Aka don’t bring a knife to a paint fight

Let me tell you a story. This is the story of how I tried to replace a half pan of cadmium yellow (pale) in my precious Windsor and Newton Cotman (student) watercolor set.

The precious first watercolor set that my grandmother had given me.

The precious first watercolor set that my grandmother had given me that had once been hers.

The Problem

I’ve somehow managed to use up all of this yellow despite not ever painting anything yellow. It’s a mystery, I know. And yet here we are.

The Solution

And so I think, well, I’m going to replace this because this set means a lot to me. I LOVE this little set.

So I do some fearsome Googling and learn I can buy a replacement of the EXACT same colour. Same brand. Oh yeah. Feeling pretty smart here.

It arrives in the mail, and there’s this little plastic tray tub sort of thing with a bready-cake-looking lump of yellow inside like a beautiful freshly baked paint cake. And that’s it.

More Problems

No instructions. None. NADA. Not a one.

But I’ve been around the block, I know how this works. So I Google that too

Well, that did NOT help. Not one little bit

Apparently changing the paint out is SO EASY that not one person anywhere has written a blog post about it. Not even Obvious Dave who writes about how to make toast. Toast.

But you know what? I’m a problem solver. I played Sudoku on expert level once. Problem. Solver.

So clearly the old plastic tub that held the paint needs to be removed from the set and the new one put in. Bish, bash, bosh.

Hah! Step one: figured out.

Get my tweezers and give it a pull but that bad boy is jammed in tight.

Okay. Well, I’ve got pliers. That’ll do it

Nope. That does not do it.

So I’m thinking, “it’s probably because this set is old – some paints’ gotten down between those cracks, glued it all up. It just needs loosening off.”

And you know what can do that?

A knife.

A thin, good-quality knife.

Obviously.

I can slip a knife in between the plastic there.  I’ll wiggle it about a bit, loosen it off, then Bob’s Your Uncle!

Bob is not your uncle.

Do not pass go.

Do not collect £200.

DO NOT REPLACE THE CADMIUM YELLOW (PALE).

So, yeah, don’t do that.

The Actual Solution

If you want to know how to replace a half pan in a watercolor set do this: lift the little cake of paint out of its plastic tray-tub thing (they are called “pans” or more accurately “half pans”) and pop it in the other (presumably) empty pan in your set, Job’s a good ‘un.

And that, my friends, is ACTUALLY how to replace a half pan in a watercolor set.

Without breaking a knife.

You’re welcome.