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Acrylic paints are available in many different types: From thin to doughy for the spatula technique. You can thin your acrylic paint to change the thickness as desired, creating fun effects. We show you what to pay attention to when youhow to dilute acrylic paint and what effects you can get.
Can you thin acrylic paint?
First things first: Yes, you can thin acrylic paint. You can do this with water or with special agents such as acrylic binder or casting medium. However, there are a few basic rules that must be followed so that the thinning process is actually successful and you get the desired result.
Are you curious about the best tips for beginners when it comes to painting with acrylic paint? Then read our article: '' Painting with acrylic paint: The best tips for beginners ''
Thebasics: what is in acrylic paint?
Acrylic paint can in principle be diluted with water, dries quickly and is very easy to work with. These properties are due to its composition: The acrylic paint consists largely of colour pigments and binders.
The colour pigments provide the necessary intensity of the colours. The binder is good for fast, even drying and gloss, and it also ensures that the paint dries waterproof. The coating is not affected by the acrylic binder.
High-quality acrylic paints are characterized by a high content of colour pigments.
Tip: Read here how to use dried out paint can be used again can make.
Dilute acrylic paint with water
The easiest and most cost-effective method is to thin your acrylic paint with water. Water causes the binder and the pigments it contains to be diluted. As a result, the diluted mixture loses shine and colour intensity. You can use this specifically if you want to paint glassy. The paint becomes more transparent and translucent by adding water.
If you dilute the paint extremely, you can paint with it as with watercolor. This is ideal for painting soft backgrounds. Consider, for example, the canvas used for all Paint by Numbers motifs.
After drying you can paint over it without any problems. If you don't want to use your diluted acrylic paint right away, but want to keep it longer, use distilled water to prevent mold from forming.
Thinning acrylic paint with an acrylic binder
Unlike diluting with water, you canuse an acrylic binder to thin your acrylic paint without affecting the colour intensity and other properties. Since acrylic binder is already an ingredient in your acrylic paint, it can be used with paint from all manufacturers.
The acrylic binder changes the thickness of the paint by making it more fluid. Fortunately, it does not break down the colour pigments it contains. With more binding agent, the paint is less absorbed into the surface, resulting in a higher gloss of the paint and a shinier surface after drying. Moreover, you can make the gloss level of the dried paint even shinier with varnish.
Tip: Do not use more than 50% acrylic binder to avoid loss of colour intensity.
Thinning acrylic paint with pouring medium
Another option to use is casting medium. Casting medium was originally developed toto improve the fluidity of the acrylic paint (acrylic pouring). You can also use this product to paint with acrylic.
You will achieve similar results to an acrylic binder, but it will take longer to dry.
Tip for adding pouring medium: For acrylic paint, 10-20% is sufficient to obtain a clear dilution of the acrylic paint.
Bringing dried acrylic paint back to life
If your acrylic paint is already dry, you may want to revive the paint by adding some acrylic binder and then stirring it vigorously. Once the paint has dried, you can't do thisbring more back to life.
To prevent this, you can slow down the drying process by placing a damp piece of paper towel over the paint or spraying the paint with a little water.
