GOLDEN Gesso: The Professional, Flexible Liquid Ground for Acrylic and Oil Artworks
GOLDEN Gesso is a premium-grade, ready-to-use liquid primer designed to seal, protect, and provide the essential "tooth" on painting substrates. Formulated with a high concentration of pure pigments in a 100% acrylic copolymer vehicle, it remains highly flexible and age-resistant once dry. This professional ground creates a mildly absorbent layer that promotes optimal paint adhesion and prevents binder delamination, making it the premier choice for both acrylic and oil painting applications.
Key Features and Material Benefits
- Maximum Solid & Pigment Load: Offers exceptional opacity and coverage ($1$ = most opaque), masking substrate color variations with minimal coats.
- Exceptional Archival Flexibility: Formulated to withstand loose rolling and re-stretching of canvas at room temperature ($70^circtext{F}$ / $21^circtext{C}$) without cracking.
- Universal Ground Compatibility: Accepts a vast range of media and paints, providing a perfectly balanced, absorbent matte finish for both oils and acrylics.
- Versatile Variants: Available in high-opacity White (PW6) and deep Black (PBk7/PBk11) to quickly establish your foundational value structure.
- Weather and Age Resistance: Lightfastness rated I (per ASTM D 5098), ensuring the primer will not yellow, degrade, or grow brittle over time.
Application and Usage Guidelines
- Multi-Coat Recommendations: While one coat provides decent adhesion, applying a minimum of two coats is highly recommended to eliminate pinholes. For oil painting, apply at least three coats to thoroughly protect support fibers from acidic linseed oils.
- Dilution & Thinning: Ready to use straight from the container. If thinning for smooth brush or roller applications, dilute with water up to a maximum of 25%. For spray application, blend 1:1 with GOLDEN Airbrush Medium to reduce viscosity while maintaining film integrity.
- Custom Tinting: Can be easily tinted using GOLDEN Heavy Body or Fluid Acrylics. For the absolute best results, tint with GOLDEN SoFlat Matte Acrylics, as their velvety texture and high pigment concentration mimic the gesso's natural attributes without altering absorbency.
- Drying and Curing Time: A standard wet layer dries to the touch within 2 hours in standard conditions ($>65^circtext{F}$ / $18^circtext{C}$ and $<70%$ humidity). Allow layers to fully cure before painting—especially with oils.
- Sanding: Dry sanding standard gesso can quickly "gum up" sandpaper due to frictional heat. For a completely smooth, sandable surface on rigid supports, utilize GOLDEN Sandable Hard Gesso or employ wet-sanding techniques with wet silicon carbide sandpaper.
Technical Specifications
- Product Line: GOLDEN Acrylic Gesso & Grounds
- Composition: Pure pigments suspended in a 100% Acrylic Copolymer dispersion
- Viscosity: 3,000–4,000 cPs (Liquid consistency with high brush-drag)
- 75° Gloss Rating: White: 5.0–10.0 (Matte); Black: 1.5–5.0 (Ultra-Matte)
- Pigment Identification: White: PW6 (Titanium White); Black: PBk7 (Carbon Black) / PBk11 (Iron Oxide Black)
- Clean-Up: Water-soluble when wet; easily cleans up with soap and warm water
