[Archive] Acrylic Medium

Captain Crayon:

Hey there dudes and dudettes

I’d heard about the wondrous properties of Acrylic medium before, but i finally got around to grabbing some and having a go.

The stuff i bought is 'Winsor & Newton Matt Medium’

As the lady at the art store explained it to me, it’s basically the paint without the Pigment, and artist type people use it for thinning down those super expensive acrylic tubes of paint so they can do all sorts of cool stuff with it, as well as make them last longer.

I was primarily interested in it for its paint-saving characteristics… that is, to rescue gluggy old paints.

I put in The same amount of the medium as there was gooey old paint in an old tub of goblin green, closed the lid and gave it the shaking of a lifetime. And lo and behold, upon re-opening it was as good as new.

The medium is white (like PVA), but seems like it’s got no real impact on the paint colour.

I’ve been playing with it a bit, using it to thin down the paints rather than using water, and found it has better colour consistency and better coverage than just using water.

And the price?

Not cheap at 20 Aussie dollars for a 250mL Bottle, but if it saves me buying 4 pots of paint then it has made back its value.

The only drawback I’ve found is that the dried finish seems a little bit softer than without, but isn’t a great drama as i Hardcoat everything anyway… Could also be good to use over gloss varnish as it gives a clear matt finish.

catbarf:

Sounds exactly like glaze medium. Does it extend drying time? If so, then you’re paying extra for something you can get for a few bucks at any craft store.

Captain Crayon:

Sounds exactly like glaze medium. Does it extend drying time? If so, then you're paying extra for something you can get for a few bucks at any craft store.

catbarf
I didn't notice any real increase in drying time.

The lady at the art shop and the wierd basement artist lady had a pretty long chat about whether I wanted the glaze or the acrylic medium.

The basic jist of the yarn was whether the glaze would do what i wanted because it was cheaper.

The conclusion was the acrylic was the right thing for thinning the paints out and saving old paints.

Or maybe they just wanted to sell me something more Hexy. At any rate, it sounds like the Glaze medium could be worth a look at too :)