Acrylic paint does not stick to waxy, greasy, and moist surfaces. The paint peels off even if fully dry. Other than that, acrylic paint sticks to almost anything, with proper surface preparation and sealing of the paint. Surprisingly acrylic paint sticks well to silicone and oily surfaces.
How to Paint Over Acrylic Paint: Avoid Common Mistakes
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Acrylic paint is one of the most used paints in arts and crafts and for good reason. Acrylic paint is easy to use, water-dilutable, available in a lot of different colors, and quite cheap compared to other similar paints. Because of its wide use, it happens quite often that you come across an item or maybe even a picture that was painted with acrylic paints. So let´s have a look at how you can paint over an item or an art piece that was painted with acrylic paint.
As a whole, acrylic paint is water-based so any water-based paint and Oil-based paint can be painted over acrylic paint. If the surface was sealed after it was painted with acrylic paints, then either a Primer or some sanding is required to paint over it.
So you can generally paint over acrylic paints but there are a few things to keep in mind. For one, not every type of paint will stick to acrylic paint and acrylic paint will not stick to an already sealed surface.
Types of Paint That Stick to Acrylic Paint
Let´s first take a look at some paints that will stick well to acrylic paint.
As a general rule, every water-based and oil-based paint will stick to acrylic paint. Acrylic paint is water-based and as such every other water-based paint, as well as oil-based paint, will stick to it. Most spray paints and shellac paints will stick to acrylic paint as well.
The following is a list of paints that can be applied directly on acrylic paint:
As you can see, there are quite a few paints that can be used directly on acrylic paints. I personally found that acrylic paint will give me the best results when painting directly on other acrylic paint.
But you will also need quite a lot of acrylic paint to cover the underlying paint coat.
So depending on what you want to achieve your paint selection and your approach may vary greatly.
If you want to completely repaint the previous paint job or large parts of it then it is better to use a primer to cover the previous coat of paint first before applying a new one.
This is mainly because you will need a lot of acrylic paint to fully cover the underlying paint. It is simply faster and cheaper to use a primer to cover the whole thing or large parts of it and then paint on top of the newly prepared surface instead.
You can either use Gesso as a primer or you can use a general purpose primer.
I personally prefer Gesso when I am working with acrylic paint because I found it to be cheaper and the acrylic paint will generally be more vibrant when applied to Gesso.
Simply apply the primer directly on the surface in thin even coats and let it dry. Then you can apply the new acrylic paint directly to it. It´s as easy as that.
If you only want to paint small areas of the previous paint job or do some touch-ups, then it´s probably easier to simply paint on top of the previous acrylic paint coat.
It will take a few coats until the paint covers the underlying color completely but if you only want to paint a few small areas then applying a primer is probably not worth it.
Painting Over Sealed Acrylic Paint
You have to be careful when trying to paint over acrylic paint because it might be sealed with a topcoat. And acrylic paint will not stick to a sealed surface. If you apply acrylic paint to a sealed surface then the paint will peel off after only a short period of time.
But don´t worry! There is still a way to paint over sealed acrylic paint.
You have to work with a primer in order to paint a sealed surface permanently. I recommend using a primer that sticks to all surfaces, such as Rust-Oleums 1-2-3 Primer.
You can simply apply the primer directly to the sealed surface. Apply it in thin even coats, I usually like to use a paint roller to apply primer but you can also use a brush if you don´t mind visible brush strokes in your finished project.
It is always better to apply multiple thin layers of primer and let it dry in between coats instead of applying one thick coat.
Make sure that the primer is completely dry before you start painting the surface.
After applying the primer you are free to use any paint you want from oil-based paint to water-based paint. Pretty much any paint will stick properly and permanently to the primed surface.
Don´t use gesso to prime a sealed surface! Gesso will only work on surfaces that don´t repel water. Most topcoats, however, repel water. So Gesso won´t stick to the surface and it will crumble off after a short while.
You have to use a Primer that sticks to difficult to paint surfaces. That´s why I recommend using Rust-Oleum 1-2-3 Primer as it sticks to almost any surface including most topcoats.
How do make acrylic paint stick to different surfaces?
When you find any surface where acrylic pant does not stick, there are a few things you can do. Following are some of them. After doing these things do the adhesion test to check if the paint sticks to the surface well.
Surface preparation to stick acrylic paint
Surface preparation is most important for any paint to adhere to a surface. It provides teeth and proper absorption to adhere to a surface. Following are the ways you can prepare different surfaces.
Sticking acrylic paint on the shiny or oily surface
If you decide to paint on a hard shiny surface, sand the surface with sandpaper. It will provide teeth that paint can adhere to. Although my experiment suggests you can paint acrylics over oil, it is a best practice to remove oil or grease on a surface before painting.
However, oil painting can be done over acrylic paint, but not vice versa. The reason is acrylic paint films have some pores that oil paint can penetrate to and bond with. So oil paint will stick to acrylic paint. But oil paint dries to a rigid, water-resistant film that does not adhere to acrylic paint well. Therefore avoid painting acrylic over oil paint.
