The Science of Acrylic Paint for Hobbyists

[@richardpotter5517]

Chemist here. I liked your explanations. As mentioned already, your hexagonal thingies are monomers. A lot of monomers have benzene rings as part of the molecular structure, and those are very hexagonal like. So Hexagonal thingies works. Thanks for all the vids.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Richard Potter Awesome, i'll count that as a win, cheers matey :-D

[@zoglin]

Lots of useful information. Your video helps fill in the gaps left by a few painting videos that I love to watch. Understanding what the different components are to acrylic paints helps with troubleshooting and fixing problems. Thanks! monomers, polymers - stuff with water and color. Great video.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Perkins Dearborn glad you found it helpful mate :-)

[@petegee]

just a beginner but never knew any of that stuff and understood everything you said..... fantastic, subscribed and checking out your beginners vids right now.

[@billd.iniowa2263]

My 2nd time watching this vid and I'm begining to understand why I have so much trouble with paint jobs coming out wrong. It really IS rocket science! Thanx as always Mel. Think I'll watch it again.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Bill D. in Iowa As long it helps, I'm happy matey :-)

[@TheRunesmythe]

I imagine there are a number of people out there right now working themselves into frothing rage about the advice in this video, but I love it. I'm sure that for certain individuals, investing in a lot of expensive additives suits their style of painting and that's perfectly fine, but it never fails to irk me when the line that separates preference from "fact" gets blurred. Suddenly you hear people in videos saying that a painter "has to use [insert product name here]" or "you won't be able to achieve good results without [insert product name here]". They might not see the inherent harm in such definitive statements, but for people looking to get into the hobby, hearing these things can be very misleading and quite daunting. All of a sudden your shopping list has gone from paint, brushes, tools and figures to "additive a" and "medium x", so on and so forth and the cost just keeps climbing because that beginning hobbyist is unaware that someone has mistaken their preference for fact.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

TheRunesmythe At the end of the day, knowledge is always power mate ;-)

[@elliotmcdeville1117]

I went to art school for two years and they never explained anything like this. Thank you. I think I will be a better artist now.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

I'll take that as a win any day :-)

[@johnandrews3518]

I've been needing this info for so long. You're the man. Thanks so much!

[@SOLCUTTA]

Thank you very much for such a great explanation! First painting video I've seen the explains how and why everything works together.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+SOLCUTTA glad it helped bud

[@HorthornNZ]

A great useful vid - I now know what to to with a random bottle of stuff I have had in my paint set for the last 15 years.

[@dudepersonvids]

After dabbling in art/painting, I started using matte medium with water and paint to get a subtler effect with my washes on models - apparently I was on to something! Thanks for explaining the science behind it in more depth, now I will have more factors and variables to keep in mind In the future.

[@Recneps27]

Good one! I'm just starting out painting minis and terrain after years as a hex-and-counter man, so I never knew the difference in enamel vs. acrylic, or how a wash differs from the base coat, etc. This vid has given me a good background. Thanks!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Bart Bandy Awesome mate, glad it helped :-)

[@billd.iniowa2263]

Dammit! I forgot about this video. I JUST finished another painting session trying to work out a problem and this came on. (KZbin Auto-play) Talk about poor timing. I coulda used this info 30 minutes ago, lol! Well I need to watch it again anyway,. One of your most informative videos Mel. Thanx.

[@vikkiwilson5069]

Excellent, really helped me understand how to work with my rock washes. Thanksyou!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Vikki Wilson Excellent :-)

[@paulward6312]

Fantastic information. Very concise and useful. Thanks.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Paul Ward glad it helped matey

[@JupiKitten]

One of the many reasons why the oops paint section of my hardware store is literally my favorite place ever. I'm glad someone said this, because people have so much trouble believing me when I try to explain it. lol

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Sssh, it's our secret! Don't tell normal artists!

[@jjab99]

Mel, Many thanks for that, it was very interesting and should help me to understand the paint and medium that I am using. Keep up the good work.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

jjab99 Glad it's helped matey :-)

[@jjab99]

It really has, many thanks.

[@christianoliver25]

Great informational video, Mel. Although I only started using medium thinner in the last year, as opposed to 15+ years of not, i have grown accustomed to it. I use Vallejo or Liquitex and often thought they were the same thing, also neither one has worked any less than the other even when in GW paints or Reaper paints. Recently i purchased Vallejo's airbrush thinner, and I swear it smells just like Windex, but is clear instead of blue.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Christian Oliver It probably is windex mate lol :-D

[@GeorgePanopoulos]

"Still learning, however old I get" Socrates said. Cannot thank you enough of all this info Mel!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

George Panopoulos Never stop learning mate, knowledge is the one thing the b*stards can't take off us.

[@GeorgePanopoulos]

TheTerrainTutor hear, hear

[@DerMartexus]

Very good information, Mel! Just water. Thanks a lot for that! :)

[@TheTerrainTutor]

***** No worries buddy, just water, who'd have thought! lol

[@dougsundseth2303]

Minor correction: Acrylic Gloss Medium is just solvent and polymer. Acrylic Matte Medium also has a dulling agent, typically talc.

[@dougsundseth2303]

Another point re the Humbrol Acrylic Thinner, from the Humbrol page here: www.humbrol.com/us-en/support/humbrol-product-guide Their acrylic thinner seems to include a flow aid (surfactant, intended to reduce surface tension). At a guess, it's probably distilled water plus flow aid, but that's only a guess. Normally it's pretty easy to find the ingredients of chemicals with a search for the Safety Data Sheet (SDS or MSDS). Safety Data Sheets are available for nearly any sort of fluid product other than foods. While you can typically find the SDS for most things with a web search, I was not able to find one for Humbrol Acrylic Thinner(s). But you can contact the company and they have to give you one on request. (It's just not all that convenient for me in the US with Humbrol in the UK.)

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Thanks for the info mate

[@begosanchezfotografia9304]

Excellent explanation. Thanks a lot.

[@AlaricCantonain]

Very very interesting video. Many thanks !

[@frenzykitty]

This was fascinating, thanks Mel!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

frenzykitty No worries matey

[@WarmasterPainting]

Thanks Mel, very informative.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

WarmasterPainting Glad it helped mate

[@Oldf0x]

Thanks mate, lots of stuff I never knew. Cheers!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

***** Glad to of helped mate :-)

[@boomerdiorama]

The gentleman is right when he says, " At the end of the day knowledge is always power." However, knowledge must be coupled with intuition if the desired result is to be achieved. Knowledge is meaningless without intuition. Intuition comes from applied experience for those who work harder than the others. Only then can talent be realised rendering knowledge as a secondary bedfellow. For example: Some of the greatest weathering effects (with paints, thinners, etc.) come from experiencing mistakes and then being able to reproduce them consistently. You can have all the knowledge you want and yet lack the ability to paint successfully if you lack experience and intuition. The best painters are predominantly self-taught, intuitive and experienced. At the end of the day, acquired intuition through experience is always power mate. The gentleman is right about his pragmatic reasoning. But then most of this is nothing new. It was discovered by intuition and experience long before the knowledge of KZbin, Social media or modernity for that matter. Knowledge is not always power. It is meaningless without experience. Ask any professional and they will often say under their breath, " I have forgotten more than most know." ;-) Good Job on the tutorials. I enjoyed watching them.

[@IDICBeer]

Really interesting stuff Professor Mel, thanks for the info

[@TheTerrainTutor]

***** I likes that! ;-)

[@thepharos]

i think your hexagon thingys are monomers, they are the functional units that chemical bond to form a polymer. I think links in a chain is a better analogy.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Tookeywhy You're not the first to say that, so I'm guessing you're right :-)

[@vikkiwilson5069]

Very happy to become a patreon supporter to support you - if only in a small way - in your honourable quest. regards V

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Vikki Wilson That's awesome, thank you so so much!

