a little glycerin with a few drops of water help a lot with cracking in the pans, but a little goes a long way so one has to be mindful of it.

[@rstallings69]

Also when they crqxk should i rewet them and add something- i have some really old cotman paints that have a few colors that craxk a lot and i guessed that that was due to loss of gum arabic

[@Fr4Fry88]

Hi again Teoh....I think I found my answer here, thanks also to the comments. Thanx for the video :)

[@simonegovender7556]

Hmmm... , I bought a reeves watercolor tube set see and when i squeezed the paint out of the tube, there was this oily brown substance that came out before the paint... now I’m guessing that it could have been old stock the shop was selling 👀👀👀

[@heberdua]

Great info thanks !

[@karenzaller9659]

Hi Teoh, I kept tubes of watercolor in zip lock bags placed into an enameled panda with the lid taped on with silver tape for an unbelievably long time-- 35 years! I switched careers but kept my paint and brushes. Now that I am retired I pulled the paint out of storage. I had about 30 tubes of which 2 hardened in the tube, 3 had cemented caps that I soaked and was able to use. Nothing molded in the tubes but my pallet molded. I cleaned it up and treated it with a mild bleach solution. My question is, ‘once it has been treated is there a chance that mold may regrow in my pallet?’ Thank you for your help

[@teohyc]

Once mold appears, it will always be there. Usual way to prevent mold is to dry your paint and keep them ventilated

[@TheSpinDoctor]

Also, colours like sodalite - just wet with warm water, wait 10 mins and then paint with it - it will re-wet nicely if you use hot water and 10 mins.

[@FERRAYYY_1973]

Thank you for your videos!

[@isabellecade277]

I would never have thought to see so much mold in a watercolor box, 😳 . At home it is rather the opposite, the watercolor dries fast and cracks but I just spray a little water to be usable. (Sennelier)

[@Scrabbledat]

Isabelle CADE it could depend on the climate of where you live

[@KimberlyCrick]

It can be the water too @@Scrabbledat . I had mold develop with my local water, but I painted with a bottle of purified water instead and it fixed my problem, so tap/well water can be a contaminant.

[@chrom0xide123]

I think it also depends on the pigment. I had a purple watercolor that turned brown and very hard after some time. I had purchased it in a tube and put some of it in a pan when it was still fine. Both versions turned the same, so it was not about containing water or having contact with air or light. (I don‘t exactly know which pigment it was, the tone was like manganese violet.)

[@PuppetMaster8707]

Ahhhh Teoh you are a wise one

[@teohyc]

Thanks :-)

[@EstrafaDC]

Great video Teoh! My biggest problem is probably the runny paint. It just makes SUCH a MESS in my palettes. I really wish there was more warning about it too. I'm curious if you've ever tried adding gum arabic to harder paints -- or paints susceptible to hardening like a rock -- adding gum arabic to make them more pliable. Like the sodalite. That might help it set softer in the palette. Curious if you've ever heard about people doing that.

[@alternateemail7668]

Hi Teoh Can you identify how long your tube paints were left when you experienced the gas issue? I have the DS Transparent Pyrroll Orange as well. Thanks!

[@teohyc]

I can't remember

[@alternateemail7668]

Teoh Yi Chie Okay, thanks.

[@sandyheath1888]

I have had a tube of Transparent Pyrrol Orange for about 3 years and it hasn’t developed a gas problem as yet, perhaps it is because Teoh lives in a much more hotter humid climate than I do?

[@alternateemail7668]

Sandy Heath Thanks Sandy!

[@patriziacathey605]

Teoh, In acrylics mold is a problem in stay-wet palettes.A chemist on the site WetCanvas discovered putting a copper penny or piece of copper will prevent the growth.I have never had a problem with mold again! It might work for watercolors too? Good Luck!

[@blaketbarber]

Thanks. I got mold last year. Its a real nightmare cleaning it up. It just keeps coming back. I finaly had to replace all the colors and use it more often.

