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Watercolours in Pan won't get.. watery?

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Hang on Studio Wall
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Sophie King

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Posted
Hi, I have a set of watercolours in pans and I'm finding two of the colours don't turn into paint. The water is just sitting on top of the block and doesn't create paint. When I try and scrape the paint nothing comes off and it looks as though it has the texture of a rubber. I can get colour off of the very slight edge of the pans but nothing from the entire block. Is there something I can do to make them.. well work? Thank you!

Alan Bickley

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Posted
What make are they?, you could try using warm water to try and activate them. Probably worth replacing those two with a good quality artists pan.

Syd Edward

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Posted
Give the dry pans a quick brush with water to activate them .,Just putting water on them in the hope that it will create paint doesnt work without a brush , its not magic. Pans get dry without use but treating them as above should waken them up .I presume that your paihts are a well known and trusted brand ......if not you should replace them and avoid this trouble......cheers....Syd

Edited
by SydEdward

With Sarah, Phil, Ellen, Rose the dentist, and the granddaughter whose name I forget.

Robert Jones, NAPA

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Posted
Buy new pans, probably. If the surface is rubbery, the paint has probably gone beyond any useful state. You could try scrubbing at it with an old brush, or adding a drop of glycerine, but depending on what's happened to it, the block will be likely either to break up or continue to just sit there. It would be useful to know the brand - and how old the pans are. Some paints are more resistant to the simple application of water than others, but when you say you can't even scrape the paint off - well that's unusual.

Sophie King

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Posted
Thanks for all your replies, they are Yarka St. Petersburg watercolours. 22 are perfectly fine, I've been painting with them (actively) for about 2-3 years but since I've had them 2 colours just never watered up. I know that I have to use a brush but no matter how much I work the water into the pan of paint it does nothing.

Edited
by SophieMayK