Fabric Paint vs Acrylic & Fabric Medium on denim | Big paint test & Review

Find out whether you should paint on clothes with regular acrylics and whether mixing acrylics with fabric medium makes it as good as fabric paint
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00:23 In this paint test
01:53 Applying a base coat on denim with acrylics & Fabric Medium
05:01 Painting with fabric paint
05:46 Applying color with acrylics. Final picture
07:35 Painted denims after 1 machine wash
13:40 After 2 months of wearing and a few laundry cycles
14:30 What went wrong with acrylics?
15:00 Conclusion
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[@bagobeans]

I've painted on clothes forever using acrylics. Never a problem. Even now, not a problem. The number one rule with using acrylics is to paint on cotton cloth. Cotten jeans, cotton shirts, and cotton anything. The stretchy material is no good. Lycra is rubberized component to make fabric stretchable and acrylics can't adhere to mixed fabric. Fast fashion is the last thing to use. Just like using a good canvas to paint on...use quality clothing. Be fair to acrylics. Many printed shirts use acrylics. Also, don't put acrylic painted clothes in dryer. It shrinks the clothes and makes the cloth waffling looking. Hang dry.

[@MontagTheMagician]

there are BETTER paints that will survive the washing machines and these MFers know it. They just won't tell you.

[@jbak485]

What do you mix with your acrylic paints?

[@bagobeans]

​@@jbak485A little water to thin it out. She used straight acrylic which caused the problems. Acrylic paint and fabric paint is basically the same. Whatever one does, wash in cold water and don't put it in the dryer. She didn't use cotton jeans but a cotton lycra blend.

[@Sharperthanu1]

If you are painting on a stiff fabric like denim or canvas there is no problem painting on it with regular undiluted acrylic paint.However if you are painting on a thin flexible fabric like a cotton t shirt you need to dilute the acrylic paint with Fifty percent water to make it into a thin dye or the acrylic paint will dry stiff on the cotton t shirt.P.S. permanent alcohol based markers don't wash out or bleed on any fabric.

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

I suppose, test in the video has shown that there actually IS a problem when we paint with regular acrylics on denim. However, if someone is fine with the fact that painted design gets multiple cracks as soon as they put it on, maybe it's okay.... Appreciate your input anyway 👍

[@MontagTheMagician]

I have shirts with rock hard paint that have not worn out after seven or eight years of machine washings. These paints exist but nobody will tell you where or how to get them because they want you to keep wasting your time, energy and money on fabric paints.

[@pcofranc]

@@MontagTheMagicianwas thinking the same thing. Yesterday, I cooked 7 lbs of jeans in and 32 quart pot for over an hour then washed and run the jeans and filled the sink 9 times to get most of the dye out. Then into the washer and dryer. From start to finish I must have used over 100 gallons of hot water. That's too much time and effort; bring on the latex paint!!!

[@nicoledunne3925]

When you say 50 % water added to the acrylic paint, is this including the fabric medium?

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

Hi! No, there was no diluting with water at all. In this test I painted the left side of jeans with acrylic paint mixed with fabric medium in a ratio 1:1. One or two leaves were painted with fine art acrylics only, to demonstrate the difference and the result. The design on right pant was painted with fabric paint only.

[@endlezminis6182]

I have been using acrylic paints for year's since Highschool freshman year 1983 n to this day still using them. I actually started with Vogart ball point paint tubes then AuntMartha ball point paint tube later I got started with Airbrushing of course with acrylic.

[@bagobeans]

I still use acrylic paint and finish up a couple of a couple of tote bags. Always wash your clothes BEFORE you paint on fabric.

[@graal9589]

This video is very informative, thank you for making it!❤️

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

Thank you so much for letting me know 🌻

[@alicejump2290]

Working on a costume for granddaughter so this appealed to me! While the long term durability isn’t a primary concern for this project it is good information! Also I want the garments to be comfortable! Thank you!

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

Hello Alice, I appreciate your feedback. Thank you very much!!! Best of luck with the project 👏your granddaughter is a lucky one!

[@rohannatarajan6048]

Exactly what i was looking for, thank you for making this!

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

You're welcome!!! Thanks for letting me know ☺️

[@AvionOrr]

GORGEOUS!!!

