Floetrol For Acrylic Pouring: Full Guide [Floetrol Recipe & 9 Substitutes]
Floetrol for acrylic pouring is now a very trending medium and the amount of questions constantly increases. Is it the best way even if it is not a real pouring medium?
Why can not just use water? I can relate to all your worries so let’s just follow official guidelines and practical knowledge that I will share below.
How much floetrol to add to acrylic paint?An excellent way is to follow official instructions and mix 1 part of Floetrol to 2 parts of acrylic paint. The best ratio for your needs depends on the paint you use, the paint consistency you want, and your experience. There are also some recipes with silicone and water.
You can be very excited about acrylic pouring. The only BUT is the price of professional mediums. You can absolutely use floetrol for acrylic pouring and there are at least 10 reasons why you should try it right now. I will cover them below as 9 Best Floetrol substitutes too.
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What is Floetrol?
Floetrol is a paint conditioner, a latex paint additive for water-based paint.
Floetrol is made of binder (Polymer emulsion)and water.
Floetrol wasn’t explicitly made for acrylic pouring.
But Floetrol pouring medium became a very affordable and effective pouring medium due to its properties: floetrol improves paint flow and adhesion, creates larger cells without damaging paint quality, and also never causes cracking.
Floetrol for acrylic paint is the best option for beginners who are learning pouring techniques and not ready to buy expensive artist-grade mediums.
It is also an excellent ingredient for all your experiments!
Floetrol is used for interior and exterior works, for spraying and, now, for acrylic pouring.
This medium is great for acrylic pouring because it makes painting dry slower, which means you don’t have to be in a rush and can enjoy the process and create a real masterpiece.
Floetrol may cause skin and eye irritation.
Make sure your work with gloves and do not touch your face while mixing floetrol and pouring.
What is the difference between Australian Floetrol and US Floetrol?
Australian Floetrol has different ingredients than American Floetrol and it is not available on Amazon (you can still buy it on eBay/Etsy).
It is very easy to differentiate them: US floetrol has an orange and white label, while Australian floetrol has a red and white label.
US (American) Floetrol
Australian Floetrol
Basically, Australian Floetrol is a thinner, acrylic-based medium that has a stain conditioner in its composition, and a milky white texture it was made for acrylic paints and stain.
American Floetrol is thicker, has a whitish color, and is made of latex paint.
It is also known that Aussie floetrol creates much more cells by itself than the US option (US floetrol almost created no cells without silicone additives).
The downside is that Australian floetrol is more expensive, especially if you will order it in the US through eBay or Etsy. The official manufacturer claims that there is no difference between them, while practice and crafters reports state otherwise!
If you don’t have access to Australian floetrol, you can try to mix thinner US floetrol and experiment with the consistency.
Where to buy Floetrol?
US Floetrol is produced by Flood brand while Floetrol sold in Europe is produced by the company Owatrol which was initially owned by Flood.
US Floetrol sold in US is called Floetrol, Owatrol’s Floetrol sold in US is called Easy Flow and it is the same product.
For US: Floetrol US 1 quart is around $13-14, Australian Floetrol can buy on Etsy in small bottles.
Why use floetrol in acrylic pouring? 11 Benefits Of Using Floetrol For Acrylic Paint
Here are 11 reasons why you may want to use floetrol for acrylic paint for pouring:
FLoetrol is cheaper than some alternatives.
Floetrol creates larger cells even if you do not use silicone.
does not affect paint quality, especially pigment like water does.
improves flow, thinning paint without damaging paint properties.
provides a smooth, spray-like application
increases paint adhesion
prevents the negative impact of the environmental factors (hot and cold temperatures or high humidity)
prevents cracking. This is vital for your painting. The temperature and humidity are very likely to lead to cracks. Fixing cracks can be a hard task and it will be discouraging, for sure.
easy to mix and use
extends dry time and allows you to create more effects
does not affect paint’s aging
All of them make floetrol an excellent pouring medium.
what does floetrol do to acrylic paint?
How to use floetrol
Floetrol is used for water-based paint with brushes, HVLP spray guns, or airless paint sprayers depending on your needs. In this article, we only talk about using floetrol for acrylic paint pouring.
Limitations:
If your paint is a high gloss paint you will want to consider mixing the Floetrol with water as floetrol can reduce the gloss of your coating if too much is mixed directly with the coating.