[@teohyc]

You have to air your paint properly after each use. Now I always keep my box open and not close them

[@MedaHalmaciu]

I bought some Sankt Petersburg paints from E-bay and they were hard. I jus wet them before use. I also have some old tubes that separate, but never mold. I live in Romania, Europe. I even had to bring my paints home because they dry out and crack at the studio. So I guess the final conclusion is to use paint instead of collecting it :)

[@nightdragon201]

the issue i had was with holbein, i bought the set and filled half pans with each of the colors, maybe two months ago, recently after moving i opened the tins and was amazed by how much they shrunk, they were initially full and now most are not even half of the half pan and turned into tiny rectangles of color, making me have to refill all of them. but with all the Daniel Smiths i have and sennelier etc i never noticed such a drastic change in size. What would be a cause for something like that happening? i understand water and liquids evaporate, but it looks like i just put a drop in the pans lol.

[@effenjessie]

Yeesh. I’ve never had that mold problem since I live in dry southern caifornia. I did find that some colors don’t dry quite as quickly as others though!

[@vani519]

I suggest a drop of honey for cracked colors and aqua pasto (by Schmincke or winsor&Newton) for the liquidy colors like from Sennelier. I myself use gum arabic and mix the pure dry pieces (very tiny pieces, like sand) into the pans. I got all my pans “fixed”. I learned about that from making my own watercolors.

[@lindyashford7744]

It was always said that gouache would go bad. I have some that date back to the early 1980s, most dried within the tubes to a lesser or greater degree. I decanted them around three years ago into a cheap palette for 24 colours with a lid that seals each well. Only one colour is insoluble and has gone bad, a synthetic and quite acid looking rose, unknown pigment number. Is is extremely hairy with mould, but none of the other colours are affected at all! The rest are all quite reusable and will with some effort mix to a creamy consistency to use as proper gouache or can be used very like watercolour. The colours are as vivid and lovely as when I first bought them, when I used them for very detailed airbrush painting. Well before digital art! I was able to make two identical palettes with what I had the second I made no attempt to reconstitute or level, it is like nuggets of pigment, I fully expect these will be usable in another 35 years time!

[@babixillo]

nice information! what about inks?

[@boopeep9670]

babixillo unfortunately inks do spoil and will smell bad.

[@aripaulblarti8950]

I had some cheap watercolors go bad once where they smelled HORRIBLE. They worked fine but I couldn't work with them without gagging so I tossed them. I felt bad about it though!

[@rdendelacruz4332]

Wow.... A treasure video... ☺️😍

[@SheenaBrown444]

I’m highly allergic to mold. Should I stick to pan paints instead of tube paints?

[@teohyc]

As long as you keep your paint dry, there will not be mold. Pan is good for painting outdoors.

[@boopeep9670]

Smi Sch that’s strange, honey is a natural antibacterial even used in wound healing and as a preservative. Honey cured ham is an example. I would think it helped prevent mold. I’m curious how much is even used in good quality paints. Tasheens I had a cake of paint mold I thought it was dry and closed the lid and Tieoh showed an entire palette of pans covered in mold. So both are susceptible. Take care to let them air dry between uses and it should be fine. I also use distilled water and don’t handle my brush bristles with my hands plus wash my hands before and after using my art supplies. Overkill from working in the medical field. I’m allergic to mold also.

[@MrQuuze]

Nice see this mold and sametime bad see. luckily my pans dont ahve mold at least such looking mold. i think pans should dtied after use its this true?

[@ArtBrain]

I would be tempted to try adding some glycerin or gum arabic to the Sodalite if you want to put it into a pan. I've found that the paints from gemstones do harden rather unacceptably but were rewettable with some time. Really the worst paint I've had for rewetting is DS Hansa Yellow Light. It is a pain, so I'm searching for a cool yellow I like better in that regard. A good idea to prevent mold is to make sure the paints are completely dry before closing them up. Mold has a hard time growing on a dry surface. This is super interesting. I've been looking around at videos of very old paints. Most don't really expire, but some develop a hard crust on top that can probably be carved off with an x-acto knife. They do get old and harder to work with though, which is an argument for not letting any of your supplies become too precious. Use them while you can!

