How to Use Water With Acrylic Paints

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Acrylic paint is a lot like other paint in that it is made from the combination of a binder and ground pigment. Pigment is what gives paint color. The binder is where the consistency comes from. To make acrylic paints, a manufacturer will use an acrylic polymer as a binder. This is what causes dried acrylic paint to become a plastic film. This helps increase the durability of the of acrylic paints. Typically acrylic paints can be used both inside and outside. The good news for an artist is that manufacturers tend to use different polymers to bind acrylic paints, which will make the paint either jelly-like, thick, thin, watery or sticky. This allows you more time to paint.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Paint brushes
Water
Acrylic paints
Canvas

Step1

Use water to clean up acrylic paints, whether you are washing off brushes or cleaning up any splatters that were made. Water will help you clean up with ease.

Step2

Thin acrylic paints with water, as long as you only need to make a slight adjustment. You will want to use the water sparingly, because if you add to much water, you can break down the bond between the binder and the pigment, which essentially washes out the binder.

Step3

Keep paints workable. Acrylic paints tend to dry very fast. That is why you want to only squeeze a little bit out on a plastic palette. Buy a little spray bottle that will allow you to spray a fine mist over your paints to help keep them moist and workable.

Step4

Blot your brushes. Keep a paper towel or your painter cloth next to your water jar so that you can blot the brush after rinsing. This will help prevent any water drops from running down the brush on to your paint brush and into your paint.

Tips & Warnings

When you break down the bond between pigment and binder, you create an effect called “slimeing.” Basically, what takes place is the pigment begins to pool to the outside edges of your brush, which will produce a blank space in the middle. Use an acrylic medium when you want to thin your paints. An acrylic medium prevents “slime-ing” and maintains the paint’s durability, as well as helps to provide a consistent finish when the paint dries. If you use an acrylic medium, you can then use your acrylic paints on unconventional surfaces such as fabric.