I use two water containers when I paint. One small one to rinse most of the paint off the brush (after wiping most of it off), and then a clean rinse water which takes on very little color, as I've "precleaned" the brush. When I am finished painting, I take all the paper towels I've used in the session and stuff them down into the small container of heavily soiled water. I let it set overnight to soak up all the dirty water and then I throw this into the trash. My "operation" is very small so this is very practical for me. If I don't have enough paper towel to soak up the water, then I just pour that bit of water, (it's usually not more than 4 oz. or so) into an empty plastic container shaped kind of like a shoe box, and I just let the water evaporate.
OIls are actually the greenest paint if you think about it. They are based upon a renewable resource (linseed oil) and the pigments range from heavy metals to earth colors mined from the earth. The toxicity comes from using solvents to thin and clean brushes. You do not need to use solvents at all though if you use food grade oils such as canola oil, to clean your brushes before you use soap and water.
We made this video to show the process of treating water on a personal level. Although we make acrylic paints, the same process can be used for latex house-paints. So even if you are not an artist, or don't use acrylic paints, you can use this process. It does admittedly seem like a lot of chemicals and a bit of a chore, but it's really not all that bad to do once you learn the process. The bags we purchased would last years for studio water use.
Thank you for providing this to the public. I use evaporation, which has worked fine for me, but I also promote this method for consideration by those creating large amounts of rinse water. Employing these methods in a studio brings to mind pottery studios, where hands, tools, anything thing with clay on it is rinsed in a big dump bucket with the clay later reclaimed. My point is that this is a method that can easily be used as part of a working studio.
@mizkitts - the reclaimed water would not be suitable for drinking, but there would be no harm pouring it down the drain or watering your garden with it. I don't know if you should use the water for painting again... give our tech support people a call to find out.
There is a technical document on this topic on the GAC website. (This comment area does not allow posting links) -- but you can also get this by requesting it from our Technical Support Team via e-mail.
This is an amazing video I have a question. can you reuse that water that you have filtered to clean other things or does that water have to be thrown away? I know this may sound like a dumb question but I don't know how that water interacts with the chemicals and cleaning other things?
Could I reuse this water to clean dirty paint brushes after doing this process to dirty latex paint water? Without contaminating and having problems on my next paint job from using the water w the chemicals in it to clean the rollers & brushes? I want to do onsight portable brush & roller cleaning.
Hello DSK, that is a unique question and we appreciate where you're going with this (maximum water conservation), but I can't give you an answer here in RUclips, send this question to help@goldenpaints.com and you're sure to get a thorough answer.
Hello C, I suspect it would depend on the ink, obviously this works with our High Flow and OPEN Acrylics, as well as competitive "acrylic inks" but we haven't tested this system with a wide variety of inks and can't speak to what you may be using. That said, there is very little risk in trying the process to see if it works.
It is... but you can begin to appreciate all that's involved in municipal water treatment, which uses this same process. This is recommended for artists who use a lot of paint (and therefore have a lot of paint waste-water) and live where there is no central sewage and water treatment system. It should not be necessary for you otherwise.
Can I make the powdered Sulfate and Lime in larger quantities of solution ahead of time and store them for future use? I go through about a gallon of waist water everyday.
Nancy, that is a great question, you should be able to. Also, we now sell a kit with the two solutions pre-mixed (in fluid form, so you don't need a mask) it's available on our site and through a couple online retailers: www.goldenpaints.com/crashpaintsolids
I am not aware of a name for the entire process. It is fundamentally two-steps, "flocculation" followed by filtration. This is a scaled down version of the process used by municipal water treatment facilities.
Nice method! I would like to know if it is possible to use somehow in my natural swimming pool, where I have unintentionally poured some water white paint (
Angel, I would definitely discuss this with a swimming pool construction or supply company, or with someone from a pool chemicals company - while the water reclaimed from this process is perfectly safe for pouring down the drain or on your garden, we can't speak to the health or safety risks of pool water.
This is really helpful! One thing we have to consider is that acrylic paint is a paint with a plastic binder, and one of the pressing environmental problems of our day is tiny plastic particles suspended in water. Although artist's acrylic paint represents a super tiny fraction of all the waste plastic of the world, it's responsible to not add up to the problem. At least to my knowledge, no utility scale wastewater treatment process has been devised to remove the tiny plastic particles, they normally handle biodegradable waste from food, bathrooms and cleaning soaps and detergents.