[@AnneAndersonFoxiepaws]

A polymer is a long chain of molecules...poly.=..many hexagons which are the molecules. That is the sum of my knowledge Having watched the whole thing I will definitely give it a try. I was pretty much right on what I thought each was but having heard you explain the flow one which I knew diluted better than just water, I actually understand why now, so I might not get so frustrated using acrylic paints on action figure heads (Mind you my advanced senility and bad eyesight usually makes sure every head is frustrating!).

[@sbfarmer8]

it occurs to me that flow improver is water and detergent and maybe epsom salt. I seem to remember epsom salt make water molecules fat (increases the surface tension) and detergent lessens it. im no terrain tutor nor a chemerrainist. further 'acrylic binder' I think is watered latex (or rubber) from a rubber tree.

[@jaylonrobinson7092]

Interesting making your own paints idea even more so , there is a lot to this trade

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+dani cool like you wouldn't believe mate

[@elrickinslayer5821]

Excellent vid, Mel.Really informative.I have a suspicion that the "hexagonal thingies" may be hydrocarbon rings?Personally I prefer your description.'Tis the old rose by any other name theory.Cheers.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

***** you're probably right but hexagonal thingies just sound way better :-D

[@writerbethd]

Thanks so much for explaining all that, without all the fancy mumbo-jumbo! This helps so much. I've always been the kind of person that's curious, wants and NEEDS to know how stuff works, to be able to understand the product and the project better. So thanks again for taking the time to explain it. Now when I'm painting and it does this or that, I'll know why AND how to fix it. :)

[@YesterdaysVillage]

So very helpful!! Thanks!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

YesterdaysVillage Thanks :-)

[@benjimlem1284]

Hey, maybe a stupid question but... if I want to make my own miniature (not terrain) wash (or shade, using GW name) from paint, do I need to add medium (like you said in your other video on pro terrain washes) or can I just add water with flow improver? I don't mind if its glossy, in fact I heard gloss washes (like nuln oil gloss) wash better than matte - or without extra medium it won't stick? I mean, there's enough binder in paint to hold all the pigment already, right? We add water and flow improver to make it flow smoother and make it more watery, but medium is thicker than water, right? Or do you need certain % of binder in wash or it just wont stick, and we're really just diluting the color and not the consistency? Its all more complex than I thought >_>

[@AirBnBrush]

I've been on a witchhunt for techniques regarding thinning your paints. This is exacly what i was looking for. Thanks alot m8! Do you have a recipe for how you thin your paints or when you make glazes for example? Would love to know that. Do you recommend using both water, flow improver and medium at the same time when thinning?

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Check the back to basics playlist mate

[@StrongholdCrafterKev]

Very informative, Mel. I think you were trying to use the word molecules instead of hexes or maybe bonds. Thanks for sharing.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Stronghold Crafter Kev I've been reliably informed they're referred to as molecular structures mate :-D

[@braggminiaturesAnthonyBragg]

I can honestly say that Liquitex products for me have always shown results IF used correctly.The airbrush medium is essential when diluting / making your own airbrush paints as a binder, for adhesion of paint to the surface .

[@TheTerrainTutor]

2009braggminiatures Anthony Bragg They do exactly what they're supposed to do mate, I do love liquitex's stuff.

[@jdmosaics]

TheTerrainTutor You are right but they are too expensive here in Aussie land! Their Pouring Medium is about $1.36c per ml!! Do you think it has a resin in it? It's got a strange smell and sits up on the canvas unlike many paint Flow mediums. I would love your opinion on what you think is in it if you have time. Love your video's and really enjoy learning from you.

[@DrCJSmith]

Insightful and I had a good laugh. Thanks.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Colin Smith A win on both counts! :-D

[@georgehiotis]

Long story short best to thin acrylics with water? The best tip I had was when using acrylics the best palette is foam meat tray, wet, with parchment paper on top. Keeps the paint workable for longer.

