Golden Clear Tar Gel

GOLDEN Clear Tar Gel is a 100% acrylic polymer dispersion colourless gel with an extremely resinous, syrupy , stringy, and tar-like consistency. It is a unique product with a long rheology; conceivably it could be poured from a three-story building as one long strand!

Clear Tar Gel can be used to generate fine detailed lines by "dripping" it over painting surfaces. It can be blended with all GOLDEN Acrylic paints, offering a full range of colours with which to work.

Creating a Tar-like Consistency:

The specific "feel" and consistency of Clear Tar Gel is created by the type of thickener used during the manufacturing process. This thickener gives the gel a long rheology, similar to the consistency of honey, which allows for better levelling and less brush-strokes.

Blending with GOLDEN Fluid Acrylics (10% Fluid additions or less) works well to create colours that maintain the gel's tar-like consistency.

Use as a Medium:

Mix any quantity of Gel with GOLDEN Heavy Body, Matte, Fluid, Matte Fluids or High Load Acrylic colours. Clear Tar Gel also blends easily with other GOLDEN Gels or Mediums. To thin, add water or GOLDEN Mediums. Note: Larger additions of acrylic paints and mediums will increasingly lower the stringy nature of Clear Tar Gel.

Fine lines can be laid onto a surface by simply dipping a palette knife or other tool into the Tar Gel/Paint mixture, then moving it quickly over the working surface. The line thickness can be controlled by the size of the tool and the speed with which it is moved.

Use as a Levelling Promoter:

GOLDEN Clear Tar Gel is also useful to increase an acrylic paint, gel or medium's levelling ability. Start with additions of 5% to another acrylic product and increase as needed to achieve the desired consistency. Adding water to the Clear Tar Gel may be necessary in order to allow some mixtures to level before drying.

In thicker layers and pours, crazes can develop in the surface during drying. If wanting to minimize this risk, keep fluid applications under 1/8” in thickness and completely level throughout the drying process. Refrain from using damming devices with pours, as this can encourage crazing.

Allow Mixtures to Release Foam:

It is nearly impossible to avoid creating foam bubbles when mixing paints. Blends should be allowed to sit long enough for foam to rise to the surface. The length of time necessary for this process depends upon the thickness of a mixture. Generally, mixtures with Clear Tar Gel should sit for at least 24 hours to become bubble-free.

General Mixing Information:

Do not mix with oils. Paint on any non-oily surface. Abrade non-absorbent surfaces for increased adhesion. GOLDEN Acrylics dry quickly and may be painted over immediately, yet complete drying will take longer. Avoid freezing. Minimum film formation temperature is 48°F/9°C. Clean tools with soap and water.

Golden believe that artists have the right to know what chemicals they are working with, and so have developed their own Health & Safety labelling system. You should follow basic precautions when using any Golden Products. Each label gives pigment identification information as well as general guidelines for safe use, and on Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) which list hazards of product components without incorporating the use assumptions of toxicological risk assessment. Golden's label advice for using chemical products safely, while conservative, emphasizes the need to err on the side of caution when using art materials. It's a lot of information to fit onto a label, Golden believe it's the best service they can offer. More information about Golden Health & Safety Labelling