It’s Halloween, and you want your pumpkins to stand out above the status quo. It happens that you’re a great artist who can paint spooky stuff with acrylics. But here’s the problem, it’s more complex than you might’ve thought.
Your acrylic paint isn’t sticking to a pumpkin because the pumpkin either isn’t clean or it has glossy skin. Before painting over a pumpkin, you should clean it and dry it very well before you add a layer of acrylic ground or gesso. Consider lightly sanding your pumpkin for best results.
The rest of this article will go over why acrylic paint won’t stick to a pumpkin. Generally speaking, it’s easier to work with acrylics because they attach easily to all kinds of surfaces. However, as I will explain in this article, it’s not that straightforward when it comes to pumpkins. So, Why Is Your Acrylic Paint Not Sticking to a Pumpkin? Let’s get started!
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7 Reasons Acrylic Paint Won’t Stick to a Pumpkin
Acrylic paint versatility is its best quality; you can work with acrylic paint on most any surface. However, that doesn’t mean all surfaces are compatible with acrylics, as acrylic paint won’t stick to every surface
. There are degrees to which surfaces are more suitable for applying acrylics. Generally speaking, dry porous surfaces are the best for working with acrylics.
Your acrylics will stick to your Halloween pumpkins if you prepare the surface of your pumpkins to be optimally compatible with the workings of this type of paint. In other words, you must ensure that your pumpkin’s surface is prepared appropriately before applying your acrylics and getting good results.
Below are the seven common reasons why your acrylics won’t stick to the pumpkins:
One – Your Pumpkin Isn’t Clean
When your pumpkin has a layer of dirt because you didn’t clean it properly, it won’t be compatible for work with acrylics. You must thoroughly clean your pumpkin with a wet cloth before doing anything.
You must remove that thin layer of dirt first so the paint can be applied directly on the pumpkin skin.
Two – Your Pumpkin Is Greasy
Your pumpkin might have greasy skin for some reason or another. Since acrylics are water soluble, you can’t make them stick on oily surfaces. If you try to use acrylic paint on a greasy surface, the paint will stay on the brush instead of sticking to the pumpkin’s surface.
That’s why you should wipe your pumpkin with alcohol or a solution that cleans oiliness. After that, you must dry your pumpkin before applying paint on its surface.
Three – Your Pumpkin Is Glossy
The paint won’t stick if your pumpkin is too glossy. As I’ve said before, acrylics are more compatible with dry porous surfaces. The best option here is to lightly sand the pumpkin’s skin using a piece of fine sandpaper.
Your objective is to make the pumpkin’s surface lose its glossiness and become matte. Matte surfaces are super-optimal for acrylics because they allow the paint to stick without dripping.
Four – Your Pumpkin Is Bumpy
When choosing pumpkins to paint on using acrylics, you must look for the least bumpy ones to facilitate your job. Acrylics dry when their water content evaporates; they form a plastic-like film, which slightly shrinks as it dries. If applied on bumpy surfaces, the film easily peels off, rendering your whole work a waste of time.
A general rule of thumb here, if you’re ever stuck with only bumpy pumpkins to work with, it’s best to level them and sand them using fine sandpaper before applying your acrylic paint.
Five – Your Pumpkin Doesn’t Have a Dry Surface
When working with acrylics on a pumpkin, the dryer, the better. However, since pumpkins are actually living things, their surface has a certain degree of moisture, especially with fresh pumpkins.
The trick here is to apply a layer of something on the pumpkin skin. And by something, I’m mainly referring to a grounding, something like acrylic ground, gesso, or epoxy primers. Before doing this, make sure to clean your pumpkin very well, sand it, and level it if it has any bumps.
Check out this YouTube video by Amber Davenport to get a rough estimate of how a pumpkin should look when working with acrylics:
Six – The Acrylic Paint Is Too Liquidy To Stick to the Pumpkin
If the acrylic paint you’re using is too liquidy, you’ll struggle with it a lot on the surface of a pumpkin. You want your acrylic paint to be a little bit thick. However, when you apply a thick ground or a base, you have the freedom to thin your acrylics (as long as the ground is adequately dry).
Additionally, your acrylic paint should definitely be thicker if you want to dot art your pumpkin. Dotting a pumpkin creates a unique, artful design that is unlike regular painting. You can thicken your acrylic paint for dotting by adding a homemade cornstarch mixture to the paint or using an acrylic gel medium. bear in mind that this would work if you have a more porous surface on the pumpkin; you should also be prepared to adjust the consistency and, as mentioned before, you might be tempted to lightly sand over the skin.
Seven – Painted Pumpkins Cannot Last Forever
Painted pumpkins aren’t supposed to stay forever. If you want something that will last for a long time, you should mold your pumpkins and make a casting of them. Work with the casts, and make some pumpkin bread with the pumpkins.
Alternatively, you can make peace with the fact that nothing lasts forever, even beautifully drawn pumpkins.
The Halloween acrylic-painted pumpkins dry and shrink as the seasons come and go. Acrylic paint can’t stay on the surface, as it cracks and flakes off. The pumpkin might even rot, which isn’t all that pleasant to deal with.
Final Words
Acrylic paint can be tricky because it doesn’t stick to all surfaces. When you’re wanting to paint pumpkins using acrylic paint and it’s not sticking, the problem is most likely because the pumpkin is dirty.
Therefore, before painting your pumpkins, ensure you prep it by cleaning it of any dirt or debris, and if necessary, lightly sanding it to remove the glossy finish. Once the pumpkin is clean and mattefied, you’re ready to start painting!