Is it Harder to Dissolve Dried Watercolour Tube Paints vs Pans

[@miguelmunoz9989]

Thanks for your interesting video. Around 1990 in a couple of visits to Windsor and Newton headquarters in Rathbone Place, London, I bought a big quantity of watercolour tubes. I spent quite a fortune. In all these 33 years I have never used the tubes. Recently I discovered that they were completely dried, hard as a stone. What I have done is to peel off the zinc of the tube, extracted the hardened watercolour paint, and left a few days in a small glass with a bit of water, with a plastic cover. After it was disolved I have left the glass open to allow evaporation until the consistence of the paint was creamy. Then, with a small painter knife I have transferred the content to a couple of half pans. Now I can use them from the pans. I have to do the same with all the remaining tubes.

[@aprilstark8887]

It has also been my experience that dried tube paint is easier to pick up than paint that comes in pans. I also like being able to choose which colors I get, instead of having to take whatever is offered.

[@teohyc]

Being able to choose your own colors is definitely more fun.

[@Lexouchan]

You can buy individual pans too ^^

[@doodlecat7783]

Thanks for making this video I have tubed watercolors and find I don’t like tubes so I plan to move them to a palette this video helped a lot

[@maryriley6163]

Thank you for this video. I also like the tubes more than the pre-formed pan blocks.

[@21Parmesh]

I find it so ironic, that after all the advice I’d seen warning against panning tubes of WN watercolour, that the pans are harder to reconstitute. Am so happy to be validated with my choice to buy tubes anyway. I’ve been using a Cotman pans set but have grown out of it. Thanks for this video :)

[@mydogeatspuke]

Adding a drop of vegetable glycerin per half/quarter pan of W&N (or any company that sells pans as cakes rather than hand poured) tube paint before drying resolves the rewetting issue. Their own pans are fine as they're a different formulation.

[@amyx231]

I thought that was just me!!! A couple Cotman pans seem quite hard. The tubes work much better even once dried. But that might be down to the colors - obviously I don’t usually buy a tube of a pan color I already have.

[@DarlingNickki777]

Thank you for the comparison. I really like the idea of the tubes being bigger and your able to use them a lot more than your standard 2ml cake paints.

[@vwood2]

Great demo. I've had the same experience, so have used the tube colours dried into pans for years. The only other problem pigment I've had, in addition to viridian, is cobalt violet. I've tried to make pans from Winsor & Newton, DaVinci, and Daniel Smith, and Cheep Joes tube paints with no luck.

[@redgeminiarts3674]

Great video, informative. I'm glad you like doing these videos, we don't need to do all this testing. Which do you prefer, large or small pans? I only have one complaint about your videos, you don't seem to do enough of them. I find myself wanting to see more and more. LOL As always, thanks for sharing!

[@teohyc]

+Red Gemini Arts You should also check out Mind of Watercolor. kzbin.info

[@hansendesigns]

Just what i wanted to know. I got some tubes and then heard about ghe w&n two formulas tube vs pan. Good to see i can pan the tubes! Even against w&n advice lol

[@jamesjacocks6221]

Teoh, funny isn't it that there are so many opinions on this subject? I have found that very few pan colors dissolve as well as tube colors, just as you found here. The W & N pan colors are among the softest and dissolve fairly easily. Very informative! Those colors should sell W & N paints.

[@teohyc]

+James Jacocks It also really depends on the pigments. Yes, I do find that W&N pans are easier to dissolve compared to other brands. Adding a drop or two of water really helps to soften them up first.

[@jamesjacocks6221]

Teoh, yes, very true. By the way, I mentioned your channel to several very good architectural deleniators and the feedback from them is highly complimentary to say the least. You have a wonderful artist community in Singapore as evinced by your videos and I think that helps all members. While there is a lot of talent in DC there is no comparable community. Bet I'm not the only envious one.

[@teohyc]

James Jacocks Thanks for recommending my channel. The artist community I'm part of is called Urban Sketchers. There should be one group in major cities and countries. Because Singapore is small, we can meet up easily. And we have a sketchwalk event once a month.

[@jamesjacocks6221]

Bienvenue Yasmine. Right you are.

[@sprucehouse9]

Great idea for a video. Here's a tip: I put a drop or two of glycerin into the pan before squeezing the tube color in and mix it thoroughly with a toothpick. When the paint sets up, it sets up moist instead of rock-hard, and I get more juicy colors this way from the pans. You can get a bottle of glycerin at a drug store I think; I bought min from Natural Pigments.

