How To Thin Acrylic Paint For Acrylic Pouring - - Homebody Hall

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If you’re just learning about acrylic pouring, you may be wondering about how to thin acrylic paint so that you can use it for this beautiful art form. Well, wonder no more! I’ve got all the answers you need.

Plus I’ve also made a list of ALL of the different mediums that I have found online as a handy reference tool for you!

This post contains affiliate links, which I earn a small comission from. These are provided for your convenience, and the price isn’t increased at all.

Can you thin acrylic paint with water?

Okay, so your first inclination when you think about how do you dilute acrylic paint for pouring very well might be, “Well, I’ll just add water to it!” And this makes sense when you think about what we do for cooking and things like that, but unfortunately, it doesn’t work quite like that for acrylic paint.

Acrylic paint is water soluble, meaning that it is dissolved by water. So you can understand why you wouldn’t want to add too much water. Now, you can add small amounts of water, but the absolute max that you would want to add is about 50:50 water to paint.

If you add too much water to your paint, you run the risk of it not sticking to the surface you’re trying to paint. You can also run into cracking because the water will evaporate and cause your painting to dry too quickly.

So how should you thin acrylic paint for pouring?

Well, you need to use what’s called a medium. A medium will help your paint flow while keeping the adhesive properties of your paints. There are three main types of mediums that you can use for thinning acrylic paint for pouring: professional medium, household paint conditioner, and PVA glue.

Professional Medium

Professional mediums have been formulated for acrylic pouring or were formulated for thinning paint and people have started using in larger proportions for acrylic pouring.

In general, professional mediums have been designed to retain the color of the paint, prevent cracking and crazing during drying, improve the flow of the paint, and provide protection and durability to your painting. Professional mediums are also generally non-yellowing.

So, with all of these benefits, you may be asking yourself, “Why would one choose anything else as a medium?” Well, for the most part, the only downside of professional mediums is the cost.

Household Paint Conditioner

To combat the issue of the higher cost of professional mediums, many fluid artists turn to something called household paint conditioner. Household paint conditioners were originally developed to reduce brush strokes in latex house paint and to thin latex house paint for use in paint sprayers.

However, household paint conditioner, Floetrol in particular, has also become super popular in the acrylic pouring scene and is a great way to thin acrylic paint for pouring. In fact, this is what I use to thin my paints as well.

The best thing about household paint conditioner is that it is super accessible, being that you can get it at almost any hardware store and that it is very affordable, especially in comparison to professional mediums.

The one drawback to household paint conditioner as a pouring medium is that it generally produces a matte result in the dried work, but you can use a gloss varnish or epoxy after your painting is dry to achieve that glossy look.

PVA Glue

The third way you can thin acrylic paint for pouring is by making your own medium. The main ingredient in this process is usually some sort of PVA glue. Like the household paint conditioners, the main benefit to making your own medium is price and accessibility.

As with the household paint conditioner, the one drawback to PVA glue as a pouring medium is that it generally produces a matte result in the dried work, but, again, you can use a gloss varnish or epoxy after your painting is dry to achieve that glossy look.

The other thing that I might be concerned about with PVA glue is yellowing, so I would pay attention to each product and what they say about yellowing.

In the table below, I only included two brands of PVA glue, the most common that I see used, Elmer’s Glue-all, and one that I will be trying soon that has a neutral pH and is archival, meaning that it won’t deteriorate and discolor. There are a ton of other options for PVA glue though, so feel free to explore that further.

About These Reference Tables

Each product you use for a medium will give you a different result while pouring. I have not tried all of these, but I wanted to gather all of the options for you in one convenient place to aid you in comparing and contrasting and to make your life a little bit easier.

As far as the star ratings, these were gathered from the retailers and averaged and are out of 5. If you are looking at something like the household paint conditioner or glue, you are probably seeing mostly ratings for the product as it was intended to be used, not as a pouring medium, so keep that in mind.

Be sure to read reviews and do your due diligence before buying anything. There are also quite a few acrylic pouring Facebook groups where you might want to ask for product reviews and recommendations.

The prices are for the size indicated, but for most products there are a variety of sizes available at different prices. Prices may also be different at the time you’re reading this from when I posted this.