[@Noniof3]

I have certain colors of pan paints that crack and split-mostly Koi. I always have to be really careful of how I lift paint from them so I don’t damage my brush. It’s a pain. To prevent mold, I always leave my palette boxes open until the paints are thoroughly dry.

[@gitikaasiwal6746]

Use cheaper brush to lift and mix your colours.

[@Noniof3]

Good idea. Thanks.

[@lynnholbein3795]

But the great news is that Watercolor so rarely goes bad!! It is an amazing and inexpensive medium, in that paints we squeezed into our palettes five years ago can usually still be used again! As opposed to acrylic, for instance, which is useless within an hour or so.

[@ulutiu]

I think this 'chemical reaction' may be particular to Daniel Smith. I've got over 50 tubes of various DS colors and the only ones affected were 3 reds. On the other hand none of W&N tubes has this problem.

[@tm6592]

I have problem with my DS watercolors when I dry them in a pan or palette they coming out like ice tray :”( what can I do ? The palette is mijello mission gold fusion

[@teohyc]

What do you mean by ice tray? DS? Mission Gold?

[@tm6592]

@@teohyc sorry english not my first language .. I mean when the paint drys in the palette they come out like I remove them from the palette with snap blade knife or they come out like when we remove the ice from the ice tray the paints don’t stick in the paalette I don’t know why is that from the weather idk the paint I’m talking about is daniel smith watercolors I dry them in mijello’s fusion palette

[@teohontech7141]

@@tm6592 Some colours will not stick inside the pans. So it's best to squeeze a bit, let it dry, fill the gaps, then squeeze again.

[@tm6592]

@@teohontech7141 okay thank you very much 😊😊

[@piafou63]

I've got some quite old W&N artist grade tubes I bought in 1987. Only one one them was spoiled : the lemon yellow (with Chrome) and turned into a kind of powder mixed with a kind of gelatine (strange). Went straight to the trash can. 2 colors (cobalt; and I guess indigo - name erased on the tube) were dry and I had to cut the tube and extract them, but they are usable as pans. The others were still liquid (burn sienna, noir de vigne, yellow ocre, alizarine crimson, carmine, bright red - red which doesn't exist anymore) The only thing I'm wondering is : does the vibrancy of these old colors remains the same after all these years... I really can't tell for sure, but they seem really "normal".

[@izzatihasim]

Do you still have problem with mould? I have solutions for you. 1) use silica gel 2) put 2-3 drops of clove oil on tiny sponge and then place that sponge inside your box. clove is a neutral anti-mould. Just dont directly drop into your colour because it would affect the vibrancy of the colours later.

[@teohyc]

I keep my paint boxes well ventilated and there haven't been such problems.

[@LisaSandboge]

Very interesting subject! I once bought some new and unused quite old Ferrario watercolor pans. They were all pretty ok, aside from the pans that were severely yellowed. But one of the colors, some caput mortum-like pan, smelled like death and decay. Terrible! I have no idea why, but I couldn't use it so I got rid of it. I also has a huge heavy weight box from Blockx (their old line of paints, which are probably 15-20 years old) and some of the paints are weird. Some pans rewet really bad, some really well. But a few of the colors started to get all granular with small paintspots in them. I guess some of the binder went bad.

[@patriziacathey605]

Look up what Caput Mortem was made from in the old days and it will make some since? Maybe that brand is using an OLD recipe! YUK!