[@marissamolina1268]

Can you use honey or strictly glycerin?

[@sprucehouse9]

+Marissa Molina No--use glycerin. And only use a tiny drop on the end of a toothpick.

[@jennifermcgehee357]

Is this the same as vegetable glycerin? Because I have a ton of that in my cabinet.

[@mydogeatspuke]

@@jennifermcgehee357 3 years too late but for anyone else wondering: yes. Exactly the same thing. A drop per half/quarter pan of W&N tube paint, and a drop per half/full pan for any paints you're aware suffer rewetting issues. Google can tell you which specifically, but any with honey in them already won't need the glycerin to help. Definitely do not add glycerin to M. Graham paints as they already struggle to dry properly in hot and/or humid climates.

[@rodrickdubose659]

thanks ...Very informative...metal palettes seem to pick up color better than plastic...I've got plastic but it works well enough

[@teohyc]

I like plastic because it's lightweight

[@AlanOwen]

James Fletcher Watson used a stiff brush and hot water before he began painting ,to scrub his pans, I find staining colours soften very quick,,but browns, are slower softening. ,I find cobalt blue is often slow softening , different firms have different mixes ,,could added. honey watercolour be quicker to dissolve ,,,,,,,,ie S, Smiths seems good and sennelier has a soft texture any way, . keep up the good work.. Teoh

[@OkieSketcher1949]

I use both tubes and pans. Normally I see no difference when it comes to wetting. Some older tube paints that have not been used in quite some time are sometimes harder to get ‘started’ so I need to add a bit more water over a longer period of time. My older pans do not seem to have this issue. Probably due to the fact the pans have a rim that keeps the water on top of the paint.

[@trashtrashmoretrash8559]

I think is more easier to paint with watercolor in tubes, because they have more intensity ( at least, in Winsor and Netwon) you choose your colors, they have more pigment ( not onto the tube, I mean that you paint with many pigment) so...yeah. Thank you so much for another well and complete video ;)

[@fahooom93]

Great video can you make a video of how to melt the water Colours that come in the plastic containers

[@giespel68]

For a true comparison you should use the same colours for both the tubes and the pans. Moreover you should prewet both for the same time. In your case the second tin has been prewet for a longer time than the tube pans.

[@TheMalissamae1]

what about tubes that have dried out because of being old? Do they re-wet just as easy? Thanks, love your videos

[@teohyc]

+malissa tadique It will depend on the colour, not the brand. Most colours should rewet easily. The problematic one I know is Daniel Smith's Viridian.

[@gwensimmons_gigi1629]

Teoh: why not use a small spritzer to moisten your paint with water? It's a quick method and less work.

[@teohyc]

I'm trying to keep my kit as minimal as possible. It's a bit slower to wet the paints but it's alright.

[@mikuenjoyerXD]

That could cause mold as well

[@mydogeatspuke]

@@mikuenjoyerXD wetting water activated paints with water does not cause mold. That is absurd. Improper drying without sufficient ventilation causes mold. Allowing your paints to dry properly before closing the palette will almost always prevent mold. If you're in a particularly humid place you can also use small bags of silica, just stick one inside your palette once your paints have dried after use and it will absorb any excess moisture that could cause mold without impacting your paints in any way.

[@ekf5018]

I feel like the tubes put in pans take on the quality of the semi-moist watercolours like the Yarka ones I love so much. Maybe it’s the glycerin?

[@jonkmale1]

Forgive me if I missed it - but how long had the tube paint been left in the pans before you tested the paintability? I have pans of tube paint (mostly W&N) some of which are many years old (I have other hobbies beside painting). I find some colours are still very usable whilst others are rock solid and won't reactivate even when sprayed with copious water. Dried Cadmium Yellow is especially hard to reactivate. Can anything be done to rejuvenate really old pans of tube paint that have been left drying for years?

[@jasonpos1537]

Thank you, and my pony thanks you.

[@Yorky222]

Try using a cheap plastic pipette to add water to your palette, much easier and it keeps your water clean.

[@teohyc]

Thanks for the tip. Nowadays I bring two water cups.

[@JD-qi4hg]

Hi Teoh, I hope to buy Winsor & Newton professional tubes, but now I found out that the company says not to squeeze tubes into pans. :( I'm worried they will crack or something but in your video it doesn't look like they cracked. Did you add glycerine when you poured them? I don't really want to have to add glycerine.