This is great, I'll be flocculating my acrylic paint wastewater from now on. What size coffee filters do you use? A 12-cup (.76 gallon) or 1.5-gallon filter?
The filters that come with the crash kit we sell are commercial coffee maker filters (really big) - I am not sure what that translates to in cups, but I'd guess the larger of the two.
Hello HT, I asked about this and unfortunately it will not work with WC or water miscible oils as it does with acrylic paints. At least not as demonstrated here.
@@GoldenPaints do you know of any method that might? I havent found anything reliable yet, your video was the only hopeful source i found to potentially save me from wasting so much water
Well, my understanding is that it may take more of the chemicals shown in this process (of shocking the water by running the pH up and down) but I don't have a specific recommendation for that. The tried and true method may be to pour the paint water onto paper in a shallow tray and allow the water to evaporate, leaving all the pigments and paint solids to be disposed of with your solid waste. That takes a long time, but is effective. This is only about keeping pigments out of your ground water or septic system if you're talking about watercolors. Acrylic artists need to be concerned about accumulation of acrylic inside their household plumbing as well, which is why this process should be of interest.
Hello Richardruhe - I am unclear on what you're referring to. The process involves Aluminum Sulfate purchased from a gardening center. Aluminum Acetate is Al(C2H3O2)3, Aluminum Sulfate is Al2(SO4)3 - call our product support team for a discussion about whether alternative chemicals can be used in this process.
Dig around it down to at least a foot, soak well, then replace with soil and new grass seed. Discard old soil in trash bags or at approved minor haz waste station.
Just a hint, the more viscous your paint, the more times you'll need to repeat adding Aluminum Sulfate and Hydrated Lime. Also, it's best to use a power mixer. Large Funnels are expensive and hard to find, use a 400 micron 5 gallon EZ-Strainer instead.
Hello Victoria, we do not advise re-using this water (for painting), rather this process is only meant to remove acrylic paint solids to facilitate safer disposal - particularly through household plumbing into a septic system.
Thank you so much for posting this. I had called my city hall's directory looking for information on safe disposal of acrylic paint waste water and couldn't find anything. I'll be sure to pass along this information to them and to the local artist supply stores around the city. Does Golden produce printed documentation of this process?
Hello Janine, for a really technical and thorough answer you should send this question to help@goldenpaints.com - but my understanding is that it is the shift in ph that causes the solids to "floculate" (or "crash") which makes filtering more effective. It is not for the sake of the water, but for the solids suspended in the water. This is roughly the same process used in many municipal water treatment facilities and is only beneficial to artists on septic systems or who dispose of enough paint water that accumulation in drain pipes is a concern.
The aluminium sulfate lowers the pH (makes the water acidic), which induces flocculation (forces the tiny dissolved/suspended particles out of solution and makes them clump into bigger particles). The hydrated lime is to bring the pH back to neutral before filtering the paint particles out and then discarding the water.
Warning: Make sure you get Aluminum Sulfate 0-0-0. I picked up a bag clearly marked Aluminum Sulfate, tried the process over and over again, but nothing happened. It wasn't until I zoomed in on this video and saw that their bag had a 0-0-0 after the Aluminum Sulfate. The bag I had bought was 21-0-0. After purchasing a bag of Aluminum Sulfate 0-0-0 it worked like a charm. Their list of needed supplies should indicate 0-0-0 for the Aluminum Sulfate.
Thank you for your comment. We are glad you found 0-0-0 Aluminum Sulfate and that it worked as expected. Is it possible the 21-0-0 was Ammonia Sulfate, rather than Aluminum Sulfate? We’ve been looking into your issue and thought this might have been the cause. In any case, glad this has been resolved.
Hello Bunny, the primary purpose of this process is to capture solids before they get into the water (storm drains mostly, but also household septic systems). Then it also prevents build-up within your plumbing, which is a concern if you're a heavy user of acrylics.
