Painting with acrylics is so awesome because they come in such vibrant colors, and they have a quick dry time compared to other types of paint. The downside to the quick dry time is that you might not be finished with your painting yet, and sometimes your paint will end up drying or getting lumpy in your palette.
You may also be excited to paint, only to find your paints lumpy inside the bottle. But don’t worry, in this article we will go over everything you need to know on how to fix lumpy acrylic paint.
So, how do you fix lumpy acrylic paint? If the lumps are on the painting, you can gently sand them down and re-paint it. If the lumps are in the container, then you can add a little paint thinner to restore the paint.
How to Fix a Lumpy Acrylic Painting
What You’ll You Need:
Wet Dry Sand Paper (220 grit) I recommend this one from Amazon because of the amount you get and it’s a great quality one to use on acrylic paintings.
So, if your paint is lumpy on your painting, what you need to do first is place your painting on an even and hard surface. You want to gently wipe anything that could be on it such as dust, with a cloth. You’ll want to get your 220 grit sandpaper and very gently go over the little bumps, without adding too much pressure so you don’t remove the paint.
You should notice the lumps going down and eventually completely away. Just make sure to be consistent on all the lumps so your painting can look even. Although it might be time consuming, depending on how many lumps you have, it’ll definitely be worth it in the end.
Next, you want to repaint over the sanded down area, you can even use a darker color if you want that extra coverage.
How to Fix Lumpy Acrylic Paint in Containers
What You’ll Need:
Fine Mesh Mini Strainer This one from Amazon is my top pick because it’s small in size, perfect for paint, durable and a bang for your money. Acrylic Paint Thinner like this one is great for restoring that lumpy paint.
Sometimes we don’t close the lids properly, or the paints we have are just too old. We might have even stored them in the wrong temperature, and they clumped together. So with that said, how do we fix lumpy acrylic paint in containers? Well, you will need to add some acrylic paint thinner to the paints an stir them until you no longer feel the clumps. You can check out the paint thinner I recommended above, it works extremely well with acrylic paints.
However, if the paint is very clumpy and dried, it might not be able to be saved. Sometimes there is just no reversing the dried up paint chemicals, and you are better off buying new paints.
How Do You Prevent Brush Strokes Marks When Painting?
Avoiding brush marks and streaks is every artist’s ultimate goal while painting. We spend a lot of energy working on the project, so we of course want it to look professionally done.
So what’s the secret? Well first you need the right paintbrush. If you’re not painting with the right one for your canvas, wood or surface you are working on, it will potentially lead to brush marks and run the painting. For regular canvas paintings, I use flat brushes, and for other surfaces like cabinets or larger projects I sometimes use a roller. It works amazing and dries super fast!
Tips for Avoiding Brush Strokes
- Don’t press too hard. If the brush fibers start to fan out, you are pressing too hard.
- Smooth over your details
- If you miss a spot or made a mistake, smooth it with sandpaper when dry and the next coat will fix it.
- Apply thin coats and reapply often.
- Paint in the same direction
The type of paint you use matters as well. I always prefer satin artist grade acrylic paints, as to students matte quality. You’d be surprised even the brand makes a difference because of the quality you are paying for.
I really hope this article helped you with your painting project! Don’t forget to check out my other articles and my Recommended Products Page for my tops picks with everything you need for painting with acrylics.
Happy painting!