If you are going to paint on a shiny surface, make sure to sand the surface first. Then cover the surface with at least two coats of gesso. Sand between the coats. Then apply the paint and seal with varnish.
Make sure all surfaces are free of oil, wax, and grease. Also, the surfaces should not have any loose particles.
Sticking acrylic paint on fabric
If you are painting on fabric, make sure to wash the fabric to remove any starch or sizing. Use fabric medium with acrylic paint. You can also use a flow aid for this. Do a test run before doing the actual painting.
Sticking acrylic paint on canvas
If using canvas, prime it with gesso, matte medium, or matte gel. Using acrylic paint without priming any surface can lead to yellowing or discoloration. Yellowing can also happen due to low-quality paints.
Sticking acrylic paint on plywood
If using plywood, it will need 2 – 5 coats of gesso. However harder woods are less porous and need less gesso to seal. Paint on the gessoed surface and seal with varnish.
Sticking acrylic paint on foamboard
If using foam board, apply two coats of gesso and lightly sand between the coats. Let it dry overnight and apply the paint. Varnish the finished painting.
Sticking acrylic paint on metal, glass, and plastic
Sand the surface first. Remove any residual dust or grease by washing with soap and water, then with rubbing alcohol. Coat with an industrial, solvent-based, primer-sealer. Allow to cure it for 3 days.
Do the adhesion test for the primer-sealer. Apply gesso and re-do the adhesion test. Apply paint and finish with varnish. For plastic, you might not need to apply an industrial primer-sealer.
I have written several articles on how to stick acrylic paint on metal, sticking acrylic paint on glass, sticking acrylic paint on acrylic plastic (plexiglass), sticking acrylic paint on ceramic, and sticking acrylic paint on plastic. You can find the detailed process of sticking acrylic paint on each surface in the article along with a video guide.
Sticking acrylic paint on concrete
Concrete must be fully dry and cured for 8 to 12 weeks. All moisture should be gone at the time of painting. Also, there shouldn’t be any silicones or waterproofing cement paint. These will lessen adhesion.
Apply matte gel medium to seal the wall. This will reduce the amount of paint needed. When fully dry, apply one or two coats of gesso, and let it dry overnight. Paint with acrylic on the next day.
Sticking acrylic paint on ceramic
unglazed ceramic can be prepared for acrylic painting by simply applying gesso on the surface, like on canvas. You can apply 1 to 2 coats of gesso. Let the gesso dry overnight and start painting. Choose a gesso with the appropriate tooth, otherwise, it will be difficult to cover the ceramic with paint.
I have written a full guide on painting ceramics with acrylic paint. You will also find a video guide that shows the full process of painting a nice design on a ceramic bowl.
Other than these you can stick the vinyl onto acrylic paint which can be used to put a nice quote on your abstract acrylic paint. If you are interested read the following article; How to stick vinyl to acrylic paint: in 5 easy steps.
Choose the right surface
If you are using paper for acrylic painting, make sure to seal the paper first to prevent paint absorption into the paper fiber. You can apply gesso over the paper as the sealant. Matte medium and matte gels can also be used. Use heavier papers to prevent warping.
As acrylic is a versatile paint, you can paint almost anything with acrylic. The most important steps are preparing the surface well and sealing the final painting.
I have written a whole article about canvas alternatives for acrylic painting. You will find some surfaces which you did not think of before for acrylic painting in that article.
Conclusion
Acrylic paint sticks to almost any surface. However, there are some exceptions such as having wax or grease over the surface. You can remove them by sanding them, washing them with soap and water, and wiping them with rubbing alcohol.
Apply a primer like gesso before applying acrylic paint. After finishing the painting seal it with varnish. You can do the adhesion test to test the compatibility of paint to the surface as described
FAQ
Does acrylic paint stick to everything?
Acrylic paint does not stick to everything. It will not stick to greasy, oily, and shiny surfaces. You can stick acrylic paint to most of the surfaces by sanding and priming the surface. Applying a varnish as finishing is important to protect the painting from the environment and moisture.
How do you keep acrylic paint from sticking?
Acrylic paintings usually stop sticking together after the full curing period of 3 to 4 weeks or varnishing the paint. Other than that, keeping wax paper in between art pages, applying talcum powder on a varnished painting, and painting in a less humid environment also helps.
Will hair spray seal acrylic paint?
Hair spray cannot stick to acrylic paint as they chemically react together. Some paints tend to be gooey and may even melt when contacted with hairspray. Hairspray is not lightfast and the painting will be yellowed over time. The best option for sealing is varnishing.
About
Painting Gal is a blog where painting or art-related articles are posted regularly. The aim of this blog is to provide complete and accurate answers to help solve art-related problems of its valuable readers. To achieve this aim, Painting Gal shares the experiences of the authors, expert opinions, and recommendations as well as the experiment results conducted by the authors of the blog posts.
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