[@UIV7096]

Exactly what I’m looking for definitely will get some acrylic medium to paint my jeans splatter project. They do have a bit of a stretchy texture best to be safe than sorry Thank you 🎉

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

Glad it was helpful! Good luck with your project 👏

[@RitaFlores-jg9ik]

First time wanting to paint on fabric This video was very informative Thank You

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

Good luck & enjoy it👏🏼

[@parparit59]

I use chalk paints for painting on clothing. It's very easy and has great results.

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

Thanks for sharing! How does it look like after several regular laundry cycles?

[@Designer9223]

❤❤

[@GrevilleaFashion]

Very informative video and Nice works.

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

Thank you 🙂

[@Its_Swa_zii_Abroad]

Very helpful thank you

[@21rabbit88]

Thank you

[@MsWaterlily100]

thank you!

[@meovv_tea]

Hey, I have actually painted my cloth without using the medium, can you apply medium over the paint now, with that be ok?

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

Hi, you sure can add another coat of fabric medium over your painting made with regular acrylics, however, consider that result with or without fabric medium on denim wasn't much different. By this I mean that even if you'll add a top coat of medium over regular acrylics, it won't change their properties. Wishing your design to stay put and let you enjoy it for a long time. ✌️

[@meovv_tea]

@@FabricPaintingCoach thank you so much ❤️

[@iveemarasigan7312]

hi! this is a really nice video! may i know what brand of fabric paint you used?

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

Hello! Thanks 🌷it's Kreul Javana Opaque

[@NewBeginnings-2022]

Just came across your video @fabricpaintingcoach. How much are these fabric paints you're speaking of? Where is the best place to purchase them and where can you find the largest bottles of fabric paint. Thank you

[@AngelicaJBM]

Thank you for this video!!

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

You're welcome! I'm very glad it was useful 👏

[@juliechamberlain6703]

Can you add glycerine to the medium and acrylic to keep the softness?

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

I can't really say anything about this, as I haven't tried mixing glycerin with paint. I think it's an unnecessary additive, since stiffness isn't the only problem when one uses regular acrylics.

[@v.i.l.o.]

Hi, I just purchased a black adidas jacket with the white stripes. I would like to paint those stripes black. What would be the best paint to use? The jacket is made of Polyester&Nylon . Thanks

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

Hi! For synthetic textiles in my experience Pebeo Setacolor works best. amzn.to/3Umcip6 Also, if these aren't available to you, Jacquard Textile is a viable option for man-made fabrics too. amzn.to/3z9TAUk You can find both brands offering black paint jars sold individually as well. Make sure to heat set the paint once it's dry: iron without steam on Cotton setting or lower since you're painting on polyester; through a cotton sheet. Touch the protective sheet with your palm to ensure it's hot enough but not burning, as excessive heating might damage your jacket. I hope you'll succeed in your project! Ask for more advice if needed and share your experience with fabric painting community,if you want to on our Forum www.fabricpaintingcoach.com/fabric-painting-forum Good luck 👍🏼

[@khomutova_art]

What about Jacquard textile colors on denim? Is they good? Or is it better to use Pebeo?

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

Hi! Pebeo Setacolor Opaque is definitely a safe choice for painting on denim, illustration will be soft and bright. Jacquard Textile Colors I've tried so far on cotton fabrics light colored and dark. I expect denim to absorb a first couple of paint layers if you'll paint with Jacquard Textile, since they are quite transparent, but pigmented nonetheless. I'll edit this response as soon as the test run on denim is done👍THanks for the question!

[@rosemarydavis2806]

Perhaps im missing the point, i needed to know of i could use Tulip fabric paint on stretch fabric? Please help

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

Hello, Tulip is quite a versatile fabric paint. Can be used on most textiles. What kind of stretch fabric you're talking about?

[@rosemarydavis2806]

Neoprene and or scuba

[@GalileaM]

What happens if I add textile medium to already fabric paint? Is it better? Or is it not necessary?

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

Hi! Fabric medium reduces color intensity of fabric paint. It doesn't make it's texture thinner, though. This characteristic comes in handy when you'd like to imitate watercolor painting, without diluting fabric paint with water and avoid uncontrollable paint spread. Read more about possibilities with fabric medium in this article www.fabricpaintingcoach.com/post/how-to-use-fabric-medium.

