Nicpro Stay Wet Palette Review (2026): Worth It?
A three-part tray giving a wet palette and a 16-well dry palette in one box, with 100 papers and 4 grey sponges, at $23.99 and rated 4.5 by 1,617 owners.
$23.99
Stay Wet Palette Review — Nicpro Triple Tray MG-496
A three-part tray that works as a wet palette on the lid and base and a sixteen-well dry palette in the middle, with a hundred papers and four sponges, at $23.99 and rated 4.5 by 1,617 owners. It is the only product here that does both jobs. We score this stay wet palette 7.9 out of 10.
This review is research-based. We did not physically test these products; specifications, ratings and prices are taken from the live listings on the date shown. This stay wet palette is one of five compared in our best wet palette guide.
On this page
- Stay wet palette — Key Specifications
- Three Trays, Two Jobs, One Box
- A Hundred Papers and Four Sponges — the Best Consumable Deal Here
- The Grey Sponge Argument, and What the Stay Wet Palette Gets Wrong in Its Spec Table
- Stay wet palette — Limitations
- Setting Up This Stay wet palette
- Who Should Buy This Stay wet palette?
- The Verdict
- Stay wet palette — Frequently Asked Questions
Stay wet palette — Key Specifications
| Specification | Detail |
|---|---|
| Reviewed model | stay wet palette |
| Price | $23.99 at the time of writing |
| Amazon rating | 4.5 from 1,617 ratings |
| Model number | MG-496 (part number MG496) |
| Size (spec field) | 9.6 x 6.2 inch |
| Item dimensions (spec field) | 9.06 x 6.89 x 2.56 inches |
| Weight | 0.62 kg |
| In the box | Triple tray, 4 grey sponges, 100 palette papers, brush rest, elastic band |
| Dry palette | 16 deep sloping wells and 2 corner water wells |
| Paper surface | Double-sided silicone coated |
| Stated paint types | Acrylic, oil, watercolour, gouache |
| Stated hydration time | None published |
| Warranty | None stated |
Three Trays, Two Jobs, One Box
The lid and the base both take a sponge and a paper, so either can be used wet. Between them sits a middle tray with sixteen deep sloping wells and two corner water wells, which is a dry palette — for decanting paint straight from the pot, for keeping a wash separate, or for rinse water.
That combination is the reason to buy this one. Most painters need both surfaces in a session: thinned colour that must stay workable on the wet side, and neat paint or a wash that must not spread on the dry side. Everything else on this shelf makes you choose, or makes you buy a second tray.
The cost is bulk. At 2.56 inches deep it is more than twice the height of the Masterson tray and it weighs 620 g empty. This is a desk object, not something you carry to a club night in a bag.
A Hundred Papers and Four Sponges — the Best Consumable Deal Here
A hundred sheets and four sponges at $23.99 is twice the paper and twice the padding of The Army Painter box at ten dollars less. Nobody on this shelf publishes a price per sheet, so we worked it out: on the included consumables alone this is the cheapest paper of the five, and the four sponges remove the single-pad problem that costs Masterson a point.
The papers are described as double-sided silicone coated, which is the mechanism that matters — a silicone-coated sheet lets water through from below while refusing to bond with the paint film above, so a dried bead peels rather than tears the sheet.
Refills are the usual trap. Nicpro’s sheets are cut for this tray and will not drop into a Redgrass or an Army Painter palette, and the four sponges will outlast the hundred sheets, so the first thing you will buy again is paper.
The Grey Sponge Argument, and What the Stay Wet Palette Gets Wrong in Its Spec Table
Nicpro makes a specific claim for the grey sponge: it “allows you to accurately see the true paint color unlike white sponge.” That is a real effect — thinned acrylic on a translucent sheet over a white backing reads lighter than the same paint on a model, and over grey it reads closer to true. It is the only colour-accuracy argument anyone on this shelf makes, and it is correct.
