| TESTING FOR WC PAINT FOR TRANSPARENCY |
| Draw a solid black line with a broad tip permanent marker. Dilute your paint to an easy to spread consistancy and paint across the black line, be careful not to use too much water. Allow it to dry. If the paint is totally transparent it will be invisible over the black line. If it is semi-transparent you will see a hint of color on top of the black line. The more opaque the paint, the less of the black line will be visible and the more paint you will see on top of the black line.. Any paint that is sedimentary in nature will have some paint particles that do not disolve and can be seen sitting on top of the line thus they are classified as semi-transparent. The more white or chalky the paint the more opaque it is. Of course even with very opaque colors, the more water you use to dilute the paint the more transparent it will appear when painting it on white paper. |
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| TESTING FOR WC PAINT FOR STAINING PROPERTIES |
| Here is an easy way to test the paint in your paint box to find out if they are transparent, semi-transparent or opaque. |
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| To a watercolor paint for staining properties paint a brush stroke of a fairly concentrated solution of the paint you want to test. Let it dry completely. With a damp stiff brush agitate the surface (gently but firmly scrub it) and blot it dry. If the paint is highly staining you won't see much paint removed. If it is no staining you will see very little paint left on the paper and without much effort. And the semi-staining will fall somewhere in between the two, leaving a light stain. This test will also tell you the durabliity of your paper and how it will stand up to scrubbing to lift out highlights. |
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