"Old EG" ??? LOL
Yes a stay wet pallet is great for a couple of reasons. When your starting out it keeps the paint somewhat moist so that your pile of paint stays viable for up to a week or more if your into a big project. I made one myself of a super large zip lock bag, a baking sheet, some phony chamois and a piece of baking paper.

Secondly it does reduce the amount of paint used overall by not wasting left over paint that you may be able to use in the future. Depending on your situation and the economics involved this is a major plus for some folks.

Also if your going to paint in the watercolor style the added moisture keeps you from adding too much water to get the paint to flow like watercolor.

There are some drawbacks: If left too long the moisture will tend to liquify the paints, OK if your doing the watercolor style but not good if painting like with oils.

You can develop mold which is never a good thing, odors and paint contamination are the big issues.

I've also tried using a tear-off pallet sheet in mine but didn't care for it. I now use just a piece of heavy plate glass over some neutral grey paper flat on the table as my pallet. It cleans up super easy with water and a pallet knife or a putty knife for the hardened stuff.

Later maybe I'll post a pic of the setup I use for my stay-wet and also a pic for Nigel to have a go at.

Nige I welcome any and all crits... the only way to learn

E G