[@LisaSandboge]

@@patriziacathey605 That might be the case, who knows! Eww, I'm glad I got rid of it! :D

[@debsmith7050]

Good one! Thanks for sharing. I have added honey or glycerin to cracked watercolor paint. Other KZbinrs do the same. And it's a hack all over the internet. Give it a try and share your results :)

[@teohyc]

Thanks. Now I have an idea for my next video 😂

[@shirleyhiggins3395]

I did an experiment where I added a drop of glycerin to one pallette when filling it, a drop of liquid honey to another and one with nothing, and left them to dry for a month. Both the honey and glycerin both re-wet better than the control pan, the honey one felt slightly smoother to paint with after. I also found some colours need 2-3 drops of additive. They do take longer to 'set' so you need to prepare them well in advance or just partly fill them up. Luckily I have never had a problem with mould but I do have the problem with the hard coating. I have tried painting with bottled and distilled water because we have very hard water but nothing has made a difference. The only thing I found was to poke a pin in the surface before using the colour to release the paint underneath, and again not to fill the pans completely. Most darker blues, especially ultramarine, and moonglow are my worst culprits for this. For dried tubes I cut them open, chop them up and leave them in a water/glycerin solution and keep stirring them until they become creamy, some colours may be better ground up first to make them less grainy afterwards. Thankyou for a very helpful video , now I know I am not the only ones with problems! 😋

[@romabahl918]

Thanks for sharing this information but my question is that my acrylic colours also get mouldy...I clean them but then again the mould develops and I have to waste lot of colour...I even tried adding glycerine but that also did not help...pls advise..

[@teohyc]

How do you store your acrylic paint?

[@Waynimations]

I’ve always wondered about this

[@LeesChannel]

Mold is such an issue in Asia (especially in the South Pacific.) In the photography world you have to be very cautious buying old lenses off of ebay from Japan because so many of them are completely contaminated with mold.

[@teohyc]

I have problems with mold attacking my lens also. Once I had mold behind the LCD of the camera. Now I put camera equipment in a dry box.

[@iknownothing-49]

Take care of your paint...good advice. And please Teoh, take care of your health....it might be very unhealthy to breathe around that moldy box. I’ve been using a spray solution of hydrogen peroxide and distilled water to avoid mold on my gouache paints. I don’t know if it’s effective since I live in a very dry climate.

[@teohyc]

Since I've made the video, I don't have any problems with mold anymore. I air the paint, and keep them boxed up near the sun.

[@PaulaBean]

Maybe aquazol is less prone to mold?

[@teohyc]

Not sure about that. I have not tested that but that gave me the idea to test it.

[@PaulaBean]

@@teohyc Excellent idea! I have just mailed Golden with this question; maybe they have done research on it. Imagine: if Aquazol is resistant to mold, that'd be a _huge_ advantage of QoR in humid climates!

[@PaulaBean]

@@teohyc Feedback from Golden. I wrote: In humid environments watercolors based on Gum Arabic sometimes grow mold in them and become unusable. I was wondering, is Aquazol more resistent to mold than Gum Arabic? If so, that would be a huge advantage of QoR watercolors! Example of mold attack: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pKaYon6moLWVi9E Greetings, Answer: Thank you for your question. Mold like this within a half pan set could be environmental. Depending upon the quality of the water and how humid it is, moisture could dwell for an extended period of time within an enclosed case leading to microbial growth. Tap water, for example, can be more prone to microbial growth. It can be helpful to leave sets like this open until they have dried out fully before closing them tight. That being said, we have seen this type of microbial growth in very rare cases where the pigment has come in contaminated from the pigment manufacturer. There certainly could be variation in pigments and their resistance to mold, but we have not tested our Aquazol against Gum Arabic in this type of setting to see if it is more resistant to mold generally. There are some biocides used to help inhibit mold growth in the formulation of colors broadly, but honestly this one looks like it could be mainly environmental for the reasons we cited earlier. We hope this helps and let us know if you have any additional questions! Warm Regards, ***** Research Coordinator | Materials and Application Specialist Golden Artist Colors Inc.

[@starshinesoldier]

When the gum Arabic separates in the tube, I usually use a toothpick to stir it up right in the tube. Then use the paint on the toothpick first before I squee any paint out. Yeah, the hard to rewet viridian is really annoying. I have a stiffer synthetic brush just for the tougher colors so I don’t damage my nicer watercolor brushes. I do not have a mold problem since i live in a desert climate. The mold attacks look horrifying though. What do you use to clean it off? Rubbing alcohol? Your Kremer set cracking into tiny bits worries me greatly since I have a Kremer set too. Which color is it that is turning into such small bits? It looked like a blue?

