Making and Using Paint Skins

Video HERE

This is a great way to find a use for leftover paint - and a great way of building colour and interest.

This is mostly about preparation, and the choice of paint you use. Acrylic paint will swirl and spread into a layer and dry into a usable skin without much added effort, whereas waterbased paints won't unless you blend them with PVA glue (see below)

You will need:
Leftover paint
Plastic lids (The ones from stackable snacks are ideal, smooth, not textured work best)*
Glue spreader or scrap card
Time

*Over the years I have collected dozens of these lids, which means I can always have clean ones ready for use as mini paletts whilst others are drying.

Method:

1. When you have finished your painting project use a spreader or piece of card to spread and swirl the paint into a fairly uniform layer. If you don't have a lot of paint on the palette you should ideally scrape some off another lid, or add a splodge of fresh colour. I would suggest aiming for 1-2mm thickness.
2. Place the palette somewhere safe - ie. where it will not be knocked over or stepped on, until COMPLETELY DRY. This can take over a week, depending on thickness and ambient temperature.
3. Flex the plastic - if the paint does not release around the edges then it is not dry, so leave it for another day - then peel off the 'skin', it should come off cleanly in one piece. Leave bottom-side up for a couple of hours at least before cutting. I tend to peel and keep the skins as they dry, although I usually trim off the outside edges as they are often thicker and too chunky to use.
4. When you have gathered enough skins (kept flat in a box as they dry) decide on your pattern and cut the skins into mosaic-style pieces.

To Use:

1. Prepare the surface with sanding, and raise the grain with water or white spirit to get a good finish, as you won't be able to do it once the tiles are on.
2. Paint a base coat, then sand back until smooth.*
3. Spread on a thick layer of acrylic paint and press the tiles into the surface so that the paint squishes up evenly around each one.
4. Work in stages, allowing each side to dry COMPLETELY before moving on.
5. With acrylic paint you won't need to add a lot of finish, I usually go for a coat of spray varnish if it's really necessary. Acrylic paint has a tendency to be a little gluey for quite a while, so I'd allow at least a week to dry.

*If the design is very dense, or the actual surface wood will never be visible then I often don't bother. The choice depends on your design, but it is good practice.

Water-based Paints - Gouache, Poster Paint or Watercolour

These can't be spread and dried like acrylics, because they will dry brittle and just crumble into a mess when you try to peel them, however... tip a layer of PVA onto a lid and blend the paint in sections before swirling to create a marbled colour, or keep to a single colour to make large and almost transparent 'skins'. Once dried these can be peeled and cut the same way, and even used to build up mosaic pictures on windows without needing glue (as long as you don't have a problem with condensation). PVA-based skins can be stuck with PVA or paint.