The specification table is less careful. Size says 9.6 by 6.2 inch; Item Dimensions says 9.06 by 6.89 by 2.56 inches. Those are different rectangles. Number of Pieces says 50, on a product whose own components list runs to a hundred papers, four sponges, a tray, a brush rest and a band.
There is a near-identical sibling listing of this same product, same title and same description, showing 4.5 from 1,611 ratings and no price at all. Two listings for one product split the evidence and leave a buyer comparing 1,617 against 1,611 as though they were different products.
Stay wet palette — Limitations
No hydration duration is published, which is true of all five but worth repeating on the product with the most components: more trays do not mean a better seal, and the seal is what keeps paint wet overnight.
Two different footprints are given in two spec fields, and the piece count contradicts the components list.
At 2.56 inches and 620 g it is the bulkiest palette here by a wide margin.
No gasket or strap is named. An elastic band is supplied, which does the strap’s job without being one.
Nicpro’s wider range is where the pooled-rating problem shows most clearly: three of its painting kits all report 4.5 from exactly 723 ratings and two more both report 4.7 from 589, which means those figures describe merged families rather than individual boxes. This palette’s 1,617 appears to be its own.
Setting Up This Stay wet palette
Decide which half is the wet side before you start, because the lid and base are interchangeable and mixing them up mid-session means moving wet paint. Soak one sponge, wring it out until it stops dripping, seat it in the chosen tray and smooth a paper over it.
Use the middle tray’s wells for neat paint and washes, and the two corner wells for water. Keep the brush rest on the side you are not mixing on. Snap the stack together and put the elastic band round it when you stop.
Rotate the four sponges. Wash one, dry it fully, and put a dry one in — that is the advantage of four pads over one, and it is the only product here that lets you do it without waiting. A dried sheet peels off the silicone coating cleanly, so the papers can be changed without scrubbing the tray.
Who Should Buy This Stay wet palette?
Buy it if you want a wet surface and a dry surface in one object and would otherwise buy two palettes. Nothing else on this shelf does both, and at $23.99 with a hundred papers it is cheaper than two trays would be.
Buy it if you paint at a fixed desk and bulk is irrelevant, and if you have been irritated by judging thinned colour over a white sponge. The grey pad is a small, correct piece of thinking.
Skip it if you carry your painting kit anywhere, if you want the tightest lid — the Redgrass tray names a TPE seal and this one names nothing — or if a second near-identical listing with a different rating count makes you uneasy about which product you are actually buying.
The Verdict
Scored 7.9 out of 10. It is the most generous box here and the only one that solves the wet-and-dry problem, and the grey sponge is the one piece of colour reasoning anybody on this shelf offers.
It loses marks for two contradictory footprints, a piece count that does not match its own components list, no named seal, and real bulk. If you want one object to replace a wet palette and a dry palette, this stay wet palette is the one to buy; if you want the best seal, it is not.
Stay wet palette — Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a wet palette and a dry palette?
A wet palette is a watertight tray holding a damp pad under a semi-permeable sheet, so thinned paint stays workable for hours or days. A dry palette is just wells or a flat surface for neat paint, washes and water. This product supplies both, which is why it has three trays.
Why a grey sponge rather than a white one?
Thinned acrylic on a translucent paper over white reads lighter than it will look on the model. Over grey it reads closer to true. Nicpro is the only maker here that makes the argument, and it holds up.
How many papers do I get, and will they fit another palette?
A hundred, double-sided silicone coated, cut for this tray at the listed size. They will not drop into a Redgrass or Army Painter palette without trimming, and nothing trims upwards.
There seem to be two identical listings — which should I buy?
There are two, with the same title and description, one showing 1,617 ratings and one showing 1,611 with no price. Buy the one with a price and a current offer. The duplication is a listing problem rather than two different products.
Where to Buy
Check the current price on Amazon — Nicpro Stay Wet Palette for painting miniatures, triple tray with 100 papers, 4 sponges and brush holder, listed at $23.99 at the time of writing.
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