What To Do When Your Acrylic Paint Isn’t Covering

Acrylic paint is a favorite artistic medium for its versatility and affordability. Unfortunately, this affordability can often be a downfall in terms of quality, and streaking is often inevitable with lesser-quality products.

However, low-quality paint isn’t always the sole perpetrator behind inadequate paint coverage. There are quite a few things that can cause streaking when you’re using acrylic paint and there are also ways to fix it.

Here’s what you can do to fix an acrylic paint that isn’t covering: 

1. Invest in quality supplies.
2. Paint on the right surfaces.
3. Throw out expired paint.
4. Use opaque acrylic paint.

The rest of this article will tell you everything you need to know about acrylic paint coverage, including what causes streaking and how to approach a solution to this issue. Read on for more information on What To Do When Your Acrylic Paint Isn’t Covering.

Invest in Quality Supplies

Investing in quality supplies is one of the best things you can do to upgrade your paint coverage. By ensuring that you have high-quality brushes and acrylic paints, you can decrease your chances of dealing with annoying streaks and increase your chances of getting the coverage you want.

Now, you don’t have to break the bank to get good art supplies. You don’t need extremely expensive supplies to create good art, and there are plenty of professional-grade supplies you can access without emptying your pockets.

Next time you’re at the art store, I suggest talking to an employee so they can help you find adequate supplies that fit your budget.

Paint on the Right Surfaces

As previously mentioned, texture can add some artistic flair to any project. However, this can cause streaking when you’re using acrylic paint.

If it’s important for you to achieve good coverage while painting, I suggest painting on the right surfaces to avoid streaking.

I’ve found that canvas boards are a lot smoother than traditional canvases. I recommend this Ampersand Gesso Artist Painting Panel (available on Amazon.com) for its smooth finish. I also love that it comes in such a wide variety of sizes, so this product is very versatile for most painting projects.

Last update on 2024-05-08 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

Throw Out Expired Paint

Paint can actually expire (hope you take note of this one), and acrylic paint can go bad after about 3 years.

As we discussed earlier, expired paint won’t have good coverage. Additionally, it can actually harbor mold and mildew, which is bad for your health.

While the shelf life of paint varies depending on the brand, ingredients, quality, and type of paint, it’s generally a good idea to throw out acrylic paint after 3 years. Some paints last longer than others, but it’s safer to follow this time frame to avoid using bad paint.

How Can You Tell Acrylic Paint Has Expired?

The idea of expired paint might sound strange, but it’s actually quite simple to tell whether or not your supplies are no longer usable.

You can tell acrylic paint has expired if it begins to have a smell. This smell might resemble the sour or musty smell of mildew and mold. It can also dry out and go through some strange texture changes. If your acrylic paint is old and has a bad texture and smell, it’s expired.

If you think your paint has expired, it’s best to trust your gut and not question it too much. Toss out any expired paint to avoid using moldy products.

Use Opaque Acrylic Paint

Transparent paint can be a great way to add shimmer and watercolor-like effects to your paintings. However, it’s a lot more streaky compared to opaque paint, and it’s very easy to accidentally pick up a bottle of transparent paint by accident.

I’ve found that in my local art stores, acrylic paint is organized by color, not opacity. This means that both transparent and opaque paints are often mixed together on the same shelves.

If you’re facing problems with streaking, I suggest checking to see if you accidentally picked up some transparent paint. If this is the case, you don’t have to throw out the paint. Just keep in mind that you will need to paint multiple layers to achieve good coverage.

Next time you’re shopping for acrylic paint, I suggest reading the bottles and tubes to see if you’re truly getting the opaque variety.

What Causes Acrylic Paint To Streak?

Streaking is a common problem when it comes to using acrylic paint. However, before you can come up with a solution, it’s important to figure out what’s causing the problem in the first place.

Acrylic paint will streak for various reasons, including the use of wet, cheap, or damaged brushes, and using expired acrylic paint. Forgetting to shake the paint can also cause the paint to streak, and textured canvases can make this problem worse.

Let’s explore each of these points in greater detail.

Using Wet Brushes To Paint

While it’s possible to mix water with acrylic paint to create some pretty interesting effects, it’s not always recommended. In fact, most experts recommend using dry brushes with acrylic paint because water will dilute the paint and essentially give you a transparent substance.

Diluted acrylic paint can be a great way to give your painting some watercolor-like touches. However, if this isn’t the look you’re going for, stick to using dry brushes. This will ensure that your paint stays as opaque as possible, increasing your chances of adequate coverage.

Using Cheap or Damaged Brushes

When it comes to any type of painting, using the right brush is absolutely essential.

If you’re painting with acrylics and you want full coverage, you want a soft brush with clean bristles that haven’t faced any significant damage. This is because damaged brushes often have bristles that stick out in multiple directions, which can cause streaking in some cases.

Additionally, using a cheaper brush can lead to streaking because the bristles may not be as soft. Some cheap brushes – especially those with synthetic bristles – have thick fibers that can add unwanted textures to your work.

Textured Canvases

Canvases come in all shapes, sizes, and textures. However, if you’re painting on a surface that has a lot of texture, this can make it difficult to achieve good coverage when you’re using acrylic paints. This is because acrylic paints – especially those on the cheaper side – are typically thinner than other types like oil paint, for example.

Textures can add some really cool effects to your masterpiece, but they’re not always ideal if coverage is really important to you. While this issue can be solved by simply layering the surface with additional coats, you can also invest in canvases with smooth surfaces to increase paint coverage.

Expired Acrylic Paint

When expiration dates are mentioned, food is probably the first thing that comes to mind. However, many non-edible things actually have expiration dates, and paint is no exception.

Expired acrylic paint can cause issues with painting because the texture will change. This type of paint tends to dry out as it ages, which can lead to unpleasant paint textures that will cause streaking in your work.

Forgetting To Shake or Mix the Paint

Separation is common in paints, which is why it’s always a good idea to mix your paint before use.

If you’re using craft-grade acrylic paints, these typically come in bottles that you can shake before use. Doing this will ensure that the paint is properly mixed before you squeeze it out of the bottle.

When you forget to do this, the result is an oily and thin paint that will not offer good coverage. Next time you’re using bottled acrylic paint, remember to shake it.

However, separation can still occur when using tubed paint. This can be solved by mixing your acrylic paint by hand using a palette knife. If you don’t have one of these, you can use a plastic knife. I often find myself using pencils to mix my acrylic paint on the palette simply because they’re always close to my workspace.

Painting With Transparent Acrylic Paint

Acrylic paint comes in many different colors, but it also varies in opacity.

Transparent acrylic paint is actually a commonly available art supply, and while it can be great for certain projects, it’s not the best for good paint coverage. It will be streaky and transparent unless you add multiple coats, and even then, chances are this paint will not provide you with adequate coverage.