Acrylic primers
Acrylic primers

Acrylic primers

Create a solid base for your painting with acrylic primers, including gessos and modelling paste. Gesso provides an absorbent surface: the perfect base for acrylic and oil paints. Modelling paste is suitable for works that require more texture and volume.

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Acrylic primers

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Amsterdam Modeling paste
Amsterdam

Modeling paste

Amsterdam Primers Gesso
Amsterdam

Primers Gesso

Amsterdam Slow drying medium
Amsterdam

Slow drying medium

About Acrylic primers

Acrylic paint is versatile and works on most surfaces, as long as they’re clean and slightly absorbent. If the surface isn’t ideal, adding acrylic primers can help.

Gesso

Gesso helps you create the perfect base for your artwork on virtually any surface. It provides you with an absorbent surface after drying, which makes it the perfect base for not only acrylic paint, but for oil paint as well. Gesso can be thinned with water and applied either in thin layers or one thick layer to create more texture. Amsterdam offers three types of gessoes: transparent, black and white.

Because gesso is based on acrylic resin, you can easily mix it with your favorite acrylic colors to add some color to your background. To create lighter pastel colors, white gesso is the perfect mixing base. Use black gesso for rich, dark colors. If you want your color to stay virtually the same as in the tube, we recommend using our transparent gesso! You can also use transparent gesso on its own to show the surface you’re working on.

Acrylic binder

Acrylic binder is a product with multiple purposes. You can use it as a primer for highly absorbent surfaces such as walls or cardboard. The binder acts as a barrier between the surface and your paint to prevent the paint from being absorbed into the material. It can also be used to create your own acrylic colors using pigments of your choice. This way you always know exactly what products you’re using. Acrylic binder can also be used in mixed media techniques due to its strong adhesive properties.

Modeling paste

Add some texture to your work while creating the perfect absorbent base for your painting. With modeling paste, you can make relief backgrounds that are suitable for acrylic and oil paints. The modeling paste can be used by itself or in combination with Amsterdam acrylic colors. You can mix the colors with the modeling paste in any ratio. The paste is pigmented with Titanium White, so your color will turn out lighter than it is in the tube.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to prime the surface before using acrylic paint?

Whether you need to prime before using acrylic paint depends on the surface you want to work on. Acrylic paint can be applied to virtually any surface, as long as it’s slightly absorbent and free of dirt and grease, including but not limited to paper, cardboard, universally prepared canvases and canvas boards, unprepared canvases, stone, wood, concrete and unglazed ceramics. To prevent thinner surfaces such as cardboard and wooden panels from warping, treat both sides with a primer (acrylic binder and/or gesso).

Acrylic paint will not adhere well to smooth surfaces such as glass or plastic. Because the paint does not adhere well, it is easy to peel or scratch off during transport or use. To make sure the paint can properly adhere to the surface you’re working on, it should be free of grease and dust and slightly absorbent. If the surface is too absorbent, use acrylic binder before adding gesso. If it’s not absorbent enough, you can just use gesso.

If untreated linen is prepared with Gesso, the Gesso comes through the canvas. On the reverse side, this is visible. Is this bad, how can this possibly be remedied?

The fact that Gesso is visible on the reverse side is technically not a problem. It has to do with whether a fabric is tightly or loosely woven. In the latter case, it is more likely to occur. It is not so nice to see and can easily be remedied by first applying a layer of Amsterdam Acrylic Binder 005 before applying the Gesso. This seals the gaps in the canvas. Acrylic binder is completely transparent after drying.

Should modelling paste be applied under the paint or can I mix the paste with the paint?

Modelling paste can be seen as a thick Gesso. The paste can be applied under the paint to create relief but can also be mixed with acrylic paint in any proportion.

Can acrylic paint be used on plastic surfaces?

If a plastic surface is related in molecular composition to the paint's binder, adhesion is possible. Nevertheless, it is advisable to first treat non-absorbent grounds with an adhesive primer suitable for that material (industrial product) and then prepare the paint with Amsterdam gesso for good adhesion.

Can acrylic paint be painted directly on a brick wall?

Technically, acrylic paint can be used to paint directly on a wall. However, due to the absorption of, for example, stone, plaster and stucco, a good preparation will give a better result because, with the paint, the intensity of the colour will also be absorbed, as it were, by the wall. If the colour of the wall is to be part of the artwork, suction can be reduced with Amsterdam Acrylic Binder 005 (Acrylic Binder is a pure unpigmented acrylic dispersion that dries colourless and transparent). If a white surface is desired, the wall can be prepared as follows: brush with thinned Amsterdam Acrylic Binder ± 20% water is sufficient dilution, for strongly absorbent surfaces apply pure. Apply two layers of pure Amsterdam Gesso, let dry for 24 hours in between.

Can acrylic paint be applied directly over Amsterdam Acrylic Binder?

Acrylic binder produces a more closed paint layer. That is why you get an even better result with Amsterdam Gesso. Amsterdam Gesso is available in three colours: transparent, white and black.

Can gesso be coloured with acrylic paint ?

As a ground for acrylic paint, gesso can be coloured with acrylic paint in any proportion.