The following technique demonstrates how to fix broken PanPastels using affordable equipment that you may already have to spare in your home, and the final result will make your broken PanPastels usable again. PanPastels are professional soft pastel colours packed in a practical and compact pan, allowing them to be mixed and applied like paint. Their design means they are easily portable, however, if dropped the pastel inside may break into separate pieces. Luckily, there is a straightforward way to fix them, returning the pastel into one solid material.
How to Fix Broken PanPastels
To Fix Broken PanPastels You Will Need:
- An isopropyl alcohol solution (also known as isopropanol) with an alcohol content between 70-99.9%. A purer solution will give better results.
- A teaspoon
- A larger spoon
- A lid or another small item with a smooth flat surface
- A plastic bag such as a sandwich bag
Step one:
Remove the broken pieces of PanPastel from the pan and place them into the plastic bag, making sure to tap out any loose dust. You can leave any unbroken pastel that is still stuck to the base of the pan, as it will get mixed in later.
Step two:
Take your larger spoon and press the underside of it over the outside of the plastic bag to crush the broken pieces of pastel into a fine dust.
Step three:
Give the bag a light shake and then carefully pour or scoop the dust back into the original pan.
Step four:
Using your teaspoon, begin to add the rubbing alcohol to the PanPastel, one spoonful at a time. Mix gently in between each spoonful to get an idea of the consistency. The goal is to create a moist thick paste and the amount of alcohol you need depends on the amount of pastel you are working with. Add more alcohol as needed, but be careful to avoid turning the mixture into a runny liquid.
Step five:
Once you have added enough rubbing alcohol that a thick paste is forming, mix it thoroughly together with the teaspoon until there is no powder left.
Step six:
Spread the paste evenly around the pan, pushing it up to the edges. You could also use a palette knife to smooth this over, although we found the teaspoon worked well too. Leave this to stand for an hour.
Step seven:
After an hour has passed, place the plastic bag over the surface of the PanPastel. Don’t worry if it is still slightly damp at this stage. Tip: if any small cracks have appeared while drying, smooth these over lightly with your finger before applying the plastic.
Step eight:
Using a smooth flat object (we used the lid of a jar), press lightly over the top of the plastic.
Step nine:
Lift to check that the PanPastel now has a flat, smooth surface. Repeat the pressing a few times if needed.
After 24 hours your PanPastel will be ready to use again. It may not look quite ‘good as new’ compared to your unbroken pans. However, compared to fully replacing your PanPastel, this technique avoids wastage with minimal effect on the product’s usability.
Sometimes an isopropyl alcohol solution of around 70%, such as ‘rubbing alcohol’ or ‘surgical spirits’, can contain additives such as oils. Using these mixtures for this technique still works, but during our tests we noticed a slight change in how easily the pastel lifts from the pan when painting. If you wish to avoid this, try find a purer solution instead.
Further Reading
How to Repair Broken Soft Pastels
Sarah Dyer Curates Sets of Jackson’s Handmade Soft Pastels
Using Soft Pastels for Observational Drawing
In Conversation with Nina Squire about Unison Colour Pastel
Shop Pastels on jacksonsart.com
20 thoughts on “How to Fix Broken PanPastels”
Really interesting. Do you know if
isopropanol can be used to reconstruct
a crumbled pastel stick?
We’re planning to run some tests to find out! Watch this space… Best, Clare
Thanks
Thank you for posting this.
Your articles always contain such useful
explanations and there is always something
there for every artist.
A great website and the shop is always a
temptation to achieve a credit card melt-
down. Many thanks again.
Hi David, we’re glad it was helpful for you. Thanks for letting us know. Very best, Clare
As someone with a drawer of several pan
pastels in various stages of ‘crumble’ I will
definitely give this a go. Thank you Annie
Thank you Lyn, I’m glad this was helpful for
you. Good luck!
Good article! I have unused pan pastels. I
do use isopropyl alcohol to liquify my soft
pastels when painting, and appreciate the
note to use the highest percentage
possible to avoid fillers – I will be
switching to 90%.
Thanks Susan, I hope you find a higher percentage solution and get some good results – best of luck!
Do you think this method could be used
to reclaim / turn broken stick pastels to
a form of usable pan pastel?
Hi Diane, thank you for your comment! This may work for turning stick pastels into a pan format, but we suspect that using water instead of isopropyl
alcohol could do the trick to set the powder. We’re planning to test a few things out and see what works.
very interesting. Would the same method
work in a crayon format?
Hi Heather, I’m glad you found this interesting. We’re going to look into potential methods for fixing pastels of different formats and will share any successful results.
This is wonderful information. I will try it
on my pan pastels.
Might this also work with a crumbles
soft pastel, like Unison?
Thank you again
Hi Kathy, thank you for your comment. Good luck fixing your PanPastels!
I’m not too sure whether it would also work for Unison soft pastels. We’re going to look into this and run some tests, so keep an eye out for future blog posts!
I’ve found the best place to find isopropyl
alcohol that doesn’t have additives is the
dollar store. The cheaper the brand the
better. The additives are things like
lanolin which are very much more
expensive than the alcohol so cheap is the
way to go.
That green is gorgeous! What is the name of
the color? I love it!
Hi Janet,
The colour used in this article was Chromium Oxide Green: Tint 5. There are so many beautiful shades of green in the PanPastel range.
Very best, Clare
So glad to have found this solution. I have
few broken pans and this should fix it. Thank
you for sharing the tips.
Hi Oksana, glad to be of help. Thanks for your feedback!
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