"Revive paint that is drying out?" Topic

What should I add? Water? Acrylic medium? Just throw away? it is sort of sludgy now, not completely dried out.

Try adding water, giving it a good stir, and see how it goes….

50% Rubbing Alcohol. That will loosen the paint particles bonds and hopefully break it up.

Just throw it out. I never have any luck reviving paint…

What is this "acrylic medium" that I keep hearing about? Is it that much better than thinning with plain water?

Acrylic medium is the liquid that the paint pigments colour.
Lots of different kinds, gloss, flat or matte. It's a colourless liquid, effectively a colorless paint before the pigments are added.

YouTube link
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I've had mixed results restoring acrylic paints. I used an eye dropper or dripped clean water one drop at a time from a clean brush. Then thoroughly shook it to mix it up. It took some time; can be a slow process adding one or two drops at a time but I have had success.

Yes to the medium.

Water rarely works well; I tried yesterday, really worked at it, and could never get it back to the proper consistency.

Entirely depends on the type of paint:
Water based acrylics – water
Enamels – white spirit

But note that you can never revive paint that has dried out completely.

If it has gone too far, it is gone.

The binding agent in a paint can not be driven backwards.

But if we are taking about water based paint, the binding agent is most likely acrylic. If you are lucky, and catch it, you can dilute the paint again, and again. But adding just water will drive it to a point were the binder is so dilute it will never bind. Now, I have been at this game for a very long time and I have paints from 1976 (Poly-S) that still work. My trick was adding Future Floor Finish (which is not a wax, but acrylic media with a very good flow agent.) See: link

Using this as an additive, maintains the binder needed to allow the paint to set and cure properly. And it has the advantage of being very low cost! If you need to maintain a heavier body (greater viscosity) then you will want to mix in a more expensive media.

DyeHard but what is Future Floor Wax today?
They keep changing the name

I've had good luck with several just with water. A few wouldn't revive.

I use artist paints which are thick to start. I thin with my pre-mixed "Acrylic Thinner" which is 1:1 wet water and acrylic Matte Media.

Pure thinner would use acrylic Gloss Media; that is actually straight acrylic media, whereas matte medium also has an additive to dull the shine. But I nearly always want the matte finish.

(Wet water is filtered or distilled water with 2-4 drops dishwasher rinse aid. You can also buy an art store surface tension reducer such as Liquitex Flow Aid to mix up manufacturer-approved wet water.)

If you don't want to mix your own acrylic thinner, acrylic airbrush thinner is basically the same and is pre-mixed.

For thickening hobby paint, as others say above, if the paint has started to cure then it can't be rescued. But if it is just thick from evaporation, water will thin it out but if there isn't enough binder you create a wash. Acrylic thinner is better since it adds acrylic media also; it ensures more paint-like results.

Also, with thick paint, stir to mix it thoroughly. This will also find strings or skins of cured paint if they are there, which you can pull out and throw away.

I usually just add water, but this doesn't work on some makes (Revell ? Tamiya ?) which presumably need the proper thinner because they are not simply water based.

In the USA, the name of the day for Future is:
SC Johnson, Pledge Floor Care Multi-Surface Finish

The test is the label viewed through the body and contents of the bottle:
SC Johnson, Pledge Floor Care Multi-Surface Finish

Front like:

The word "Finish" is another key, not a cleaner, but a new Finish for your floors or your miniatures.
A thousand and one modeling uses, yet one $9 USD bottle will last years.

Very informative, thank you.