I am always looking for ways to save money, specially when I need to use a special ingredient over and over. In this case, I decided to find a homemade acrylic flow improver recipe for my pouring medium.
You are going to love this DIY flow aid.
What Is An Acrylic Flow Improver?
An acrylic flow improver or acrylic flow release is a fluid additive that can be added to acrylic paint to increase the flow and decrease the film tension and friction of paint. It improves the blending of any water-soluble paint, medium, ink or dye while simultaneously minimizing brush marks.
In the case of pour painting, it's mean to be used to increase the fluidity of the paint and pouring medium mix so that it flows easier on the canvas or painting surface.
It's NOT meant to replace the pouring medium!
I like to think of it as an additive that makes my paint mix more runny without the need to add too much water. It makes my paint mix more slippery so that it flows easier across my canvas and levels out more evenly.
There are a couple of flow improvers in the market. For example, Liquitex makes an acrylic flow improver named Flow Aid.
How Does Flow Aid Work?
Acrylic paints have surface tension which prevents the paints from flowing smoothly and freely.
Here's a short video that explains what "surface tension" is.
Flow aid has surfactants that help break the surface tension of the acrylic paints and therefore allow them to flow easier.
Some artists like to combine a blend of flow improver with a retarder additive when they need to cover a larger space.
The flow improver assists the paint in flowing and spreading properly while the retarder slows down the drying process and helps prevents paint crazing.
Why Use An Acrylic Flow Improver in Paint Pouring?
Since smooth paint flow is so important in acrylic pouring, I started playing with the idea of using a little bit of flow aid or flow improver in my pouring medium mix.
The idea was to get my paint mix flowing more easily without having to add too much water and therefore prevent breaking the binders in the paint.
But a tiny bottle of Flow Aid is quite expensive!
So I started my quest to find a recipe for a homemade acrylic flow improver.
Flow Improver Alternatives
After some research, I found out that some artists that make model railroad sceneries use something called "Wet Water" to presoak their scenery prior to applying the glue. This allows the glue to penetrate the scenery and provides a strong reliable bond.
"Wet water" is basically just a mixture of water and soap (a surfactant that breaks water's surface tension).
Other's use alcohol (which is also a surfactant) rather than "wet water".
Both of these ingredients, soap and alcohol, break the surface tension of water. Basically, they are serving the same purpose as the flow aid.
However, alcohol can potentially cause paint cracking if too much is added to the paint mix so I decided to give soap a try.
I started testing the following ingredients as potential surfactants in my acrylic pouring medium:
- Dish soap
- Laundry detergent
- Dishwasher rinse aid
After testing each one, I decided to stick to dishwasher rinse aid as my surfactant since dish soap and laundry detergent can cause excess bubbles in the paint mix and will create pinholes in paintings after they dry.
Homemade Flow Aid Recipe
After extensive testing, this is the homemade flow aid recipe I decided to use with my pouring medium for my pour paintings.
Watch the video below to learn how to make your own flow improver along with some recommendations about using this product.
This homemade acrylic flow improver is super cheap and easy to make. All you will need is some Jet Dry Dishwasher Rinse Aid and water. Mix both of these ingredients in a container and use a little bit with your pouring medium.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1/4 tsp Jet Dry Dishwasher Rinse Aid
- 32 oz Distilled Water
*Alternative Recipe: 1/2 tsp Laundry Soap + 1 cup Distilled Water
I prefer the recipe that uses the Rinse Aid rather than the Laundry Soap just because it is less sudsy.
How Much Flow Aid to Add to Pouring Medium?
Gosh!
This is a hard one since I have barely started experimenting with this new flow aid recipe. However, according to Liquitex, you should NOT be using more than 25% flow aid in your paint mix as it can cause excessive shrinkage, cracking, and the acrylic film to break down.
So I would personally start with 5%. I would keep detailed notes about the end results and adjust that as necessary.
Let me know if you try this recipe and how you liked it!
WARNING: Since the dishwasher rinse aid was not made to be used specifically with acrylic paints and has not been tested long enough with acrylic pouring, I cannot guarantee that there will not be any undesirable effects in your pour paintings. Please keep this in mind and use at your own risk.