Never use floetrol with oil-based
In acrylic pouring, we use Floetrol as a pouring medium, but to start pouring we also need other supplies. Before we move to the next step: How to mix Floetrol, let’s make sure you have all acrylic pouring supplies.
Some people never used Floetrol and keep experimenting, while some people only work with Floetrol and are happy with results. Art is a creative space open for experiments!
How much Floetrol to add to acrylic paint for pouring?
Add approximately 10 ml of Floetrol for every 20 ml of paint following the ratio 1:2 Floetrol to paint.
On the Floetrol official website, there is a ready-to-use recipe. Also, by experimenting with mediums you can come up with another recipe that will work better for you.
In this article, I share original recommendations and 3 different ” how to mix acrylic paint with floetrol ” recipes, but also we will cover what else you can use instead of Floetrol for acrylic pouring.
Mixing paint for pouring aims to achieve smooth consistency.
Using Floetrol you will also need to know that there are some application conditions to be followed:
Humidity under 50%, humidity higher than 50 will double the required drying time.
Temperature: 10 to 32°C (50 to 90°F) (ideal 20°C ± 5°C [68°F ± 9°F]).
Do not freeze Floetrol
I made a nice visual to help you memorize the Floetrol to acrylic paint ratio
Please note, official Flood recommendation to use 8 oz of Floetrol per each gallon of paint DOES NOT apply for pouring, only for wall painting with rollers or brushes!
Recipe #1: Floetrol acrylic pour reciperecommended by the manufacturer
For each paint you will use, follow these steps:
1. Mix 1:2, 1 part of Floetrol to 2 parts of acrylic paint. 10 ml of Floetrol for 20 ml of paint. 2. Stir thoroughly 3. Add in 2-4 drops of liquid silicone (optional) 4. Stir thoroughly
Mix each color in separate cups. Otherwise, the paint will mix together.
If you use Floetrol for interior or exterior surfaces with a brush, roller, or sprayer, follow official guidelines from the Flood manufacturer. You can find them in this PDF
Practical tip:
Painters use a ratio of 20% to 50% Floetrol to acrylic paint for pouring based on their tests, specific acrylic paint they use and experience – meaning 10 ml is 50% of 1 part (100%) of 20ml paint.
Does it make sense?
It may get confusing, I know, but unfortunately painting is not as accurate as baking and we always need to test 🙂
More recipes that may or may not work as every paint and everyone’s experience is different, but they are widely used:
Recipe #2: How to mix acrylic paint with floetrol and distilled water
Recipe #3: How much floetrol to add to acrylic paint for cells? Danny Clark’s Recipe
Mix 2:1:1 Floetrol to paint to distilled water
Add 2-4 drops of silicone
Recipe #4: How do you use Floetrol with latex paint?
Latex paint is a water-based paint.
It is made from acrylic resin as acrylic paint, but usually are thicker. Acrylic paint is more flexible and durable because it contains other chemicals in it.
How to mix Floetrol with latex paint:
Mix 1:3 Floetrol to latex paint for faux finishing
If you are using latex wall paint with a brush or a rolles, 8oz of Floetrol per gallon.
With cup spray gun 4 to 8 oz per quart of paint.
Recipe #5: Low-Cost Acrylic Pouring Recipe with Lots of Cells
To stay on budget you don’t have to invest in expensive pouring mediums or buy gallons of Floetrol. You can still create stunning pours with cells using this recipe.
Rubbing alcohol – this household product will help you create cells and you don’t have to buy silicone drops.
For homemade pouring recipe Mix by weight 1:1 paint, rubbing alcohol, glue, and distilled water.
Done!
The original recipe is created by Danny Clark and you can watch his full video here.
Alternatives to make lots of cells at low-cost: household products with silicone, torching the pour, oil additives, some even use Minwax wood conditioner!
Recipe #6: Homemade pouring medium with Floetrol and Glue
Mix approximately 1/3 floetrol, 1/3 water, 1/3 white glue to make pouring medium.
Mix this DIY pouring medium in 1:1 ratio with acrylic paint.
Floetrol is available in quantities of 1 Quart (946 ml), and 1 Gallon (3.78 L) and can be easily purchased from sites like Amazon and at paint stores like Home Depot and Lowes.
