Use 1 drop in 30ml of one colour resin that is poured over another colour before it starts to harden. Pour top colour (with Turbo Cell) in a thin stripe and blow it horizontally into the lower colour with a torch. Cells and fine lacing form.
Non-Oily Cell Former for Acrylic Pouring
Acrylic Pouring is also commonly known as Fluid Art
Cells are basically isolated patches of darker or lighter colour in the final artwork. They are a totally different colour to the paint immediately around them or are areas surrounded by a “wall” of different coloured paint. Variations of cells include features like hollow rings, different coloured cell walls, colour streaks and many more.
Cells can be automatically generated by the movement of different coloured paints through one another due to their different densities or differences in viscosity (thickness). A well-known way to increase or force cell generation is to add silicone oil when preparing the pour.
Benefits and drawbacks of using Non-oily Cell Former
Benefits:
The non-oily finish does not interfere with resin-art top coats and does not negatively impact the adhesion of clear acrylic top coats that may be applied.
Reduces the time and effort that is often required to clean oils off acrylic pour artwork.
A useful product to achieve ‘controlled’ cell formation as cells can be reduced by stirring or standing after addition.
Drawbacks:
A more sensitive chemistry that should not be stirred or allowed to stand for long after adding to paint.
About Turbo Cell and how to use it
Turbo Cell is manufactured by Bastion Paint and is a potent cell forming product for acrylic pouring art. It is supplied in convenient dropper bottles so is easy to use. Two drops of Turbo Cell added to 40ml of the Paint/Flow Control mix will generate excellent cells. Add Turbo Cell after mixing the paint well with Flow Control. Once the paint flow (also referred to as thickness or consistency) is correct then added Turbo Cell to some or all of the colours to be used in the pour. Don’t stir in the Turbo Cell, just give it a quick swirl.
As with other cell forming chemicals, the surface of the dried art will have to be cleaned to remove oily residue before applying any subsequent topcoat.
Videos
Take 1 minute to see the unbelievably awesome cells that can be created using Turbo Cell.
In this video the pour was not tilted to spread the paint. This is because the cells formed quickly and we did not want to distort them. Normally the art should be tilted very soon after pouring before much cell development and then allow the cells to develop after tilting. If you do not tilt or spin, the final paint thickness can be too high and will then crack. Unlike using silicone oil, torching is usually not required to generate cells when using Turbo Cell. Torching is, however, always an option and can also be used to pop air bubbles. You can also use less Turbo Cell and assist cell formation with torching.
The following video shows an alternative method of using Turbo Cell to create cells in an acrylic pour (just 2 minutes).
Turbo Cell compared to Silicone Oil
Turbo Cell surpasses the cell forming ability of benchmark silicone oil in Acrylic Pouring Art
Turbo Cell gives superior and somewhat different results to silicone oil. It creates more cells within cells than silicone oil because it forms cells via two mechanisms whereas silicone oil just has a single cell forming mechanism. Cells form immediately and torching is not required to generate cells. You can still torch to remove air bubbles if required.
We do, however, also supply Silicone Oil. As our Silicone Oil is 100% pure, many artists achieve excellent results with it and prefer to stick with what they know. But we will always recommend Turbo Cell.