Click each retailer to shop that particular retailer for each product. (Most of the links in these tables are affiliate links, which means if you purchase I get a small commission at no extra cost to you.)

Professional Mediums

Product	Retailers	Price (U.S. Dollars)	Size	Star Rating
GAC 100	AmazonBlickMichael’s	$11.33-20.99	8 oz.	4.75
GAC 800	AmazonBlickMichael’s	$11.33-20.99	8 oz.	4.7
Liquitex PouringMedium	AmazonBlickMichael’s	$29.12-39.99	32 oz.	4.4
DecoArt Pouring Medium	AmazonBlickMichael’s	$9.98-12.30	16 oz.	3.77
Pebo Studio AcrylicsProuing Medium	AmazonBlick	$11.99-15.00	250 ml	5
Chroma AtelierPouring Medium	Blick	$9.61	8 oz.	5
US Art Supply GlossPouring Effects Medium	Amazon	$23.96	32 oz.	4.1
Mont Marte PremiumAcrylic Flow Medium	Amazon	$15.99	16.9 oz.	4.4
Sargent Art AcrylicGloss Medium	Amazon	$18.93	32 oz.	4
Sargent Art AcrylicPouring Medium	Amazon	$9.79-13.60	16 oz.	3.9
Novaplex 233	Nova Color	$13.50	1 quart
Novaplex 235	Nova Color	1$13.00	1 quart
Solo Goya PouringFluid Acrylic Medium	AmazonKraftika	$24.52-27.62	500 ml	2.5
Viva DecorPouring Medium	Amazon	$12.31	0.5 Liters	4.2
Vallejo Pouring Medium	Blick	$16.50	500 ml	4.4
Folkart PouringMedium	AmazonMichael’s	$9.99-13.71	16 oz.	5
Tri-Art Liquid GlassPouring Medium	Blick	$19.27	500 ml	5
Chromacryl Pouring Medium	Blick	$13.24	16 oz.
Artist’s Loft Pouring Medium	Michael’s	$12.99	16.9 oz.	4.1
Hand Made ModernPaint Pouring Medium	Target	$7.99	8 oz.
Amsterdam AcrylicPouring Mediums	Jerry’s Artarama	$13.99	250 ml	5
Lukas AcrylicPouring Mediums	Jerry’s Artarama	$13.69	500 ml	4.4
Impresa Products Pouring Effects Medium	Amazon	$24.99	32 oz.	3.4

Household Paint Conditioners

Product	Retailer	Price (U.S. Dollars)	Size	Star Rating
Flood Floetrol	Amazon	$6.97	1 quart	4.7
Flood Floetrol	Home DepotLowe’s	$13.97$14.67	1 gallon	4.6
Wagner Paint Easy Latex Paint Conditioner	Amazon	$13.98	32 oz.	4.6
Owatrol	Amazon	$16.84	1 liter	4.4
XIM Latex X-Tender Flow and Leveling Additive	Amazon	$27.85	1 gallon	4.3

PVA Glues

Product	Retailer	Price(U.S. Dollars)	Size	Star Rating
Elmer’s Glue-All	Amazon	$14.97	1 gallons	4.7
Lineco Neutral pH Adhesive	Amazon	$10.18	8 oz.	4.3

Go Forth and Pour!

Now that you know how to thin acrylic paint for pouring, you’re all set to get started experimenting and creating beautiful art!!

I’ve gotten quite a few questions from people looking for mediums in different places around the world, and I think your best bet would be to look for either PVA glue or a water-based latex paint conditioner at a hardware store.

If you’re pouring for the first time and would like more explanation on materials, processes, and terms, you can head on over to my Beginner’s Guide to Acrylic Pouring. You can also head over to my Comprehensive Guide to Acrylic Pouring Techniques for more information on all of the different techniques.

And If you’re curious about colors and color theory as it relates to acrylic pouring, head on over to my post about Choosing Colors for Acrylic Pouring and grab your FREE printable Color Wheel and Color Scheme Guides.

As always, check out my updates on Facebook and Instagram and feel free to peruse Homebody Hall for more fluid art tips, tricks, and tutorials! Also head over to Youtube and subscribe to get my videos sent to you as soon as they come out!!