Acrylic Paint Density (BETA)
Please read the description below the chart for more information on how to use paint density information with your acrylic paint pouring.
| Product | Color Name | LightfastLF1 | OpacityOP | Density2 |
|---|
1Lightfast – Refers to the ASTM Rating.
2Density – Otherwise know as Specific Gravity – Guestimated based on pigments used in paint.
^ – Lightfast not tested according to ASTM Ratings. 1*** = 1, 1** = 2, and 1* = 3. (Label value = ASTM equivalent)
NOTICE: This is a work in progress. All of the painting density information is calculated based on the pigments used in each paint. Since I don’t know the exact percentage of each pigment, some assumptions were made. While this numbers aren’t 100% scientific they should at least give you an idea of how heavy/dense your acrylic paint is in relation to other paints. Please email me with any feedback or corrections to my Contact Us page.
Specific gravity, or paint density in acrylic pour terms, refers to the weight of the paint compared to the same volume of water. For acrylic pouring this is very important for understanding which paints sink and which paints float and the easist way to do this is to know their relative densities compared to one another. Manipulating paints based on density creates many of the fluid dynamic effects we see in acrylic paint pouring including cells and lacing.
The amount of pigments in each paint will differ from brand to brand and even paint to paint. The pigments is only ONE piece of the total mixture of paint as it can have filler material, binders, polymers, etc. The amounts of all of these different additives along with the quality of each can affect the overall density of the paint.
The density of the paint is not the only quality that can affect how a paint interacts with another. Sheen seems to also affect some paint’s cell creating ability (Low sheen / matte paints like Amsterdam are one example of this)
You should test the paints you want to use with each other to better understand how they interact with each other during your acrylic pour. This spreadsheet is provided as a guide to get you started long that path.