Painting latex with latex and acrylic

Troy Mccombs

I've painted lots of masks throughout the years. Sometimes they get very "stiff" and lose their stretch. I usually do base coats with acrylic paints mixed with water and latex. Just wondering... would it be the latex causing the stiffness or the acrylic paints? (I use cheap applebarrel paint).

Darrell Green

Acrylics are definitely the hardest and less flexible of the two. I think of it as the difference between automotive paint and house paint. Fingernail paints are acrylic and chip but if it were latex you could peel it away in one piece. I am not sure I have ever seen them successfully mixed before so that in itself is out of my experience. I would guess it might undermine the standard character of both paints or it might create something new with traits unknown to me. I could see it working in layers fully dried but the acrylics would still end as stiff.

Chris Ellerby

Latex is an organic rubber, and over time can become stiff, gummy, or even brittle when it gets really dried out.

If you are mixing your acrylics with latex, they should not be adding any noticeable stiffness other than that caused by adding more latex.

/Chris

Troy Mccombs

I have done a few masks in the past where I did the base coats in FW inks (which I won't use again as base coat, simply because it takes a lot of that paint--not cheap--to do a whole mask), and they never lost their rubbery stretch. So it's gotta be either the latex or the acrylics causing them to become hard. Probably the acrylics--I'm using cheapy Apple barrel paints. I don't know what paints I can use for base coats, if this is the case.

Darrell Green

Big rescind on my earlier comment. I claim allergy fog. I was describing enamels, not acrylics. Between acrylics and latex, it is as Chris mentioned, acrylic is the more durable and long lasting of the two. The more latex involved, the higher the likelihood of cracking later on. They will mix (again, I was thinking enamels not acrylics) but where the acrylic might have lasted by itself, it is less durable with the latex added. Maybe try with acrylic only. I know you mentioned the acrylic  was the cheaper brand but I am curious if it would still last longer simply due to the difference in its structure (solvent rather than water thinned). Acrylics are definitely known for their durability vs latex. Sorry for the misdirection, had my brain on standby apparently.