Dawn, I think you've misinterpreted this whole thing. Watercolors often have the same pigments as oils or acrylics. This process for treating water is only for people who: 1) Use a lot of acrylics, thus have a lot of waste water - and 2) Live outside of areas served by water treatment systems (if you have a septic tank) This is not about toxicity as much as it is about separating waste for proper disposal.
Only middle class cretins will fall for this tosh. Just let the paint settle in the pot slowly, drain the clearer water off little by little, then use kitchen roll and wipe out the solids, placing the dried or drying paper in the General rubbish bin. Rinse cleaned pot for re use.
Wow, that's pretty harsh Galland. I am not sure what one's social standing has to do with this, but the recommendation is really for people using a lot of paint (perhaps a professional artist) with water draining to a septic system rather than a municipal sewer and water treatment system. The process is pretty much the same as what is used in most public water treatment systems. Not everyone needs this solution, but some have found it helpful.
@Galland 34 I'm a professional printmaker working with buckets like this that need emptying multiple times a day and your logic of "Just let the paint settle in the pot slowly, drain the clearer water off little by little, then use kitchen roll and wipe out the solids" makes absolutely no sense whatsoever and just shows how clueless you are. I've been laughing at the first part of you comment for a good few minutes now "middle class cretins" Hahahaha If I did it your way, I'd spend all my working hours waiting for paint to settle from multiple buckets and scooping paint out with kitchen roll and some would still end up going in the ocean. Look how clean that water is he just filtered! First, try doing it your way with a very small glass of well mixed paint water and let me know how you get on pal.
james harrison there is always one isn't there. If you are employing industrial techniques, you should be using proper industrial ways of disposal. As you have not been able to discern, I am talking about the amateur painter, the occasional painter, even the professional painters who by definition do not have vast amounts of waste. I noticed that your original comments had been edited, I wonder why. Please show a bit of sense when you make a reply to someone.
No industrial techniques mate, just me working in my studio creating my own prints and selling them for a living. I edited my first comment because I made a slight typo and from the rudeness of your first comment leaving a typo in that for you was just a bad idea. Clearly I should have left it as you picked up on the 'edited'. I didn't delete anything, merely changed 'buckts' to 'buckets' haha. What a waste of time this is talking to you. I stick by my word, you know nothing about this issue and your clearly not a very intelligent or kind person. Bye
![Felix "Unfair" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Oswujxm2Ag0/mqdefault.jpg)
I use two water containers when I paint. One small one to rinse most of the paint off the brush (after wiping most of it off), and then a clean rinse water which takes on very little color, as I've "precleaned" the brush. When I am finished painting, I take all the paper towels I've used in the session and stuff them down into the small container of heavily soiled water. I let it set overnight to soak up all the dirty water and then I throw this into the trash. My "operation" is very small so this is very practical for me. If I don't have enough paper towel to soak up the water, then I just pour that bit of water, (it's usually not more than 4 oz. or so) into an empty plastic container shaped kind of like a shoe box, and I just let the water evaporate.
OIls are actually the greenest paint if you think about it. They are based upon a renewable resource (linseed oil) and the pigments range from heavy metals to earth colors mined from the earth. The toxicity comes from using solvents to thin and clean brushes. You do not need to use solvents at all though if you use food grade oils such as canola oil, to clean your brushes before you use soap and water.
Actually, heavy metals, even if natural, can be very toxic. Care must be taken with those too.
We made this video to show the process of treating water on a personal level. Although we make acrylic paints, the same process can be used for latex house-paints. So even if you are not an artist, or don't use acrylic paints, you can use this process. It does admittedly seem like a lot of chemicals and a bit of a chore, but it's really not all that bad to do once you learn the process. The bags we purchased would last years for studio water use.
Thank you for providing this to the public. I use evaporation, which has worked fine for me, but I also promote this method for consideration by those creating large amounts of rinse water. Employing these methods in a studio brings to mind pottery studios, where hands, tools, anything thing with clay on it is rinsed in a big dump bucket with the clay later reclaimed. My point is that this is a method that can easily be used as part of a working studio.
@mizkitts - the reclaimed water would not be suitable for drinking, but there would be no harm pouring it down the drain or watering your garden with it. I don't know if you should use the water for painting again... give our tech support people a call to find out.
could this be used for watercolor wastewater too?
There is a technical document on this topic on the GAC website. (This comment area does not allow posting links) -- but you can also get this by requesting it from our Technical Support Team via e-mail.