[@danieltong1458]

Hi, I just recently started painting watercolor and find out that your videos are great! But I do have a question after watching this vid, as u have tried out almost most of the watercolor products, my ques is does Van Gogh's (royal talens) watercolor expire? N how long will it take? Your response will be appreciated

[@teohyc]

Watercolour will not expire. But certain (few) paint may harden over time and be difficult to dissolve.

[@danieltong1458]

@@teohyc thanks for the answer! Looking forward to your next vid

[@TheSpinDoctor]

If pans harden, just wet them with a few drops of warm water - leave for 15 mins, add more water and keep going until the upper layers of paint are fully re-wetted. Add a drop of glycerine, mix in very well using a toothpick. Allow to dry. Problem solved ;)

[@teohyc]

Thanks for the tip

[@musia1861]

Avoid mold by using distilled water

[@mhmurphy1]

I think a lot of the problems can be avoided, if you shake the tubes very well, before opening..

[@miheartlessdoll347]

For this rock like paint I usually take a needle poke a tiny hole through the upper layer and then use a wet brush like normal to get the water to soften up the paint. :3 My Amethyst Genuine from DS formed like a waterproof layer around it and this method worked quite nicely :D

[@teohyc]

Thanks for the tip

[@aishaalward6849]

Informative as usual💛🌟 um water colours pieces( like when u paint something with them) they do lose their affect or um their pigments over time right?

[@prettypurplebelle]

i think it depends on the quality of paints. A good artist quality paint, so long as the colour is not fugitive (some pigments are prone to fading, i.e Alizarin crimsons) should survive a long time. Of course you would need to be careful with how the artwork is stored, maybe not in direct sunlight and in a frame to protect from moisture ... I know that heavy layers of gouache can crack and flake but as far as I'm aware this doesn't happen with watercolours.

[@aishaalward6849]

@@prettypurplebelle Thank you so much!💛😊

[@xxxorg]

I WONDER IF YOU SPRAY COLLOIDAL SILVER ON THE TRAY/PAINTS BEFORE PUTTING IT AWAY, IF IT WOULDN'T PREVENT MOLD? I BET IT WILL BUT WILL IT AFFECT THE END RESULT OF THE PAINTING EVENTUALLY?? I BET IT WON'T!!!

[@teohyc]

It's very difficult to read all uppercase letters.

[@xxxorg]