Also, you can always purchase a ready-to-use starter set with all supplies you need.
Here is the link to the official website where you can also find a physical store near you. They do not sell floetrol on their website.
What can I use instead of floetrol?
Remember we talked about what is Floetrol?
As I said it was not made for pouring. There is a range of pouring mediums and acrylic liquid substitutes that were designed by manufacturers specifically for pouring and fluid art.
Floetrol is a cheap and easy way to make your pouring medium. It has many other advantages that I covered above.
If you are creative and love experiments, I suppose one day you will want to try something else.
What you can use instead of floetrol?
When you choose between mediums for acrylic pouring, make sure you choose latex-based products. You can not mix acrylic paint with an oil-based pouring medium!
If you are using Floetrol NOT for pouring but just because you want to increase paint flow, you may try cheaper ways to do so by simply thinning the paint.
If you choose to try any floetrol substitute, take a look at these recommended pouring mediums.
They all have the same functions: improve flow, increase workability and prevent cracking, this is why I will not mention it in the notes for each of them.
The best Floetrol alternative for pours is a professional pouring medium like Liquitex or Pebeo.
A homemade Floetrol can be made with Elmer’s glue and water but it won’t have any good properties of original Floetrol.
Brand
Note
Price
Liquitex Professional Pouring Effects Medium
Very popular but more expensive than Floetrol. Some tests did not reveal any big difference between using Liquitex and Floetrol. Application, cells, the drying process was quite the same.
The medium is white when wet but dries to a beautiful clear gloss finish. It increases color transparency, which enhances paint layering effects, and dries to a beautiful gloss finish. When dry, the paint film is flexible and durable.
The best results will be with Golden products. Dries with a smooth, even film, glossy level finish with moderate clarity. Use high ratio to mix: 10:1 medium to paint.
American Floetrol is the closest substitute for Australian Floetrol.
Otherwise use special pouring mediums for acrylic paint like Pebeo, Liquitex and DECOART.
Floetrol FAQ
Floetrol is an additive used to improve the workability of paint and coatings. It is a water-based product that helps reduce brush and roller marks, and makes the paint easier to apply.
Floetrol also extends the life of the paint by slowing the drying process. Still, there are some questions in the Internet about Floetrol and its use in acrylic pouring.
Is Floetrol archival?
Floetrol is not archival, meaning it can fade or yellow over time, but its substitute – Liquitex Pouring medium is actually archival.
Can you put Floetrol in primer?
You can only use Floetrol to thin water-based or latex-based primers, but do not use Floetrol and oil primer together as they have very different consistency, composition and purpose.
Will Floetrol change my paint color?
Floetrol doesn’t change acrylic paint colors once dry. It protects paint integrity and will not affect pigment. To make sure you can always test it before applying.
What is Floetrol to paint ratio for acrylic pour?
Floetrol suggests using 1:2 ratio to mix paint for acrylic pour, for example you need 25 ml of Floetrol for a 50 ml cup of paint.
How much floetrol to add to paint?
You can add from 20% to 50% of Floetrol to acrylic paint, depending on how thick your paint is. For fluid paint add no more than 20% to have a liquid honey-like consistency. If your acrylic or latex paint is to thick you can add up to 50% of Floetrol to the mix.
What is Floetrol made of?
Floetrol is made of latex-based paint attidive that acts like acrylic or latex paint binder and some water. That makes Floetrol ingredients compatible with acrylic paint. Floetrol doesn’t contain silicone oil.
What is Floetrol used for?
Floetrol is used in commercial projects and house painting to thin down latex paint and improve paint qualities, for ex., reduce brush strokes, rusting, damage to spray guns, etc. It is also today use for art as pouring medium for fluid artworks.
Is Floetrol a pouring medium?
Floetrol was not designed for pouring but handy crafters realized that Floetrol properties and ingredients are perfect for pours and cells and began using it as a proper pouring medium.
What does Floetrol do to acrylic paint?
Floetrol thins acrylic paint for pouring to make it more liquid but without affecting its qualities like water. Floetrol makes acrylic paint more runny yet durable and homogene for pours.
How much Floetrol to add to latex paint?
For house painting add 8oz of Floetrol per gallon of latex paint. It will give perfect flow and make latex paint adhere to the walls and surfaces stronger.
