Acrylic Emulsion Paints

[Acrylic Polymer Tempera] - Studio Manufacture of
Acrylic Emulsion Paints

In order to save money or to produce paints with special characteristics, some artists combine the acrylic emulsion medium with artist-grade dry pigments to produce paints and primings. When one of the prepared acrylic polymer tempera mediums is used as a binder, the dry pigment is combined directly with the medium by simply mixing them with a palette knife on the glass palette. It is important to use sufficient binder to insure a film that is not overpigmented.

If the acrylic emulsion Rhoplex AC-234 is employed as the principal ingredient in the binder, various materials are added to the emulsion to produce paints that behave desirably. One such additive is sodium polyacrylate called Acrysol [Rohm and Haas Co .] GS; another is an ammonium polyacrylate solution called Acrysol G-110. These are thickening agents which give the paint a more buttery quality. The amounts used must be carefully regulated to prevent the paints from becoming too stiff. Another polymer that can be combined with Rhoplex AC-234 is the acrylic emulsion polymer Rhoplex B85. This material, in small amounts [up to 20 percent], is used to produce harder films and to eliminate the slight tackiness that is characteristic of the dried films of Rhoplex AC-234. Small amounts of wetting agents and pigment dispersants are also used, especially if the dry pigment selected does not combine readily with the Rhoplex emulsion. Tamol [Rohm and Haas Co .] 731 [25 percent] is a product designed to keep the pigment well dispersed in the paint. No more dispersant should be used than is necessary to obtain a smooth paint, free of lumps. Triton [Rohm and Haas Co . ] CF-10 can be employed as a wetting agent to make it easier to mix different pigments with the binder.

Artists should be aware that the preparation of high-quality paints and mediums employing the synthetic resin materials is not a simple procedure. Very few of the ingredients are available on a retail basis from conventional art supply stores; usually they require special ordering. Each of the additives [thickeners, wetting agents, and dispersants] [p. 195] acts in a specific way, and their selection and use requires careful formulations by a skillful technician. Whenever possible the painter should use the prepared artists' acrylic tempera paints and mediums sold by reliable manufacturers. These products can be purchased in quantities up to one gallon when economy is a requisite, and their quality will usually be far superior to paints made by the artist. [pp. 195-196]

[Kay, Reed. The Painters Guide to Studio Methods and Materials. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1983.]