New Wave Palette Finish™... Learn How to Finish Any Unfinished Wooden Artist Palette

New Wave Palette Finish is an environmentally and artist friendly means of achieving a rich patina on any unfinished wooden artist palette. Over time, you will find the process to be exceptionally rewarding as your wooden paint palette develops a beautiful depth and tone from ongoing use and finishing. Our proprietary blend employs an exceptionally high quality renewable botanical citrus solvent made of distilled citrus peels (sustainability at its best!), along with Tung Oil, the finest organic finish nature has to offer.

Our Tung Oil is meticulously cooked (polymerized) to its peak thermal threshold, minimizing the need for chemical dryers. This reduces the toxicity levels of our Palette Finish significantly. Taking our time provides you with a stronger, more natural product that is:

- 99% botanical with the lowest toxicity levels possible

- Free of any petroleum distillates

- Quick to dry - 24 hours between coats

- Extremely hard and durable

- Resistant to water and most standard artist solvents and mediums

- Non-yellowing & Resistant to Mold

- Crack and chip proof amid standard aging

- Low-glare & Smooth to the touch

- Conforms to ASTM D-4236 

- Made in the USA 

 

Why Tung Oil?

Our goal was to provide you with an art palette finish that was environmentally and artist friendly using botanical ingredients, without sacrificing durability. Trial and error proved Tung Oil to have the qualities other natural finishes and most synthetic finishes did not possess, but that many artists could benefit from.

Tung Oil is pressed from nuts of the Tung Tree, which is a deciduous tree native to the Orient. The oil is fairly new to the western world, but has been used for generations throughout the Orient in oil paints and ink sticks. Tung Oil’s resistance to fading and cracking has helped paintings and calligraphy retain their allure for centuries. In addition, Tung Oil has proven to have many uses in everyday life due to its resistance to alkyds and acids.

Tung Oil in its natural form is resilient, but when correctly polymerized, the results are amazing! Read ‘Our Process’ to learn more.

Our Process

We begin by painstakingly cooking the Tung Oil in a highly controlled environment. The oil is cooked to its peak thermal threshold to extend its polymer chains; increasing its strength and durability without having to rely on added varnishes and urethanes in order to achieve the same properties. A majority of the “polymerized Tung Oil finishes” found in stores use a large percentage of varnishes and urethanes to simplify the polymerization process in order to facilitate quicker results with less expense.  In fact, many brands of "polymerized Tung Oil" contain less than 10% Tung Oil!  However, New Wave Palette Finish contains over 50% Tung Oil.  Our cooking process minimizes the need for chemical driers, which reduces the toxicity levels of our Palette Finish significantly.

Once polymerized, we then add an exceptionally high quality citrus thinning agent/solvent, made of distilled citrus peels, which would have otherwise been thrown into a landfill. The citrus thinning agent helps the wood absorb the palette finish quicker and speeds up the dry time between coats; essentially getting the palette off your work bench and into your studio faster! The citrus thinning agent also gives the Palette Finish a subtle citrus aroma. As each new layer is applied, the oil molecules of the older layer cross-link with the newest layer to facilitate chemical bonding. This process improves our Palette Finish’s flexibility as the wood responds to seasonal changes in moisture content and allows the finish to withstand wear and aging from frequent use.

PDF: New Wave Palette Finish™
PDF: New Wave Palette Finish™ Application Directions
PDF: How to Properly Care for Your Artist Palette when Finished with New Wave Palette Finish™

We do our best to provide safe products and plenty of information. However, we cannot guarantee that individuals with weakened immune systems, allergies, or certain skin conditions will not have a reaction to our products. We recommend that each person take their own personal responsibility in testing and knowing what certain allergies and/or conditions they may have before using our products. New Wave Art is not liable for individual chemical sensitivities to any of its products.