Dirty Pouring a Record with My Own Mica Paints

My mini trial with the home made mica paints was a stunning success. I absolutely loved the results. So much rich depth of color, sparkle and shine. So I couldn’t stop there with just the small mini canvas I had to go bigger.

With no canvas left (yeah Michaels, your fault) I am pouring on a record today. I usually don’t have a lot of luck with a flip cup or dirty pour, but hey, it’s an experiment. I have no idea how these mica paints might perform on a larger piece so I’m just going for it. If it doesn’t work out, it will be easy to scrape and wash off the record for another time.

In the mini-trial I had been a bit concerned that the paints were a little thin, having just mixed the mica powder with the Floetrol, so this time I mixed them with a 50/50 mixture of PVA glue and Floetrol. On a larger surface, I was worried they would just run all over the place and be completely out of control! The 50/50 mix certainly made them a little thicker and more controllable and hopefully less likely to all just blend in together into a single color. Check it out in the video and see how I got on with the pour.

I was happy to see that once the paints were dry, the intensity of the gold and the blue came back again. The blue is especially nice, a real electric blue, almost like lightning threading through the copper. Loving it. But one thing that wasn’t perfect – the mica can leave some bits. The wet result is stunning, but the dry result was a little bit gritty all over. I’m either not mixing in the mica enough, or it’s just not fully disolving in the paint properly. I’ll have to keep trying and experimenting and see how this turns out. I may be better off with the liquid soap colorants so I’ll give those a try in a future project.

The end result, while very rich and sparkly, was pretty dark. I had used probably too much black and the dark bronze color. I liked it, but hubby isn’t a fan. We always had very different ideas of art anyway. I like things dark or with high contrast, and he prefers a much lighter and softer palette. In his opinion unless something you paint looks like a photograph, it’s no good. What do you think? Do you share a similar taste in art to your other half? Does he like what you paint?

As usual, you can check out a slideshow below of images of this pour, both wet and dry, and some close up details.

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Acrylic pouring video tutorial using mica pigment paints on an old vinyl LP record.

8 thoughts on “Dirty Pouring a Record with My Own Mica Paints”

  1. Deby, could you give me some advise on micas? I’m looking at Amazon to buy maybe a set. I’d appreciate any input you have!

    1. Ah, I wish I could but mine were left over from my soap-making days and not made especially for painting. I hear the best you can get are from https://www.colourarte.com/ although I’ve not tried them personally. I’d love to get some samples to try out though.

  2. Deby – I am planning a pour on records. Something you might consider and or comment on is to do a second pour on the reverse side of the record, perhaps one more to your husband’s liking (brighter). That way a person can change the view periodically from one side to the other. It also is a great way to stretch

    1. Yes I think that could work. If you very carefully taped up the back to make sure no drips of paint ran over and then you have a doubled sided artwork! Good tip.

  3. If you like a little shine, Interference by Golden gives it a real pretty sheen. They have several types to pick from. Just mix it with Floetrol. One part interfernce one part Floetrol and and a little water till honey or syrup consistency.

  4. Loved those gold burgundy colors. Just started following you. How would you suggest to hang these on wall?????

  5. Julie C Alexander

    Mica and other powder pigments, as opposed to a dye, will not ‘dissolve’. They can form a suspension. Finer ground pigments will stay suspended longer and have less ‘gritty’ feel and appearance but will have less glitter, more shine.
    Think of the difference between dissolving salt or sugar in water or stirring dirt into water. Once dissolved, sugar and salt will remain dissolved unless the water dries and they recrystalize. Dirt mixed in water will suspend but large bits drop down and with time if undisturbed it will all settle but if stirred again will look muddy.
    Dyes/stains are molecules that can dissolve in water where pigments are granules that do not break apart down to a molecular level.

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