When sealing wood with acrylics, is it advisable to thin the paint first. How about when brushing acrylic onto plastic?
I use a separate wood sealant before painting it with acrylic paint. I wouldn’t thin that, if I were you. If i’s dried out, chuck it and buy some new sealant.
When painting with acrylics, I find that best results are achieved when the paint is thin enough to drip freely off of a stirring stick inserted in the paint. If it’s not thin enough, I thin it before painting. If the paint is too thick, it doesn’t flow properly into the details and you end up hiding some. Also, you get brush marks in the paint if it’s too thick.
I don’t know what various modelers use to thin their acrylic paints, but For Artist’s Acrylics tube paint at any art supply store {Michael’s, AC Moore} one can purchase a bottle of “Acrylic Flow Medium” that will enhance the flowing capacity of artist’s acrylic paints without really thinning the paint much or making it “watery”. Since I often paint right out of the tube of artist’s acrylics {to get the color I want}, I add the flow medium to get the easy flow consitancy I want to paint my buildings etc. without much risk of “puddling” around the finer details.
Just food for thought. I don’t know if/how it would work with bottled acrylic paints, but I imagine it can’t hurt it any.
I would thin the paint .rambo1…
I’m talking about modeller’s acrylics (I use both Testors Model Master Acryls and Polly Scale acrylics) in the small bottles. I thin thim with Model Master thinner, which is basically dilute alcohol. In any case, paint should be applied in several thin coats rather than splashed on. This will avoid puddling in the nooks and crannies. If your paint puddles, stick your brush back in it and spread it some more.
I haven’t had much luck painting anything other than scenery / backdrops with artists acrylics, but yes, I thin these with Matte Medium.