[@improvementTime10.3.17]

5:30 in general only need to watch out for dried tune ver of viridian green

[@jennifermcgehee357]

You said Viridian pretty much dries up to a solid rock in pans in most brands...I’m pretty worried as I finally splurged on artist grade recently and dumped a half pan’s worth of a 7ml tube of Mijello Mission Gold Viridian W536 into my travel palette today. Do you know which brands do this? You said most, which leads me to believe that even the pricier paints do this as it is a result of the pigment itself. I’ll be so sad if I lost a half pan of paint!

[@teohyc]

+Jennifer McGehee So far, the only Viridian that dries into a rock is from Daniel Smith. I'm not sure of other brands.

[@jennifermcgehee357]

Thanks so much! I will let you know when my paints settle in their pans whether the Mission Golds do this or not.

[@bunnybgood411]

Did they? I love viridian but don't want to chisel it out of a rock.

[@floof7680]

For me the best tube paint i put in a pan was my pro winsor red it seems the easiest of all my tubes to reactivate

[@biskeybears7956]

Did you use profession or cotman tubes ?

[@sokinecola9361]

Hi thank you very much for this useful video. I have a question regarding this topic (and specifically with Windsor’s tubes): I can see that the dried tubes seem easy to pick up and dissolve, and the pigment seems vibrant. However, I still not sure about how long the tube has been squeezed and dried.. I mean maybe a 1-month squeezed pigments from tube is easy to pick up, but if it’s 1year or more, will they eventually all harden like rocks and cannot be dissolved. I could see that although your pigments are dried but seems not too dried out. Part of them still look fairly fresh... thank you if you could answer this

[@teohyc]

It depends on the paint. Some paint will dry really hard

[@zuheyr1]

You are an important model for many and for me. But how you paint with so many colors and you confess you don't know which one is what... there are so many people who use watercolor like pastel and use tens of colors ..

[@bloom263519]

Hi Teoh, I have a Cotman pan set that I haven't touched in years and am trying to use it again now. While the colours are vibrant, it's incredibly frustrating wetting them as they keep drying up very quickly. It's a big hassle having to spray them again and again when I'm trying to paint. Is this normal?

[@teohyc]

The problem is the paint has harden and is difficult to rewet. Eg It’s like rewetting soil vs rock. Once soil is wet, it stays wet for a long time

[@bloom263519]

​@@teohyc Is there a way to salvage them at this point? or should i go with tube paints instead?

[@teohontech7141]

@@bloom263519 I don't think they can be salvaged except for grinding them back into pigment powder. Note that even for tube paints, there are selected colours that can turn back into "rocks", e.g. viridian, some of Daniel Smith mineral colours. But generally speaking, tube paints will rewet without issues.

[@bloom263519]

@@teohontech7141 amazing, thank you for your reply! Truly feel educated from watching all your videos. I think I will try tube paints and see how they fare :)

[@emyx8540]

Hey! i like you video! it's very helpful! thank's! but i have a question: do you fell a changement of the concentration when the color was directly used in tube and when the color who was put in pant and after used like pant? (i'm not sure if my question is clear , sorry :'( )

[@teohyc]

I don't think there's a change in concentration. However, there's a difference in the time it will take to reach the same concentration. Tube paints are soft and easier to dissolve and will reach higher concentration fast. It takes more time to dissolve pan paints.

[@emyx8540]

Okay! thank you for your answer :)

[@JackSpellerberg]

How do you store your tubes so they don't dry up over time?

[@teohyc]

If you cap them properly they should not dry. I put mine into air tight plastic containers.

[@JackSpellerberg]

@@teohyc thank you so much for the reply!

[@peggywilliams8229]

What brand are the boxes in this video

[@teohyc]

Winsor Newton boxes.

[@artbydindinlagdameo437]

Why are watercolor paints on pans more expensive than those in tubes? *curious*

[@teohyc]

Not sure. Because they need more effort to put the watercolour into the pans?

[@RamoArt]

I think it might just be because they need to dry in the pans and that's time intensive. Also, you always pay more for smaller quantities.

[@ankursharma1461]

OMG, I thought they cost more because they are more pigmented, OMG

[@brooke9885]

what brands of paint are these?

[@teohyc]

+Brooke Boatwright Winsor & Newton

[@misa1273]

I bet you are singaporean

[@teohyc]

Yes

[@Janine914]

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