With so many pouring mediums on the market, it can be hard to decide which product is right for you. After receiving questions about this topic daily, I figured it would be helpful (and fun!) to conduct a little experiment. So, I bought one bottle of each of the most commonly used pouring mediums and spent the afternoon comparing each one.
| Pouring Medium |
Likes |
Dislikes |
|
Liquitex Pouring Medium
$0.47/fluid oz. when buying the gallon-sized bottle at Blick. |
- Glossy.
- Can trust that your painting will dry with a perfect finish.
|
- Sticky! Like, REALLY sticky. This stuff is super hard to get off your hands and arms, and if the medium drips anywhere it's really hard to clean off.
- Can be relatively expensive, unless buying the gallon bottles.
- If you definitely want cells, you'll likely need to add some silicon.
|
|
Golden GAC 800
$0.55/fluid oz. when buying the gallon-sized bottle at Blick. |
- Has a nice glossy finish.
- Like Liquitex, you can trust that your paint will dry nicely with no cracks.
|
- Pretty pricey, especially in comparison to the others.
- More opaque so it lightens your paint colors.
- If you definitely want cells, you'll likely need to add some silicone.
|
|
Floetrol
$0.19/fluid oz. when buying the gallon bottle from Amazon.
|
- Great value.
- Guaranteed cells.
|
- Gets clumpy and needs to be strained.
- If you let you the Floetrol and paint mixture sit for too long, the paint starts to clump.
- While Floetrol is great for cells, not everyone wants cells in their work.
|
|
Vallejo Pouring Medium
About $0.46/fluid oz. when buying the 5L bottle from Blick. |
- For those who prefer a more fluid and quick-moving pouring medium, this one is for you.
|
- This one was my least favorite of the bunch!
- It has a strong odor, almost like rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover.
- Relatively expensive.
- Needed a lot more paint than the other mediums.
- Very watery and caused a ton of air bubbles.
|
|
2 parts Elmer's Glue-All, 1 part distilled water
A gallon of Glue-All is about $20 on Amazon, and when added to distilled water, prices out to be a few cents per fluid ounce.
|
- Definitely the most cost-efficient option.
|
- Pours are unreliable as they're more likely to crack.
- If you want cells, you'll have to add silicone.
- Colors dry a bit flat and lack a glossy finish.
|
And the winner is...Liquitex! Even though it's a pain to get off your hands, it offers the best quality pours and value for your money.
Which pouring medium is your favorite?
Want to learn more about acrylic paint pouring?
