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I am just getting back in to this thing and I seem to recall adding some flow aid to the dropper I kept my clean water in for thinning paints.

Is there some formula, or is this just something I imagined/heard about and maybe added a few drops?

 3orangewhips wrote:
I am just getting back in to this thing and I seem to recall adding some flow aid to the dropper I kept my clean water in for thinning paints.

Is there some formula, or is this just something I imagined/heard about and maybe added a few drops?

The technical term is surfactant, it's a class of things that are used to modify the surface tension of water and water-based solutions, mostly to reduce tension and get e.g. more even coatings and better distribution of paint or other coatings on a given surface, reduce visible brushstrokes and so on, or for technical reason when using airbrushes or other nozzle systems.

Stuff that contains surfactant agents and is aimed at hobby painters and would make sense if you want to paint finely structured surfaces without painting over the detail, or if you have problems with visible brushstrokes on large, flat surfaces.

Tsagualsa wrote:

The technical term is surfactant, it's a class of things that are used to modify the surface tension of water and water-based solutions, mostly to reduce tension and get e.g. more even coatings and better distribution of paint or other coatings on a given surface, reduce visible brushstrokes and so on, or for technical reason when using airbrushes or other nozzle systems.

Stuff that contains surfactant agents and is aimed at hobby painters and would make sense if you want to paint finely structured surfaces without painting over the detail, or if you have problems with visible brushstrokes on large, flat surfaces.

TYVM

I've heard flow aid reduces the surface tension of paint, making it more runny, this can be useful for certain things such as fine detail painting and washes