Flo-Improver vs Medium

[J2FcM]

Hello,

I see that a lot of people here tend to use W&N flo enhancer here for things such as glazes and what not. I in fact use it as well.

But my question is, what about matte\\glaze mediums? From my understanding, a medium would be better suited for glazes than a flo enhancer. The flo enhancer should be more useful for washes.

I\'m really not arguing one way or the other, but after reading: http://www.darkvine.com/articles/thinproblem.htm
(again)
it would seem the mediums would have more over all use.
Finally, what is the difference between matte, and glaze medium?

gracias in advance.

 

[Ritual]

Matte medium is just for making the paint matte, nothing else. Glaze medium, as far as I know, pretty much IS a flow enhancer.

 

[donga666]

Flow improver= Is designed for acrylic paint to break surface tension and \'improve the flow\'. This makes blending and layering easier.

Matt & Glaze meduim= means of making glazes and inks increase \'viscosity\'. AND some will also get rid of that nasty gloss/sheen you get with inks.

I use both at differant times, glaze mediums/matt medium make inks more userfriendly and stop \'pooling\'. Flowimprover is the nuts! I have a bottle of 1/5 Flow improve 4/5 water with a squirt of \'drying retarder\'. Makes painting and blending a much happier place

Does that help or am I talking crap???

 

[J2FcM]

I see I see. So, in general, medium has a lesser place in the hearts of mini painters, than does flo enhancer.

But still, flo enhancer in a glaze, wouldn\'t that make it more likely to flo into recesses and what not? and dont u want even coverage with a glaze... not flowing into cracks and rippling miniature muscles

 

[DrEvilmonki]

Originally posted by J2FcM
I see I see. So, in general, medium has a lesser place in the hearts of mini painters, than does flo enhancer.

But still, flo enhancer in a glaze, wouldn\'t that make it more likely to flo into recesses and what not? and dont u want even coverage with a glaze... not flowing into cracks and rippling miniature muscles

Glazes are all about control. As such you should never have so much on your brush that it floods the area anyway otherwise it just becomes a wash.
What the flow enhancer does is allow the paint, ink or whatever you are using spread evenly over the surface you are applying it to. It seems to help prevent \"tide marks\"

I use a matte medium because I use a lot of inks for glazes and future floor wax for my flow improver (both of which will leave a semi gloss look)

 

[MClimbin]

I had a similar question over at the Reaper boards some time ago, and started a huge conversation that made all this clear (to me, at least). Go check it out, if you like:
http://www.reapermini.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=21132&hl=medium

 

[Ritual]

That discussion on the Reaper forums is bizarre! They seem to have put so much effort into studying all those additives, and in the end you don\'t really need them (like someone had concluded after much effort). Plain water is all you need if you know how to control the paint (and that is something I recommend everyone to learn)!

Retarder and stuff that affects the shine of the paint can be useful, though.

 

[EricJ]

I agree, some people seem to take SO MUCH TIME figuring out all these additives, and in my opinion they are for the most part just a crutch for good painting technique. Instead of taking the time to learn about them all, take time learning about how to control how to apply paint, which, I would bet, would help the end result FAR more.

I never used any additive and am thankful for it, because it made me learn to control my paints properly, rather than rely on some chemical means to do it for me. Plain water for me all the way!

And they pretty much all taste REAL bad.

 

[MClimbin]

Originally posted by EricJ
Plain water for me all the way!

C\'mon Eric, everyone knows your a zealot when it comes to this. I mean, jeez man, are you still only using the GW brushes too?!? lol

Just kidding, you know...no one can dispute that you know how to manipulate your paint. Ritual, too, for that matter. The discussion on the Reaper boards was useful to me, though, because I had been getting so much differing advice about what to add to my paints, everything from floor polish to \'Ardcoat to matt medium to retarder to flow aid. I was trying a lot of different things and not really understanding how they were different or what effect they would have on the way the paint worked. Once I understood what each additive did, I was able to stop using much of the cr*p and ended up with just water and a little flow-aid, similar to what Sue Wachowski suggested.

It\'s true that simplifying the process had the effect of allowing me more control over my paint--but I had to understand what was going on with everything before I could get a handle on it. It\'s an ongoing process, of course, I still have tons to learn.

And I\'m certainly not above using a glaze medium now and again.

 

[Ritual]

My definitive advice on this matter is the following:

1. Learn to paint using only water! That way you will not need most of the various additives.

2. If you\'re using additives, only use them when you absolutely have to, since most of them have negative effects on the paint (separating pigment from binder, creating gloss, etc.). For instance, I use retarder when I shade and highlight larger areas, but only then! For most purposes the usual drying time is enough.

 

[Orb]

ohhh....gonna have to find me some wet water.....

I\'m with R & EJ. Learn with water principally, then experiment with additives if you still feel you need to.

 

[MPJ]

I\'ve recently started using Flow Improver to restore dried out (well mostly dried out) paints, seems to work quite well, only a few drops in a bottle goes a long way and it seems to be doing a better job than water.

Used the word \'seems\' a few times there mostly because I\'ve only tried this a few times over the past few weeks.

 

[MClimbin]

Seems good advice, but I\'d add one sub point. I\'m basically repeating myself, but just wanted to make the point clear.

Originally posted by Ritual
My definitive advice on this matter is the following:

1. Learn to paint using only water! That way you will not need most of the various additives.

2. If you\'re using additives, only use them when you absolutely have to, since most of them have negative effects on the paint (separating pigment from binder, creating gloss, etc.). For instance, I use retarder when I shade and highlight larger areas, but only then! For most purposes the usual drying time is enough.

3. Understand the effect each additive or medium will have on the paint. This entails that prior to that that you have to understand what acrylic paint is, how it\'s made, and how it works. That\'s what the thread on the Reaper boards was about.

mc

(ps: the only time I\'ve seen separation is when *too much* water is added. One way to avoid this with paints that separate easily (*cough*VMC*cough*) is to add glaze medium, since it is essentially the same stuff that is the binder)

pss to MJP:Sounds like a good suggestion too. I\'d suggest being careful how much flow improver you use, though, as according to Liquitex, if you use too much (more than 10% or so), it will affect adhesion.

:beer::drunk::beer: