Temperature bar from cold to warm with an acrylic film at each point: stiff, brittle and cracking when cold; flexible at room temperature; softer when warm, with dirt sinking into the surface.

Concept · Over Time

How Acrylic Ages

Acrylic ages gently but stays soft, and how soft depends on the temperature.

It yellows and cracks far less than oil, Tate finds, with no sign that it is less stable. Its weak points are different.

  • It scratches easily, and warm acrylic can take surface dirt into the paint.
  • A soap-like additive, a surfactant, can drift to the surface as a cloudy, greyish film. It can come back after wiping.

Image: Made for this site · Original work

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