Ratios for Slow-Dri and Flow-Aid

[JoyrexJ9]

Hi, I'm a long time painter that took a extended break from things and in the last couple of years got back into it.
I'm conscious my techniques are little out of date so I've been trying various new things out. One of these was using additives with my water.

I've got some Liquitex "Slow-Dri" fluid retarder and some Liquitex "Flow Aid". I tried them a little bit but haven't noticed them making a much of a difference.
So ... what ratios do you guys uses when mixing these with water? Should I make an "all-purpose" mix with a bit of both in? or keep them separate?

Sorry for the noob questions, help me drag my painting out of the 90s! :wink:

 

[Wyrmypops]

I've done that. Made an eye dropper bottle with the ratios of slowdri and flowaid to distilled water (am in a hard water area so the distilled makes a difference).

I honestly don't notice much of a difference, but I know it's there. It doesn't dry out the same, in clumps, but evenly. So using that last little bit on the palette isn't liable to add anything unsightly (lumps) on to the mini.

Don't often have to mix up the same paint either. That being the case with the small areas ain't a surprise, but along with putting the right amount of paint on the palette followed by a drop or two from the eye dropper makes even the basecoat process less of a problem than I recall.

 

[JoyrexJ9]

I'm in a very hard water area so was thinking of finding some distilled water, but that's not my main concern at the moment.
What ratio of mix do you use? e.g. water to flow-aid / water to slow-dri 5:1? 10:1? 20:1? I really don't know what I should be trying.

 

[Bloodhowl]

I'm in a very hard water area so was thinking of finding some distilled water, but that's not my main concern at the moment.
What ratio of mix do you use? e.g. water to flow-aid / water to slow-dri 5:1? 10:1? 20:1? I really don't know what I should be trying.

Start here:
[h=4]Directions[/h]

• Liquitex Flow-AidTM is a concentrate. Dilute with water before mixing into paint. Distilled water is best, since quality of tap water varies.
• Minimum dilution: 1 part Liquitex Flow-Aid to 10 parts distilled water to achieve Flow-Aid Water.
• Normal dilution: 1 part Liquitex Flow-Aid to 20 parts distilled water to achieve Flow-Aid Water.
• Do not use undiluted. Using undiluted may result in poor paint adhesion, cause paint to crack, remain tacky and become water sensitive.
• Do not shake or rapidly stir. This will increase foaming of Liquitex Flow-Aid. Wait until foaming has subsided before using.
• Absorbent surfaces: Use as much Liquitex Flow-Aid as necessary. The Flow-Aid water/paint mixture will be absorbed by the support.
• Mix Liquitex Flow-Aid water into water based paint. Do not mix Liquitex Flow-Aid with turpentine or oil paint.
• Do not use Liquitex Flow-Aid in marbling, as this technique requires that the surface tension of the water film be maintained.

Dri Retarder:

• Do not mix more than 25% per volume into acrylic paint and acrylic mediums or paint may not fully dry.

Then adjust the mix accordingly to what your personal preferences are. I pre-dilute the flow aid (using normal dilution), and have a separate bottle set aside. I usually add a drop of each to the paint I am working with, YMMV.

 

[Wyrmypops]

The Slow-dri says 25% it to water, while the Flow-aid says 1 part to 20 of water. So I picked up some syringes off Ebay to get it right and went with the 20 parts (ml) water to 1 of Flow-Aid and 5 of Slow-Dri. That amount fills a 30ml eyedropper bottle quite snugly (got mine from up from Antenociti's). Tis easy to just add a drop to whatever is being worked with, or a couple for larger loads of paint.

 

[JoyrexJ9]

Thanks guys

 

[Jbickley00]

I use golden's flow aid in my thinning water, I use maybe 10 drops in 4oz container and it works well (I use two water pots, one for cleaning and one for wetting the brush to thin the paint). The drying retarder is pretty effective at about 10%. But play around with it. It's a lot more art than science