Acrylic Tube Paint - Add water?

[JohnnyRockets]

Hi everyone.

I am intrigued by the use of Acrylic Tube paints as I can get them relatively cheaply in the town where I live.

But I am more used to liquid paints.

For those that regularly use Acrylic Tube paints could you answer two questions?

1) What is your favorite brand?

2) Do you add water to them?


Thanks,



JR

[Paul]

Newton and windsor...add water with a bit of window/floor cleaner..it acts as a flow agent. Not too much though as it can give the end result matt shine

[JohnnyRockets]

Paul,

Thanks again! I remember that you said you liked Newton and Winsor. I'll be checking those out at my local hobby shop tomorrow.

Windows Cleaner?! VERY interesting! How much is "a bit of window/floor cleaner"?

You knew that question would be coming next!


JR

[Paul]

I use maximum two drops to 300ml (the small drinks bottles)
Basically use the brush to transfer this "water" onto a blob of the acrylic and mix in (you can use a toothpick to mix it) until it reaches the consistency you want.

[JohnnyRockets]

Thanks Paul!

Great advice! I'm excited to try it this weekend.


JR

[Marshall Nay]

Paint is about the only subject I know as much as Paul, so I thought I'd weigh in.

Artist's acrylics have a different binder than hobby color, and it doesn't bond as strongly to plastic. And the more water you add, the weaker becomes the paint film; so it's advisable to add the minimum of water required to get the flow you want.

As for the brand, the price of the paint is dictated by the pigment: both quality and quantity. Cheap acrylic, often marketed as "student" paint, has more of the acrylic binder which makes them have a glossier film. And they substitute the more expensive pigments with synthetic imitations they label as "hue". Example: Cadmium Red Hue has no cadmium, it is made of a cheaper substitute.

WINSOR & NEWTON makes a very good paint, but it's expensive in the States. GOLDEN has about the same quality, and being made in the U.S.A is cheaper. LIQUITEX is almost as good, and cheaper still. I use many brands, but LIQUITEX most often. (The best quality acrylic paint in the world is made by the Swiss company LASCAUX, and it's VERY expensive.)

[Paul]

I´ve never tried lascaux, nice tip A bottle of white and black as testers added to my next shopping list
(I Just looked it up..here, it´s still cheaper per 100 ml than Vallejo )

[Marshall Nay]

I´ve never tried lascaux, nice tip A bottle of white and black as testers added to my next shopping list
(I Just looked it up..here, it´s still cheaper per 100 ml than Vallejo )

Visually, the thing that most distinguishes LASCAUX is it's velvety surface; it's the acrylic tube color with the least plasticky sheen.

A big problem in artist's colors has been the manufacture of a permanent, brilliant, non-toxic, red. LASCAUX now produces a Pyrrol Rot that does all that. If you can afford it , you might add that to your list.