@@teohyc I'LL MAKE A NOTE OF THAT! NOT! THANKS FOR THE NON ANSWER MR. GRAMMAR NAZI!!! I ALSO SUBSTITUTE EXCLAMATION POINTS FOR PERIODS AS I'M SURE YOU'VE NOTICED!!! SORRY FOR BEING A LITTLE SNARKY BUT REALLY, HOW DIFFICULT CAN IT ACTUALLY BE TO READ/UNDERSTAND ALL CAPS?? IT HELPS ME GREATLY BECAUSE MY EYE SIGHT IS GETTING BAD AND I USE A "SMART" PHONE THAT HAS A SMALL BRAIN, I MEAN SCREEN!!! HA HA, I WAS BEING SERIOUS THOUGH, I THINK IT WAS A LEGITAMATE QUESTION EVEN IF YOU DON'T, (COLLIDIAL SILVER IS A THING YOU KNOW) SILVER HAS BEEN USED FOREVER TO KILL BAD GERMS/ BACTERIA ETC... LOOK IT UP!! I WAS JUST WONDERING IF NANO PARTICLES OF SILVER IN THE "WATER" WOULD REACT IN SOME NEGATIVE WAY WITH THE PAINT!?? I GUESS THATS A LITTLE OUT OF YOUR LEAGUE AND WOULD DIG INTO YOUR TIME SO, FORGET I ASKED, I' LL SEE IF I CAN RESEARCH THE ANSWER! IF IT DOES SOLVE THE PROBLEM OF MOLD ETC. AND HAS NO ILL AFFECTS ON THE PAINT I THINK THAT THAT WOULD BE REALLY COOL!! DON' T KNOW IF MOLD IS THAT BIG OF A PROBLEM THOUGH SO THE QUESTION MIGHT BE MOOT ANYWAY!!! SORRY FOR WASTING YOUR TIME!! I STILL RECIEVE GREAT JOY AND INCREASE FROM YOUR WELL DONE VIDEOS!! I'M LEARNING SO MUCH FROM YOU AND VERY MUCH APRECIATE ALL YOU DO HERE ON YOUR CHANNEL!! GREAT TUTORIALS ETC... EVERY QUESTION I ASK, ON THE KZbin IS A REAL QUESTION AND MIGHT SOUND/ BE STUPID OR SARCASTIC TO SOME BUT... I REALLY APOLOGIZE FOR THAT BUT IT SEEMS I CAN'T FIX THAT!! WELL, BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME I GUESS!, ALTHOUGH I'LL TRY TO REFRAIN FROM ASKING YOU QUESTIONS GOING FORWARD, ESPECIALLY SINCE ALL CAPS IS MY THING!!! AND THE DREADED EXCLAMATION POINTS ALSO!! ( SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE) WELL, SOME THINGS!!! THANKS FOR REPLYING ANYWAY, NO HARM DONE... WELL.... MAYBE JUST A HURT FEELING BUT I'LL GET OVER IT, JUST LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE, I HAD A MAJOR STROKE BACK IN AUGUST OF LAST YEAR AND IT WAS DEVESTATING! I THINK IT MAY ALSO HAVE AFFECTED MY MIND AS WELL AS PARALYZING THE ENTIRE LEFT SIDE OF MY BODY! I KNOW I KNOW, NOT AN EXCUSE BUT IT MOTIVATES ME TO TRY HARDER THAN EVER BEFORE IN MY LIFE TO NOT LET PETTYNESS STOP ME FROM TRYING TO LEARN HOW TO SKETCH AND PAINT AND ASK LEGITAMATE QUESTIONS THOUGH! THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR TUTORIALS, THEY ARE SO HELPFUL, AND I MEAN THAT SINCERELY!! BYEE!! PS. IMPATIENCE IS NOT A VERTUE!! Look it up!! IF YOU REPLY TO ME PLEASE BE KIND AND PATIENT, AFTER ALL IT ONLY TAKES A FEW SECONDS TO TEXT SOMETHING RIGHT? OH WAIT, THE THINKING PART IS WHAT TAKES TIME! OOPS! SORRY ABOUT THAT, IT JUST CAME OUT!! NOT TRYIN TO OFFEND ANYONE!!!

[@sachamw11]

I don’t think so, my mom has a Dailer rowney palette and it’s about 25 yo.

[@helmortart]

Watercolour, Acrylic, or other kind of paint mixed with water need control Because water is a vehicle for bacteria and mold Common bad habits are: 1) Let brushes in dirty or clean water for long time 2) Let solid watercolours without any kind of protection 3) Tools in contact with food or natural stuff like sand, leaves etc One simple help is to make a solution at 1% of alchool, 1% of salt and for the rest water, take a brush and clean very fast everything, in this way you can have tools and paint that work for more than 6 years

[@Cortesevasive]

Cheap Koh-I-Noor ink can go bad , once contaminated . Wonder is that the same case with all liquid mediums .

[@Sandishee]

I remember this during your live stream ❤️🌈

[@rstallings69]

Little confused about something- is it best to keep the paints a little moist to prevent cracking or let them dry well to prevent mold? And do honey medium paints resist both if these - cant remember the brand that has honey but ive seen it

[@teohyc]

Cracked paint still works. Moldy paint has to be cleaned off or they will spread. And cleaning mold will clean off the paint.

[@rstallings69]

@@teohyc thanks Teoh

[@UNKUHNOODLES]

Dude..... Do you live in a SWAMP?!?!?!?!?!?!????