[@mrthewubbie]

Thanks for the science!!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Mr. Georgie's Miniatures Anytime mate

[@HeroesBosses]

Great tutorial!! Where I'm from you can get 4L of distilled water at WalMart for $1, and then get a "wash bottle" with a long nozzle on it, about $3 on Amazon so you can add 1 drop at a time to your paint. Also I have an unrelated question: What does "brew" mean? Where I'm from it means beer :)

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Nice! A brew is a slang term for a hot drink, typical tea or coffee over in the UK mate.

[@georgetaylor5482]

Mel this vid will help more than you know.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+George Taylor I'm curious now lol

[@georgetaylor5482]

Knowing how stuff works, is a huge help.

[@georgetaylor5482]

It struck me the other day, about being curious, I stated to laugh sometimes not the brightest bulb in the marquee.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+George Taylor LOL

[@heyyou9268]

perhaps it's been said before, but it does bear repeating: not all acrylic paints use only water as a solvent. While most of them do, some of them are alcohol based, or utilize some other volatile solvent, most notably certain metallic paints that use flake additives that are prone to oxidation in water. Most paints we use are water-based, but always be sure to double check when buying new paints.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Hey You Well said mate

[@SeniorAntonio]

Thank you

[@BGMrJames]

I have always wondered where you get them tester paint pots ( not from UK originally ), but now that I'm here I found a place to buy them... My questions is - what colours do you use - for earth/dirt, grass, concrete... and whatever else comes to mind those things can be used for? At 1,25 per pot it's most definitely worth it for terrain making! I have always liked your videos, keep up the great work, mate! Cheers!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

I don't have set colours in general mate but there's a buildings and hills painting lids with paints from wilkinsons you should be able to match.

[@BGMrJames]

Thank you! Will have to see which ones match my desired outcome and finished look.

[@carlpeachey484]

So, what are uncoloured house paint test pots made of and do they dry clear?

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Just acrylic binder mate and yes, they dry clear

[@carlpeachey484]

@@TheTerrainTutor Interesting. Wondering if they can be used instead of "Realistic Water" products

[@impulse8797]

Great, thanks!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

impulse No worries mate

[@stuartwalters96]

tamiya acrylic thinner thins model paint soooooo much better that water, distilled or not in my experience. And I'm not saying that to disregard anything Mel is saying, just sharing my experiences 😊

[@TheTerrainTutor]

stuartwalters96 It's probably got a bit of flow aid and drying retarder in mate, grab some flow improvers and give it a little comparison test :-)

[@PhuVet]

No....tamiya has Isopropyl alcohol in it. No water in it. The US EPA did a study on tamiya paints after testors tried to have them thrown out of the US. They said that it had lead in it, which the lacquer did. .00005 ppm but a trace none the less. Acrylic had Isopropyl alcohol in it. The MSDS on all US sold products are available online. You should have something similar in the EU. Just because it's called acrylic does not mean it is water based. I cannot stress that enough. There are acrylic lacquers, acrylic enamel paints and even bake on Acrylic-Ceramic hybrids.

[@zakhoskins6404]

To make things even more complicated, they also make mineral spirit based acrylics. Not common, but Golden makes them. o_0

[@davidarkwell2713]

would I be able to use still spring water for thinning my paints for airbrush

[@TheTerrainTutor]

I use tap water most of the time mate lol

[@davidarkwell2713]

thank you for your help

[@PhuVet]

Pigment, Binder and Solvant. Water is the solvant in this type of paint. In lacquer paints it's a lacquer class derivative. In enamel paint it's a hard chain pigment and binder added to a modifier solvant. In early paint it was egg for binder, plants for pigment and water or oils for solvant. Pigment gives color Binder holds it all together Solvant keeps it liquid. Not all acrylic paint is water solvant based. Tamiya is alcohol solvant based. If you add water to tamiya it will turn to cottage cheese. If you take a modern acrylic lacquer like MRP and add water it will turn to a milkshake. Acrylic paint is actually incorrectly named as such. It is called that after the binder and the rest are named after the solvant. Liquitex is the one who screwed it all up. The gloss of the media has to do with how the molecules are arranged and the arrangement of ionic charge on the molecule. Humbrol acrylic thinner has toluene in it. It acts as a solvant of course. Its flammable and water of course is not. Look up the MSDS for it. Source: First year color and science of media course at Georgetown University is where I learned about it. I have the text somewhere if I can find it, I will post the name.

