Whether you’re using watercolor, oil, acrylic or any other type of paint, proper storage will extend the life and viability of your costly medium.
You’ve spent a lot of money on all those painting supplies, and the last thing you need is a paint box full of ruined paint.
Acrylic Paint
Acrylic paints cannot stand prolonged or repeated freezing. The paint is water based, and freezing and subsequent thawing of the water component of the paint can damage the molecular composition of the product. Some manufacturers claim that their products will withstand several freeze and thaw cycles, but unless you’re willing to take a costly risk, protect your paint from freezing.
Acrylic paint should not be applied at temperatures lower than about 50 degrees Fahrenheit. The paint needs that minimum temperature for a strong cohesive film to form. If the paint is returned to a normal temperature, it will not recover from the initial low temperature. If the temperature will drop in four to five hours after paint application, hold off on painting until you’re assured of adequate temperature for the paint to dry and cure properly for several days.
Acrylic paint must be sealed in air-proof containers, as it easily dries. High temperatures will not specifically damage properly sealed tubes of paint, but heat and imperfectly sealed containers equal dried tubes of paint.
Watercolor Paint
Watercolors are available in two forms. Dry pan paints are perfect for extremes of temperature, as they don’t have a water base to freeze and expand. Tube paints, on the other hand, have a water base and will freeze with a potential to rupture the tubes and ooze into a messy kaleidoscope of pigment that will be an interesting challenge to clean.
As with acrylic, high temperatures will not adversely affect the pigment, but can speed the drying of tube paint that is not perfectly sealed.
The nice thing about dried tube paint is that it’s easily reconstituted with a little water. If you are the not-so-proud owner of dried tubes of watercolor paint, simply cut off the bottom and slice open the tubes with a hobby knife. Voilà, you have dried watercolor ready for painting your next masterpiece.
Oil Paint
Oil paint is rather forgiving. Since this paint is based on an oil mixture that is primarily linseed oil, the freezing point for is not 32 degrees Fahrenheit. It requires temperatures lower than -4 degrees Fahrenheit to freeze. Therefore, your chances of freezing the paint are relatively slim.
Heat will make the paint more fluid, as the oil and binder thin with increased temperature. Once the ambient temperature returns to normal, the former state will return.
Oil paint can separate, and this often causes artists to be concerned about the quality and stability of their paint. Paint manufacturers all use their own recipes, and some brands and even colors tend to separate more easily than others do. This does not have anything to do with the storage temperature or the quality of the product.
More than anything else, air is the worst offender for shortening the life of your paints. Airtight storage is probably the most important thing to provide for the safety of your precious pigments. Not only will it protect the paint, but it will also protect your paint box and anything else adjacent to the tubes, which could potentially seep, ooze, explode or fly into pieces.
Give your paints a little TLC. They’ll thank you with years of happy paint flinging and save your starving artist budget at the same time.
