Acrylics are fantastic to use as a beginner or an experienced artist. It’s an easy and versatile paint medium with capabilities of different techniques and painting styles. But you have to work fast because acrylics will dry more quickly than other paint mediums and begin to thicken and clump.
Use acrylic mediums or water to thin the thick acrylic paint. Paint pots left open and painting in a drafty area causes acrylic paint to thicken because the water evaporates from the paint, changing the paint properties. Also, invest in good quality acrylics to prevent unnecessary texture issues.
You may feel frustrated and discouraged from your acrylics thickening more than you prefer, but don’t give up! This article will explain how to fix and prevent thick acrylic paint
so you can direct your genius to the masterpiece in the making: How To Fix Acrylic Paint That’s Too Thick On The Canvas.
Table of Contents
6 Ways To Prevent Thick Acrylic Paint
Use Acrylic Mediums for Thinning
Acrylic mediums are a great way to transform how you create your acrylic art and improve the versatility of using acrylics. It’s an essential resource for creating textures, thinning, and even correcting “happy little accidents,” as Bob Ross would say. Acrylic mediums are specifically designed to alter the properties of acrylic paint while still allowing the pigmentation to bond to the surface.
There are different types of mediums you can use with acrylics, including binders, pouring mediums, and airbrush mediums. Some can be pretty pricey, but to create better quality art, you need the essential tools and resources at your disposal.
Here are some of the acrylic mediums commonly used by many artists depending on the surface they’re working with and the desired outcome of the paint properties for the technique used:
- Gel medium. This medium is a great way to dilute your acrylic paint to thin the pigmentation with a smooth consistency. Specifically, gel medium in liquid form will create thin layers more evenly without visible brush strokes. Whereas heavy body gel medium is used to thicken the paint consistency.
- Texture medium. This medium dramatically alters the properties of the paint to create different textures and dimensions on the canvas.
- Fabric medium. A medium that changes the properties of the paint to better adhere to fabric surfaces.
- Flow medium. It changes the pigmentation consistency for easy adhesion to the surface and is commonly used for acrylic staining or pouring.
- Slow-drying medium. This medium doubles the drying time of your paint, so you won’t have to work as fast to prevent thickening while painting.
When using an acrylic medium, add no more than 30 percent to change the paint properties for thinner paint that’s easier to work with. Adding acrylic medium at a higher percentage, like 50 percent or more, will create an entirely different consistency. Mediums can be mixed at various ratios to create a different appearance, like gloss, matte, or even a glaze that appears more transparent.
Add Water to the Acrylic Paints
Since most acrylic paint is water-based, you can add more water to thin the paint to your preferred consistency. Using no more than 30 percent water when mixing with your paint is highly recommended. It’s said you can add up to 50 percent water, but understand the more water you add, the more the characteristics of the paint will change, and you could end up with what’s called a wash, which is similar to watercolor consistency.
Too much water will break down the binder in the acrylic, making it challenging to adhere to the surface you’re working with.
If you have cheaper quality acrylics, it’s best to use an acrylic medium to thin your paint (as mentioned above) because there may not be enough binder in your paint to bind the pigment when water is added to dilute it.
Invest in Good Quality Paint
When you’re a beginner in acrylics, or even if you only paint as a hobby, it’s common to go for cheaper acrylic paints. However, investing a bit more money for better quality products will transform your whole painting experience. Better quality paint will help you create higher quality art with fewer issues like paint thickening, clumps, and bubbles.
Although, even with better quality paint, it’s still possible to run into the thickness and lumpy problems while painting, especially if you don’t take care of your paint (explained in the next section).
Take Care of Your Paint
It’s imperative to take good care of your acrylics and tools to ensure they keep their quality longer.
Because acrylic paint is water-based, if you leave your paint container open or seal it incorrectly, air exposure will cause the water in the paint to evaporate, resulting in clumpy and thick paint. Many acrylics come in containers or tubes with an airtight seal but can become faulty over time. You should always double-check your containers to seal properly to prevent the acrylic paint from thickening due to air exposure.
Paint in a Suitable Environment
As previously mentioned, air exposure evaporates the water in acrylics, so the paint will dry faster once you apply it to the surface. So you have to work more quickly when painting with acrylics. Fans and drafts can cause faster drying, resulting in thickness and lumps forming as you work your brush across the canvas surface.
Ensure your studio or room doesn’t have too much air movement while painting to prevent excessive changes in the paint properties and drying times.
Understand Your Paint Medium
The term “medium” has different meanings depending on the subject, but overall it is an additive that changes the structural properties of whatever it is you’re adding it to. So, in the art world, a paint medium is a type of substance that binds the pigment in the paint, which, in this case, is acrylic (or acrylate polymer). Other examples of paint mediums that create different painting experiences include watercolor, gouache, and oil.
Many incredible artists explore their paint properties simply by changing the characteristics of the paint. By using water or products like acrylic mediums and different techniques to apply the paint, artists learn the various reactions and textures of the paint, depending on the additive and painting method. By gaining this experience, you’ll be able to use acrylic paints to the best of the paints and your ability.
And knowing how acrylic works and how to bend the properties to your desired outcome, you’ll know what to do to fix issues that arise while in your zone of genius.
Final Words
Acrylics are fun to work with and easy to use, but if you don’t invest in good quality paint and take care of it, you may have obstacles to overcome while painting—like thickening and clumping. The best way to handle this issue is to dilute your acrylic paint with an acrylic medium or water. Also, ensure your studio or room is without drafts or forceful airflow to prevent the acrylic paint from drying too fast while painting.
Understanding your paint properties and reactions will give you a better experience using acrylics.