[@james-and-his-stuff]

i like this vid, so is the binder basicly a thiner?

[@TheTerrainTutor]

james and his stuff No, water is the thinner for the binder mate ;-)

[@james-and-his-stuff]

ok thanks. so GW lahmian medium is manly water?

[@grisumbras]

+james and his stuff Probably, it's watered down emulsion.

[@Warriorking1963]

No Christmas card from Humbrol for you this year mate. Spoiling their little money spinner like that, how could you?? :O) Excellent video... very interesting indeed.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Warriorking1963 Well, no Christmas card, maybe a legal letter lol. Cheers buddy :-)

[@corkscrew4585]

When I paint, I use a brush cause I dont have an air-brush, it leaves strokes and you can easily tell I used a brush and the colors are darker in some places.. how do I fix this?? What am I doing wrong??

[@TheTerrainTutor]

you need thinner coats bud

[@corkscrew4585]

TheTerrainTutor How should I go about thinning them?? and do I coat it more then once??

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Aleksei Krasnov Alesnarovich a little water and yeah, a couple of thin coats is always better than one thick one ;-)

[@corkscrew4585]

TheTerrainTutor THANKS MATE!!! This helps me SO much!!!

[@Zathamiel]

also a softer brush for blending after application before it drys, can help you smooth out some of your strokes. I've even heard of people pulling out their wives blush brush since it's so fluffy it's great for blending.

[@ILikeToColourRed]

adding more acrylic medium helps when going really thing though

[@TheTerrainTutor]

ILikeToColourRed it certainly does mate ;-)

[@GrawlysLair]

Yay.... Mel does science..... We all do science!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Grawlys Lair gotta love a bit of science :-D

[@DukensteinA1]

Great!

[@TheTerrainTutor]

DukensteinA1 Cheers :-D

[@braggminiaturesAnthonyBragg]

hexagonal thingy's, i always thought that they were molecules to form molecular structures.???????????

[@TheTerrainTutor]

2009braggminiatures Anthony Bragg Ah mate, that's the pure chemistry terminology, this was an applied chemistry vid ;-D

[@dvklaveren]

Using distilled water is especially important when you are using an airbrush and you want to thin your paints with water. If you don't use distilled water, water will have small minerals and clumbs of dirt floating inside of the water which make the tiniest waterdroplets almost clumb together like they do when they form rain. It's a bit like the dirt makes the droplets static and attract each other more easily (not really, but that's the jist of it). Distilled water doesn't do this. If the water truly spread evenly as a mist, then it'll evaporate much more quickly. The acrylic will function as "dirt", of course, but there's a subtle change when using distilled water. It's not something that I have given much mind to, I'll be completely honest there, I'm only just starting with airbrushing anything. I'll experiment with it and I'll report back the results I got. I might even try airbrushing distilled water over acrylic paint to see what the effects look like, versus tapwater versus isopropyl alcohol, just to see how the physics of evaporation affect the finish. I haven't read about anyone doing that yet.

[@TheTerrainTutor]

Alderick van Klaveren although there's a difference between tap water, distilled, double distilled & de-ionised water, as soon as you start putting pigment, acrylic polymer binder in there, those difference pale into insignificance mate. Yes, you'll probably get better results using pure distilled water but not that significant that anyone would notice. Let me know how you get on with your experiments, they shouldn't effect it as acrylic is waterproof when dry.

[@Tusk926]

Great explanation but.. could you not say "ya" every 20 seconds? It gets old fast😒

[@alanhester1604]

Thank you

[@TheTerrainTutor]

+Alan Hester no worries