PhotoFlo to break tension?

jugglervr

New member
Hey,
I see lots of talk about adding dish soap and Future Floor (something_or_other) to allow paint to spread better...

I was wondering if anyone has used (or heard of) PhotoFlo. It\'s used in photography (1-2 drops in your film rinsewater) to prevent water spots appearing on your negatives after developing. My photo lab manager described it as \"cascade, basically.\" It comes to mind because it should be generally archival safe and shouldn\'t leave a residue of any kind (i mean, people use it on their photo negatives, which hang around for years and years).

I was going to add a drop to my bottle of thinner, but I wanted to make sure there wasn\'t, like, a known reaction that would, you know... destroy the universe. ;)
 
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Shadzar

Guest
don\'t know about either photoflo or your thinner.

thinenr should probably be water as most paints used nowadays are water based.

what kind of paints are you using that requires a special thinner?

Future works with acrylics because it is acrylic. mostly clear and semi-gloss. so it doesn\'t breakdown the pigment as too much water would.

does your thinner usually breakdown the paints and make then clumpy or more liquidy?
 

jugglervr

New member
Well, the thing is, I haven\'t painted in years. Got a new batch of vallejo game color, and I hear that vallejo breaks rather badly with too much water. I hear that vallejo thinner is good because it contains more acryllic medium.

I don\'t actually have any experience with vallejos breaking. ;)

I\'ve just become somewhat anal retentive over the last few years and am enjoying polishing the sink trap prior to actually putting paint to primer.
 

Dragonsreach

Super Moderator
Since Photo-flo is basically a detergent base it shouildn\'t be any real difference to the thinning agents/drying retarders used in mini painting.

But while I have used them I still prefer water and will recommend clean water as my primary means of dilution. Whether you use Distilled or not is your personal choice dependant on the water quality in your area.
 
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Shadzar

Guest
ah well i am cheap. so for cost to quantity i use Future. don\'t use Vallejo that often so can\'t really tell much about it. but future will tend to dry up and harder if you use too much. a single drop in a GW paint pot helps the water not breakdown the pigment so much i have found. mixing paint yuo could jsut put some on your pallete and add the paint directly.

Future: 798ml @ $6
Vallejo Thinner: 17ml @ $3

i don\'t think a price/quantity comparison is needed there but....

798ml of Vallejo Thinner (47 bottles) would cost $141.

i would take an empty dropper and just put Future in it myself.

i don\'t like any detergent products as then tend to give me bubbles. and that just means dried paint in the bottle/pot.
 

Einion

New member
Originally posted by jugglervr
I see lots of talk about adding dish soap and Future Floor (something_or_other) to allow paint to spread better...
Dishwashing liquid isn\'t really used for the same things as Future.

Dishwashing liquid is used to break surface tension only, which helps to prevent tide marks and helps washes act in a certain way. Future is used for washes too, but not for the same effect.

Future, being an acrylic liquid, acts as a medium (additional binding agent) so for example if you thinned one part paint with 100 parts Future the thin veil of colour you were left with would still adhere just fine, although it would be very glossy obviously. Dishwashing liquid, in common with flow-aid, flow improver and retarders, can\'t be added in large proportions without the paint having problems with not drying or bonding properly.

Originally posted by jugglervr
I was wondering if anyone has used (or heard of) PhotoFlo.... I was going to add a drop to my bottle of thinner, but I wanted to make sure there wasn\'t, like, a known reaction that would, you know... destroy the universe. ;)
It\'s certainly worth a shot if it\'s cheap (although it would be hard to be cheaper than dishwashing liquid I would have thought). You might like to see if you can find its MSDS, that could show what it\'s made of.

Einion
 
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