When using oil paints, it is best to leave the gesso to dry for 24 hours to 48 hours to ensure there is no moisture left once you begin painting. Many artists propose using at least three layers of gesso when working with oil paints. If moisture is present, it will hamper the paint bonding to the surface since oil and water do not work well together. After 24 hours, take the back of your hand and place it onto the surface, if the gesso feels cool, it could still have moisture present, and you should wait a further 24 hours.
How Long Does It Take Gesso to Dry? Our Complete Guide
When starting a new hobby like acrylic painting, there are many things you have to learn and materials you need to buy. The obvious materials would be your paints, brushes, and canvas. However, there are added tools and materials, such as gesso, that are needed. We are going to help you discover what gesso is and how to apply gesso, to make your painting journey that much easier.
Table of Contents
- 1 What Is Gesso?
- 2 How Long Does It Take for Gesso to Dry?
- 2.1 Temperature
- 2.2 Humidity
- 2.3 Air Flow
- 3.1 Student-Grade Gesso
- 3.2 Artist-Grade Gesso
- 3.3 Other Forms of Gesso
- 4.1 Gesso and Acrylics
- 4.2 Gesso and Oil Paints
- 4.3 Drawing Mediums and Gesso
- 7.1 How to Apply Gesso Smoothly?
- 7.2 Must Gesso Dry Before Painting?
- 7.3 Is One Layer of Gesso Enough?
- 7.4 Is Mod Podge Similar to Gesso?
- 7.5 Is Gesso Only Used on Canvas Surfaces?
What Is Gesso?
Gesso was originally created for painting with oils onto canvas. Gesso is an Italian word, meaning gypsum, and was made from gypsum or chalk, glue (rabbit-skin), and a white pigment. The product was also known as “Italian gesso” as well as “glue gesso”. Gesso was applied to a canvas surface where it was absorbed into the canvas fibers and protected the surface from the oil paints. The gesso also provides a certain coarseness which helps the paint stick to the surface without absorbing it into the canvas. These helped painters use fewer oil paints and the colors remained vibrant. So, you can say gesso acts the same way as a primer.
ContentsThe traditional gesso became quite hard when it dried and was only appropriate for more rigid surfaces. When applied to other less rigid surfaces, it would crack and fall off. To improve this situation, linseed was added to the gesso to improve flexibility. This was helpful to artists who, on occasion, rolled their artwork up.
Today, the gesso, or “jesso” as it is pronounced, is known as acrylic gesso and contains an acrylic polymer medium, chalk (calcium carbonate), and a white pigment. Other additives help with things like flexibility and improving durability. The modern gesso does not contain any glue as acrylic paints are not as corrosive as oil paints and are more stable. This product was developed by the company known as Liquitex in the 1950s.
Does one need gesso when painting with acrylics on canvas? You do not have to; however, it does provide a better absorbent surface for the paints. Today, you do not have to worry about priming your canvas surface as you can buy pre-primed canvases that already have gesso on them. Depending on what you want to achieve with your painting, you may even want to add another layer or two of gesso onto your pre-primed canvas.
How Long Does It Take for Gesso to Dry?
Gesso does dry in 10 to 20 minutes and should completely cure in about 24 hours. You can also speed up the drying using a hot air dryer.
However, certain issues can affect the drying time of gesso. Let us see what these issues are:
Temperature
When it comes to drying times, being in a warmer climate will help to dry the gesso out faster than if you paint in a cooler climate. The moisture evaporation times differ, so a cooler environment will slow down the drying time.
Humidity
Besides temperature, humidity can also play a part in drying times. Places, where there is low humidity, will help to increase the drying time as any moisture evaporates faster. However, if you are in a high humidity area, the gesso will naturally dry much slower.
Air Flow
Providing good airflow where you work inside can help to improve drying times. Indoor air conditioning or heating systems, open windows can all help to increase the drying time. You can also use a hairdryer or switch on a fan where you are painting. Make sure to dry the surface evenly by moving the hairdryer around and using a low heat setting. Painting outside, the wind can help to dry the gesso, however, extremely windy days might not be the best time to paint outdoors.