[@GalileaM]

@@FabricPaintingCoach thank you so much 🫶🏼

[@emem5270]

does it really needs to iron for fabric paints or is it allright if i dont iron it ?

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

Yes, majority of fabric paint brands require heat setting/ironing of a finished design for it to stay permanent on clothes. The heat setting should be careful, and long enough for paint to properly bond with fabric (duration varies from brand to brand, see instructions)

[@raquelsadraque]

Did you use a bed sheet to iron it ? Or is it some sort of a special paper? Sorry. I’m a true beginner 😅

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

Yes! The regular cotton bedsheet, just a small one😊 Nothing to feel shy about, curiosity is a path to learning 👏 If you're interested in getting a proper idea of steps in fabric painting and to learn about a variety of wonderful art tools that exists in textile art, feel welcome to join the free Fabric Painting Foundations Course, it's great for absolute beginners! www.fabricpaintingcoach.com/challenges And on Forum of our growing community people ask many basic questions which you also might find useful www.fabricpaintingcoach.com/forum/talks I'll be happy to see you around, Racquel 🌷

[@raquelsadraque]

@@FabricPaintingCoach great! Thank you so much! I loved your video! Very informative! 👏🏼🙏🏼❤️

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

I appreciate it, enjoy!🌅

[@ladyhawk1083]

People says that you have to dry them with Parliament paper between a iron and hold it for about let it sit in and dry is this true

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

I didn't quite understood your question, could you rephrase it?

[@tessmoore3762]

Parchment paper is what you mean.

[@tessmoore3762]

@@FabricPaintingCoach It wasn't a question but a statement. Some people say that you need to iron the painting when it is dry using parchment paper. This is to heat set the painting to make it permanent.

[@honeybunny5325]

Hi thanks for video.Can I double check did you say the liquidtex and acyrlic paint, gave a uncomfortable feel to skin? If so would it help to add more liquidtex.Many thanks in advance.Your art skills are amazing beautiful.

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

Hi! Thank you very much for feedback 🙂 Since I painted on denim, I couldn't get a feel of paint on skin. The scratchy feel was on the outside, like when you run your hand on design, and also it was "catching" the scarf. It is recommended to mix fabric medium with paint 1:1, I suppose, if you increased the amount of fabric medium it could make acrylic paint less opaque. Overall, more fabric medium might improve the outcome in terms of softness, but as I always suggest, fabric paint is the best choice. Good luck 👏🌟

[@insightandintuition276]

I am still not clear what is the preferable paint? Was the acrylic paint with the softener soft to the touch? It look like the fabric paint faded tremendously. Please give me clarity which paint you would recommend.. acrylic, acrylic with softener or fabric paint?

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

Hi, no fabric paint didn't fade at all. There's a few cracks only in a top leaf, but that's just because I didn't apply the second layer properly there... Fabric paint design remained colorful and very soft. The parts of painting made with pure acrylic paint was quite scratchy to touch and kept getting cracks with every next laundry cycle. Painting made with a mix of acrylic+fabric medium (1:1) has also been not as soft to touch as the one made with fabric paint, and was cracking as well when I tried to stretch the denim. My conclusion, is that fabric paint performs significantly better on denim in terms of softness and durability. It might be not as opaque as fine art acrylics, but with the right technique we are still able to achieve great colors and permanence.

[@bethalvarez6956]

I saw another lady painting on fabric and she took the fabric medium and put a base down on the fabric as well as putting some 50% into the paint and it worked very well

[@donnettepalmer6798]

Can I paint on jute basket with acrylic paint?

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

Yes, sure

[@janjones4772]

Very beautiful work love this 😮. ln n

[@brelovly1432]

Hi, what about pouring medium? Can I mix that with Acrylic paint and paint my jeans?

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

Hi! Pouring medium will only change the texture of your acrylics, not their properties. It means that regular acrylics even in "pouring" state, after drying will perform on jeans in a way it's shown in the video. You may not take my word for granted, and test it by yourself on some old piece of cloth.

[@daxapanchal9959]

What is the disappearing marker please?

