Have you ever painted a mural? If you have, you know that choosing the right paint is crucial. Choosing the right color, the right texture, and how it feels to your touch can all make a difference in the final product.
But, if you haven’t done a mural yet, it’s time for you to learn how to select the right paint so that you can create your mural masterpiece that will last for years to come.
Let’s start with the guide...
What is the Best Paint to Use When Painting a Wall Mural?
When you’re building a mural art, it’s best to use acrylic paints as they work on almost all surfaces like floors, and walls. They are famous for their quick-drying and flexibility, which are desirable traits for creating wall art.
There is no staining or discoloration of the wall with acrylic, and you can use acrylic paints for indoor and outdoor painting. Besides, they give almost the same effect as oil paintings do, but they are less expensive.
Acrylic paints come in different colors, are opaque, and provide a long-lasting finish like watercolors. They are also very durable and remain vibrant without fading or cracking over time.
Recommended Paints for Mural Art
While you can easily select any commercial-grade paints available on the market, you may want to go for those made from 100% acrylic resins. You can start with Nova Color’s professional-grade acrylic paints that is easy to use, non-toxic, and permanent.
We offer a vast and stunning palette of acrylic colors that you can use to create endless combinations for your mural art applications and everyday use. Visit our online store to browse all the artist’s acrylic paint colors.
What Type of Paint to Use for an Indoor Mural
When working on an indoor mural, you will encounter two different phases of painting that are precisely similar to the ones you go through when painting on a canvas. Firstly, you will create a primary underpainting for blocking central spaces of color and outline a basic composition. Second, you will be thoroughly painting all the details.
For Stage 1
While painting huge spaces of color like hills, sky, or water bodies, you can start with latex paint.
Latex paint is cost-effective, and so it is usually used to paint walls. This paint also has an excellent coverage compared to other high-quality acrylic paints, so it saves a ton of money while preparing the first stage of indoor mural art.
Latex paint is available in 4 different sheens: flat, semi-gloss, eggshell (or satin), and gloss.
The eggshell or satin paint is also known as low-luster, and it is easier to clean and can be used on any wall in your home. This is why only eggshell paint is recommended for indoor mural arts. Flat, semi-gloss, and gloss sheens are not recommended for mural arts usage.
For Stage 2
When dealing with the details of your mural project, you can use jars or tubes of professional acrylic colors and paint as you would do on a canvas.
The majority of acrylic paint brands available in the market work decently for painting indoor murals for all the different types of household walls. You can also start with Nova Color acrylic paints that provide bright, and long-lasting colors.
Note: For people new to mural painting, it’s recommended to use only the high-quality acrylic paints for stage 2 in mural art to get the best results.
Using Acrylic Products for Mural Application
For the exterior Mural arts, acrylic colors are again the best choice. Many professional artists use them for their mural projects as they are weather-resistant and quick dry. They can also form a great bond with the cement and masonry, so they last longer.
Oil points, unfortunately, are one of the worst picks for such surfaces because the alkaline level in concrete may end up damaging oil or alkyd products.
The Ethyl-Silicate type of paint also makes a lasting bond with concrete and brick. But this one leads to a waste of time and money. Moreover, you will also need to have a prior decent understanding of working with this system.
So ultimately, painting with acrylic paints is a great way to create all levels of mural art.
Tips for Painting
Finally, you can follow these tips to make your mural art painting a success...
- Keep children and pets away from your mural project while the paint is still wet.
- Use glazing liquid or acrylic medium (matte) for thinning your colors. This is recommended because when you are working on a canvas; you are probably going to use water for thinning the paint; however, when you are working on an indoor project, there is a high possibility that the liquid paint will dry up on the surface and leave a stain on whatever you had previously painted. So you will need to make sure that you only use the acrylic medium (matte) rather than water. However, you can, of course, use a tiny amount of water which will help to keep the paintbrushes moist and prevent the colors from drying.
- After every few steps, take a second to put the brakes on and take a look at your mural project from a distance. It will help you get a sense of what the finished painting will look like and will prevent mistakes as well.
Finally, if your mural painting will be kept under the sun, it’s best to use lightfast paint.
Check out the Paint Bought by most Volume
Final Words!
That wraps up our guide to pick the best kind of paints for your mural art. The paints play the most significant role in any painting, so you must never underestimate the importance of a good quality paint brand.
To get the best results of your Mural art, try Nova Color’s professional-grade line of high-quality acrylic paints, available in over 80 vibrant colors. Shop our collection of acrylic paints, bundles, acrylic gesso, and containers.