The Paint Pouring Materials You Need To Start
Updated: Sep 15
It can be a little overwhelming to wrap your head around the art supplies you need for acrylic pouring. Rather than explore every possible alternative for art supplies, in this article, I'm going to try and provide one simple starter kit that you can use if you're unsure about what to buy.
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Paint Pouring Materials
Medium Body Acrylic Paint
The obvious starting point is Acrylic Paint. What a lot of beginners get wrong here is they buy the 2oz bottles that say "Pouring Paint" or "Premixed Paint" and use those in place of standard tube paint. Do not do that. They are not interchangeable. Those are designed to be used straight out of the container, but you miss out on learning consistency. That's why I'm recommending the discounted Amsterdam Primary set. Black, White, and the primary colors in 4oz tubes. These are what are referred to as "medium body paints." This will teach you how good paints behave, and what consistency they should be out of the container.
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Pouring Medium
There are so many options for a pouring medium, but the best and cheapest place to start is US Floetrol. Floetrol will make your life much easier as a cost-effective pouring medium. It's not without downsides, but as a beginner, you don't need your art materials to be archival just yet. Consider moving away from it to a retail pouring medium as you start to sell expensive paintings. If you're in Europe, Owatrol Paint Conditioner is the next best alternative. If not available, look for a retail pouring medium. If you're in Australia, the Keep it Simple Pouring Medium is a great option.
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Canvas
A surface to paint on is obviously needed. We want to avoid canvas boards as they can't handle the amount of moisture in acrylic pouring and will warp as they dry. I recommend a set of student-grade canvases to start on, as you won't need to invest in expensive canvas just yet.
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Silicone Oil
Silicone Oil is one of the several ways to create cells in acrylic pouring. I consider it the easiest to grasp and use for beginners. One container will last you forever, as you are literally using it in single-drop increments.
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Kitchen Torch
The Kitchen Torch has two uses. It is one of the fastest ways to get rid of bubbles without ruining the composition of your paintings. The second use is silicone oil-related, where it spot-heats silicone oil droplets mixed in the paint, bringing them to the surface if they were not already.
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Silicone Mat
Do yourself a huge favor and buy a silicone mat. It will keep your workspace clean, and it will save you money on using plastic tarps, and paint and other pouring materials will peel right off when dry.
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Nitrile Gloves
Use Nitrile Gloves instead of Latex to avoid any allergy or skin-sensitivity issues. While contact with water-based materials is generally non-toxic, prolonged skin contact with acrylic paint may cause skin irritation and/or allergic reactions.
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Measuring Cups & Sticks or Spoons
When following recipes, you will generally be given a part system like "2 parts pouring medium to 1 part paint," I have been using volume to measure recipes, so you will need measuring cups or spoons, as well as sticks to mix the paint with. Flat sticks also make drizzling the paint to check for consistency easier. Round sticks do not drizzle paint properly.
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Spin Table (Optional)
The spin table is optional, but a lot of fun. If you want to try it out, avoid plastic spinners as they wobble, and give you very few rotations. You don't want to be pushing the spin table really hard as it will make the paint shoot outwards too much. It's best to invest in an aluminum spinner. These spin very smoothly and easily without you having to push them very hard.
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If you're ready to take your acrylic pouring to the next level, check out the Acrylic Pouring for Beginners online course
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