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

Hello! Disappearing marker is a textile marker that has the kind of ink which stays only temporarily on fabric. It usually fades away after a day or sooner. It's useful in textile art whenever we want to sketch something on clothes before painting (as it's shown in this video), or if we want to mark the place of some embellishments but do not want those marks stay permanent.

[@firstblade7515]

Привет , я приобрела недавно краску «winsor e newton galeria acrylic mixed white» и «pouring medium “ это такая же краска как у тебя на видео ? Потому что я сделала 2 хороших слоя , и краска потрескалась когда после высыхания я её решила растянуть . 🙏✨спасибо заранее за ответ ( это одно единственное видео которое мне случайно попалось с такой же краской как у меня)

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

Привет Я использовала разные бренды акриловых красок в этом тесте, включая Windsor & Newton galleria. В чистом виде и в смеси с текстильным медиумом. В моем тесте оба варианта тоже потрескались... Краска по ткани - нет.

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

Pouring medium она для флюидной работы, чтоб краска текла по холсту - для ткани тоже не пригодна. Я использовала fabric medium. На всякий случай уточняю

[@ladyhawk1083]

So you're saying that the fabric paint works better than acrylic because the acrylic is not soft and it causes cracking right

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

That's right

[@elviracaperonce6553]

Do you mix textile mediums on your colored ones?

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

Yes, I mixed textile medium with regular acrylic paint on the left side of jeans. On the right side, where I used fabric paint, I didn't add textile medium there

[@coopersisters4]

what about gesso? is that a good base?

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

Hello, no, gesso is not an option for fabrics which you intend to wear. As mentioned, a layer of fabric paint is a good enough primer (when required)

[@coopersisters4]

@@FabricPaintingCoach ok thanks, I painted a bag I had with acrylics mixed with a fabric medium. (no gesso) it turned out great!

[@elenlampe4777]

Lepo..tudi jaz rišem že 3o let

[@tamarathorsen]

Can fabric paint be used to cover a hole?

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

As if there's a hole on a garment?..or it's been patched and now you want to paint over the patch to make it less visible?

[@tamarathorsen]

@@FabricPaintingCoach I’m actually patching as we speak with some stitches and hoping to cover on top with paint

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

If it's gonna be a solid layer of threads, then, by all means, you could use fabric paint on top 👍

[@MontagTheMagician]

I have one T shirt with ROCK HARD paint on it! It's the BEST shirt I own! I wash and dry it all time in the machine and had it for several years and and no problems. The fabric has hardly worn out at all. So my question to you is WHAT TYPE OF PAINT IS THIS? WHAT IS THE BRAND NAME? and WHERE DO I BUY PAINT LIKE THIS???????????????????????????????????????? I am tired of all these people and videos telling me to get "flexible" or "stretchy" paint. No, it s a LIE, I've used these paints before and they don't survive very many washings.

[@pcofranc]

I cooked a pair of jean shorts that i made out of wrangler pants when the knees wore out and the paint survived the 200F Rit Dye bath for 1 hour and countless washings and construction work.

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

It depends on the type of painting you have on that shirt. Liquid types of paint are usually very pigmented and have zero stiffening effect. So if that was a really good permanent paint, indeed it could have stayed on for long times. We usually concern ourselves with paint flexibility and softness when planning on creating a design in acrylic painting technique, using paint straight from the jar and applying it with a brush. In such cases if paint that one uses isn't fabric specific, once completed , the design on clothes usually feels unpleasant to touch and peels off/fades away after laundry. You could share the way your shirt looks like to brainstorm how the painting was done on our forum. Wishing you to find what you're looking for 👍🏼

[@StevenShelbyDesign]

Fabric paint doesn't show up good you need 20 layer just to get it white mabe if you have time you can do Fabric paint I guess it just takes 4 every

[@FabricPaintingCoach]

If you use a not opaque fabric paint (the one which is good for use on light colored fabrics only), indeed it can take about five layers to reach a decent white color on darker textiles... However, the technique is important too. Sometimes people keep adding paint layers one after the other, not letting the previous one to dry completely. That's wrong. So the key to fabric painting that doesn't "take forever" is to pick the right type of fabric paint and follow basic fabric painting technology.