Suggested Drying Times Between Acrylic Products
A common question we get is “how long should I wait before applying my next application of acrylic?” Actually, in most cases one can apply multiple layers at any time as this is one of the unique properties of acrylic products. It really doesn’t matter in terms of final film formation and toughness. But in some special cases, and for some applications, it is important to understand at least a few of these limitations for best results. As this timeframe can vary due to environment and application, this article assumes a relative humidity range between 30–60%, and a temperature between 68-72 F. Also, that the acrylic products are evenly brushed layers.
One of these special situations is the application of GAC 100 and Gloss Medium when used as a size to either protect against Support Induced Discoloration (S.I.D.) in acrylic painting or protect substrates from oil penetration when oil painting. For these purposes it is important that each layer be clear and touch dry before additional sizing coats are applied.
To allow the sizing layers to form a tight film, we suggest overnight drying before the application of Gesso. This is important for acrylics because sizing traps water soluble impurities from migrating into further layers including Gesso.
As with mediums, Gesso also dries quickly. Allow the first coat of Gesso to dry for at least one hour to be sure it will not lift when the next layers are applied. The number of Gesso coats is optional for the acrylic painter; however the oil painter may wish to apply 3 or 4 coats, eliminating the need for sizing and avoiding oil strike-through to the canvas.
When painting with acrylics, one simply needs to wait long enough so the gesso doesn’t lift when doing their application.
However, allowing the Gesso to dry overnight facilitates drawing, sanding or doing detailed work. Oil painters should wait even longer. According to the GOLDEN Product Application Sheet, Preparing a Painting Support, Gesso should be allowed to dry for a minimum of 3 days for proper mechanical adhesion of the oils. Oil paints and oil painting solvents are hydrophobic (water-resistant). If too much water remains in the acrylic layers, there may not be optimal adhesion.
Between Coats of Standard Acrylics
Acrylic painters have few guidelines during paint application except ones that impede the work process or begin to lift semi-dried acrylic skins. The acrylic readily attaches to other acrylic paint films and dries quickly without issues. If Retarder is used in a mixture extra time should be allowed in order to not have partially dry paints lift. Gloss Glazing Liquid can easily take up to an hour to become touch dry, while OPEN Medium and OPEN Acrylics can take a full day to become touch dry.
When the artwork is complete, an Isolation Coat is suggested prior to varnishing. Thick paints might feel touch dry in less than an hour but take longer to become solid. Overnight drying reduces the chance of color lifting. The GOLDEN Varnish Application Guideline suggests to “Make sure paints are sufficiently dry. For acrylics and other water-based media, if the painting is composed of thin layers, waiting a day or two before applying the isolation layer, followed by another two days to a week before varnishing, is recommended. If there are thick, impasto areas of acrylic paint, wait a week or two before applying the isolating layer or varnish.”
Upon drying, inspect the isolation coat and if the sheen is uniformly glossy, move onto varnishing. If the dried coat is uneven, apply a second isolation coat.
Isolation coats should be allowed to dry for a minimum of one day before proceeding to varnish. A longer time frame is acceptable. However, if two weeks or greater has elapsed, we recommend wiping the surface with a soft, lint free damp rag in order to remove any surfactants and assure good adhesion with the varnish layer.
Timeframes between Varnish Coats
We recommend waiting a bare minimum of 4 to 6 hours between coats of brushed-applied varnish, but if time isn’t a critical factor, wait overnight. This is because varnishes are resoluble and a more cured varnish layer is slower to reactivate and facilitates an easier secondary application. Spray application allows for faster recoating. The GOLDEN Archival Varnish can be applied at a faster rate because sprayed coats are thinner than brushed ones. Since there is no direct brushing, there is less chance of disturbing the underlying layer.
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