Flow Aid
Additive
Improve flow, absorbency
and blending

1/2

1/2
Dramatically increase the flow of your color/mediums while minimizing brush strokes.
Sizes
4oz/118ml
4oz/118ml
Use with
Acrylic paints & mediums | check |
Use on
All acrylic-friendly surfaces | check |
Techniques
Flow art | check |
Colour washing | check |
Watercolor techniques | check |
Staining & bleeding effects | check |
Character
Lightfast & archival | check |
Permanent | check |
Non-yellowing | check |
Flexible & non-cracking | check |
Water-resistant when dry | check |
Intermixable with all Liquitex materials | check |
What it does
- Breaks water tension to improve flow and lower viscosity
- Gives a smooth finish with less brush strokes due to reduced surface friction
- Increases transparency and makes color more absorbent and blendable
How to use it
- Fully intermixable with all Liquitex products
- First dilute your concentrated Flow Aid with water - 1 part Flow Aid to 20 parts water - distilled water will give the best results. Use 1 part Flow Aid to 10 parts water if you want a more concentrated effect
- Add up to 25% of diluted Flow Aid to your color/medium and stir slowly to avoid foaming. If it does foam, leave it to sit while the foam disappears
- If applying to an absorbent surface, your color/medium will sink in like a stain or dye; if using on a non-absorbent surface your color/medium will be more fluid and take longer to dry
How not to use it
- Do not use Flow Aid undiluted as it results in poor acrylic adhesion, cracking, tackiness and water sensitivity
- As this is an additive – with no acrylic binders - do not add more than 25% to your color/medium and do not mix with other additives. This can cause excessive shrinkage, cracking and the acrylic film to break down
- Do not shake or stir too vigorously as foam will form
- Don't use for marbling as it breaks the surface tension of the water
- Do not use with any non-acrylic media
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Tips & Techniques
Useful guides for using additives
Flow Aid FAQs
Other artists have asked us...
-
No it is the same ever-popular Liquitex Flow Aid as before, we just thought we would communicate its formula better by including the word 'additive' to the title. In this way users can see it is an additive rather than a medium and therefore needs to be handled differently. -
The three Liquitex Pouring Mediums are designed specifically for pouring, with a slow surface drying time to give a stable, crack-free finish. Choose from gloss, matte and iridescent options. -
A good question. Additives are used to adjust the chemistry of acrylic paints, but they are very different to the rest of the mediums family. Most acrylic mediums contain high proportions of acrylic resins, but additives do not. With most acrylic mediums, you can add as much as you like to your color without weakening the stability of the acrylic film, while additives will dilute the strength of the acrylic film. This means that you need to be more careful about how much you mix into to your paint or it will have issues around drying, tackiness, separation and durability. Our four additives offer really useful individual benefits, so just make sure you follow the directions for use before starting to work with them.