Mineral oils and cooking oils like olive oil, canola oil, coconut oil, etc., DON’T WORK. so don’t even try using them in your fluid art. It will just ruin your project!
Best Silicone Oil For Paint Pouring and Gorgeous Cells
One of the most sought-after results in acrylic pouring is cells. And while you can create cells by understanding the densities of acrylic paint and how to layer them, using silicone oil is the easiest and almost fail-proof way of creating cells.
But not all silicone oils are created equal. And some other oils will just simply NOT WORK.
So today I am going to share with you the most effective silicone oils that artists currently use and those that are a waste of money.
For a more in-depth tutorial on achieving cells, check out this “How to Get Big Cells in Acrylic Pour Paintings” post.
Oils Mentioned in This Post
For your convenience, I have listed down below all of the products mentioned in this post:
- Spot On Treadmill Belt Silicone oil: In my opinion, one of the best options for making cells
- Artist Loft Silicone Oil: Works as well as the treadmill belt silicone oil
- 100% Dimethicone: Cosmetic-grade silicone oil alternative
- Coconut Milk: Hair product with silicone oil
- KY True Feel: Personal lubricant with silicone oil
- B’laster: Not a very good alternative but can be used if necessary
- Liquid Wrench: Not a very good alternative but can be used if necessary
- WD-40: Not a very good alternative but can be used if necessary
- CRC Heavy Duty: Not a very good alternative but can be used if necessary
What is the Best Silicone Oil Additive?
100% Silicone Oil
To get amazing cells, you need an additive that is less dense than water (so that it creates cells as it rises to the surface of the paint) and that doesn’t mix well with your acrylic paints. Here is where silicone oil additives comes into play.
Silicone oil is a highly unreactive polymer that does not turn rancid like many other natural oils. It is also a highly unreactive and viscous polymer with a high level of oxidative stability and much less dependent on temperature compared to petroleum-based oils like mineral oil.
All of these properties make 100% silicone oil the best at creating killer cells.
I really love the Spot On Treadmill Belt Silicone Oil or Artist Loft Silicone Oil. In my opinion, these are the best additives for creating amazing looking cells!
Cosmetic-grade Alternatives
If you have some sort of allergy to silicone oil, you can always try 100% Dimethicone, a cosmetic-grade alternative.
Some artists have even used hair products like Coconut Milk or personal lubricants like KY True Feel, Swiss Navy Premium Silicone Lube, or Uberlube with great results.
Even though KY True Feel is made out of pure Dimethicone, the other personal lubricants and the Coconut Milk are mixtures of Dimethicone and other ingredients. But since Dimethicone is one of their main components, they still work out pretty well.
Why is silicone oil recommended for Pouring?
Silicone is the most used oil in Pouring to make cells. Indeed, it is practical to use and easy to dose.
Some say that apart from Dimethicone or PDMS (even more expensive), the other alternatives would be less effective than silicone oil in creating perfect cells. We will see below that this is not true.
Why replace silicone oil with another product?
There are 3 reasons that may motivate you to replace silicone oil with another product:
- Its fairly high cost compared to other alternative products (see details below);
- Its use would impact the life of the work (degradation over time) and it would have a yellowing effect on the paint;
- Health risks of silicone. Indeed, some components of silicone would be endocrine disruptors which can be potentially carcinogenic. In addition, there is a risk of allergies for people who are very sensitive to chemicals.
How to make cells without silicone oil?
Before telling you about the products that can replace silicone oil in your Pouring mixes, you should know that there is a product called cell activator. It is a product specially developed for fluid-art in order to make cells appear in the flows.
You can very well make beautiful cells on your Pouring castings by replacing the silicone oil with other products.
Here are the 5 products you can use to replace silicone oil:
- RainX
- Coconut oil
- Alcohol
- Floetrol
- Dishwashing liquid
Find out below how to use these 5 alternatives to silicone to create cells:
Make cells with RainX
Rain‑X is an anti-rain repellent product. It has the property of being hydrophobic, ie it repels liquid molecules. Thus, when the RainX is in contact with the acrylic paint, it has an effect on the components of the paint that it modifies what forms cells.
In Pouring, you can use it in small quantities in the mixtures or use it by spraying lightly on the castings already spread on the canvas.
See the cell effects in video on You Tube: Pouring Painting Video with Rain-X
The advantage of using Rain-X instead of silicone oil is that it is much cheaper:
Replace silicone oil with alcohol to create cells
In Pouring, the alcohol will lighten the paint it is added to and create many small cells.
Simply add 70% isopropyl alcohol to your paint and medium mixtures to promote cell formation. Depending on your taste, you can dose about 5 to 10% of the total mixture. You can also pour it into a sprayer to disperse it on the paint drippings already on the canvas.
Alcohol also helps to open or burst the cells on paint castings when you have used silicone oil. It can increase the effects by making bigger cells.
See the use of alcohol in video on You Tube: Pouring paint video with alcohol
Make cells with coconut oil
Coconut oil is also an alternative to silicone oil. Indeed, by pouring a few drops of this oil into your paint mixtures, you can make a Pouring paint with cells.
See the use of coconut oil in video on You Tube: Pouring paint video with coconut oil
The coconut oil to use can be found in supermarkets or on amazon:
Replace silicone oil with dish soap
Even more surprisingly, you can replace silicone oil with dish soap to make a Pouring paint. It will be enough to pour a little of this soapy liquid to your paints without adding water. Then when you make your pour, you will see beautiful cells appear, just like with silicone oil.
See the use of dishwashing liquid in video on You Tube: Pouring Paint Video with Dish Soap
Create cells with Floetrol
The same cell effect can also be achieved with Floetrol instead of silicone oil.
Indeed, it will simply be necessary to mix floetrol, water with your acrylic paint so that beautiful cells are formed in your castings. The proportions are as follows: 4 doses of Floetrol for 1 dose of paint + a little water to liquefy if necessary.
Attention because before making the mixtures, it is necessary to shake well the can or the bottle of Floetrol.
Floetrol is an additive that improves the glide and flow properties of acrylic paints for walls. But it can also be used in Pouring to replace the smoothing medium and silicone oil.
See the use of Floetrol in video on You Tube: Pouring Paint Video with Floetrol
You can easily find Floetrol at low prices in DIY stores or on amazon:
U.S. Art Supply – 1 Quart Floetrol Additive Pouring Supply Paint Medium Deluxe Kit for Mixing, Epoxy, Resin – Silicone Oil,1 and 10 Ounce Plastic Cups, Mini Painting Stands, Sticks, Pallete Knifes
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Delivery Thu, Nov 23
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Acrylic Pouring Oil 100% Silicone Oil for Acrylic Pouring and Painting 100 Silicone Oil Liquid Silicone – Silicon – 100ml/3.3-Ounce
Delivery Thu, Nov 23
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Premium Textile Pouring Kit Craft Paint Set with 14 Pre-mixed Fun Bright Multiple Color Choices Liquid Acrylic Paint for Canvas, Wood, Stone, Glass, Ideal for Artwork and DIY Projects, Ideal Gift
Delivery Fri, Nov 24
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