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Hello All,

Around the 'net, I've seen products that you add to the paint on your pallet that will thin it out and/or keep it from drying.
My question is if these products are significantly better than water. And, if so, which product to you recommend?

Thanks

I use Future floor wax in water

http://www.swannysmodels.com/TheCompleteFuture.html

http://www.paintingclinic.com/clinic/guestarticles/magicwash.htm

I've heard good things about Liquitex products. They have matte medium and flow extender, among other things, that should serve you well, IF you want to go that route. Personally, I just use water, but I'm also pretty new to the whole painting thing.

Water may make some pigments turn chalky when they dry, especialy blues. I like to add some flow aid to my paint pots and shake them till theyre better viscosity then add more as needed when I'm actualy painting.

Water should not be used as a dry time extender. It will change the characteristics of the paint dramatically and will change the opacity.

Use something like Liquitex Slo-Dri, which is made specifically to increase drying time with acrylic paint.

If you want to thin down your paints then use 10:1 water to Liquitex Flo-Aid or future floor wax. Put this in a dropper bottle and you are good to go.

Plain water should be used to clean brushes while they are still wet, and that's about all.

I use Liquitex and Windsor and Newton additives. Instead of water I use a mix I found elsewhere on Dakka of 2 parts water, 1 part flow aid, 1 part slow dri as a general additive to thin paints and this seems to work pretty well, giving me more time with the paint before I need to mix up another batch. Mix this up in a dropper bottle and it lasts for quite a while.

Matte medium can be added to paint to extend the volume without making it too translucent but isn't a thinner as such.

If you want to work for long periods with the same paints you can look to buy or make a wet palette. I bought a Daler and Rowney one but it seems pretty easy to make one and there are a few places online with instructions for doing it yourself.

A slow dry additive is a must IMO. You don't want to put too much. More then 1\4 to your paint can do weird things. I also add a touch of water.

Flow additives can be good too but it all comes down to "giving it a go". Im still getting use to additives. So far, I like the Slow Dry but not so much the Flow.

I just went to the big art shop in my city. They had plenty of additives to choose from.

Don't forget stuff to clean your brushes. I find this most important. Even more so if you buy high quality brushes.