Sanding Down Acrylic Paint Canvas

Dried acrylic paint has a finish that can appear reflective and sleek but if you want to give your painting a rough more satin appearance gently sand down the acrylic paint just enough for the sheen to deteriorate to the desired level.

Sanding down acrylic paint canvas. Paint the gesso on the canvas with a large brush meant for house paint using strokes in a single direction. I use basic sand paper like this one and i simply fold it over a small wooden block and sand down any peaks that are sticking up from my paint strokes. Sand down any texture from the dried acrylic painting. You can also technically skip the sanding part if you don t want the added dust and mess.

You can do this on any gessoed surface. Start by lightly sanding the canvas with fine 200 grit sandpaper to smooth out the top threads and then brush off the dust with a soft cloth. I use burnt sienna acrylics with very little water and apply a thin transparent wash over the white canvas. The first step to sanding acrylic paint is to sand the painting surface if it requires it.

Sanding acrylic will slowly if by hand wear away one layer after another. Sanding is applied to acrylic paintings when the painter wishes to affect the finish of the acrylic paint. Gesso is a thin paint like substance that is applied to a canvas to help prevent oil or acrylic paints from soaking through the fabric. Smooth the canvas with sandpaper and gesso for more absorbency.

If you re after a very smooth surface you can get prepared boards such as art boards from ampersand that are super smooth and would require no sanding. Pastel paper is known to come in different colors. For smooth canvas i. Hi susan if it s a larger canvas that you are extensively sanding then it can be a good idea to sand the canvas outside but often it s just a very light sand to take down any bobbles from the paint application.