This is an amazing video I have a question. can you reuse that water that you have filtered to clean other things or does that water have to be thrown away? I know this may sound like a dumb question but I don't know how that water interacts with the chemicals and cleaning other things?
The directions are clear and helpful but I don’t understand HOW to read ph strips. What do I look for?
Will the studio soap and dishsoap in my wastewater.prevent this from working?
Could I reuse this water to clean dirty paint brushes after doing this process to dirty latex paint water? Without contaminating and having problems on my next paint job from using the water w the chemicals in it to clean the rollers & brushes? I want to do onsight portable brush & roller cleaning.
So looking to be able to reuse the water. But afraid of contaminations with new paints
Hello DSK, that is a unique question and we appreciate where you're going with this (maximum water conservation), but I can't give you an answer here in RUclips, send this question to help@goldenpaints.com and you're sure to get a thorough answer.
Will it work for water based ink used in priniting?
Hello C, I suspect it would depend on the ink, obviously this works with our High Flow and OPEN Acrylics, as well as competitive "acrylic inks" but we haven't tested this system with a wide variety of inks and can't speak to what you may be using. That said, there is very little risk in trying the process to see if it works.
It is... but you can begin to appreciate all that's involved in municipal water treatment, which uses this same process. This is recommended for artists who use a lot of paint (and therefore have a lot of paint waste-water) and live where there is no central sewage and water treatment system. It should not be necessary for you otherwise.
Can I make the powdered Sulfate and Lime in larger quantities of solution ahead of time and store them for future use? I go through about a gallon of waist water everyday.
Nancy, that is a great question, you should be able to. Also, we now sell a kit with the two solutions pre-mixed (in fluid form, so you don't need a mask) it's available on our site and through a couple online retailers: www.goldenpaints.com/crashpaintsolids
Why do you have to test the ph? Is it only if you don't see it separating?
can you tell me the name of the process?
I am not aware of a name for the entire process. It is fundamentally two-steps, "flocculation" followed by filtration. This is a scaled down version of the process used by municipal water treatment facilities.
oh, but thanks anyway.
Nice method! I would like to know if it is possible to use somehow in my natural swimming pool, where I have unintentionally poured some water white paint (
Angel, I would definitely discuss this with a swimming pool construction or supply company, or with someone from a pool chemicals company - while the water reclaimed from this process is perfectly safe for pouring down the drain or on your garden, we can't speak to the health or safety risks of pool water.
Thank you SO MUCH for sharing this!
This is really helpful! One thing we have to consider is that acrylic paint is a paint with a plastic binder, and one of the pressing environmental problems of our day is tiny plastic particles suspended in water. Although artist's acrylic paint represents a super tiny fraction of all the waste plastic of the world, it's responsible to not add up to the problem. At least to my knowledge, no utility scale wastewater treatment process has been devised to remove the tiny plastic particles, they normally handle biodegradable waste from food, bathrooms and cleaning soaps and detergents.
That is incredible, thank you.
This is great, I'll be flocculating my acrylic paint wastewater from now on.
What size coffee filters do you use? A 12-cup (.76 gallon) or 1.5-gallon filter?
The filters that come with the crash kit we sell are commercial coffee maker filters (really big) - I am not sure what that translates to in cups, but I'd guess the larger of the two.
@@GoldenPaints Is there a difference between using garden lime (pelletized, dolomitic limestone) and hydrated lime?
Can this be used for watercolor waste water as well? I feel bad about wasting so much drinking water
Hello HT, I asked about this and unfortunately it will not work with WC or water miscible oils as it does with acrylic paints. At least not as demonstrated here.
@@GoldenPaints do you know of any method that might? I havent found anything reliable yet, your video was the only hopeful source i found to potentially save me from wasting so much water
Well, my understanding is that it may take more of the chemicals shown in this process (of shocking the water by running the pH up and down) but I don't have a specific recommendation for that. The tried and true method may be to pour the paint water onto paper in a shallow tray and allow the water to evaporate, leaving all the pigments and paint solids to be disposed of with your solid waste. That takes a long time, but is effective.
This is only about keeping pigments out of your ground water or septic system if you're talking about watercolors. Acrylic artists need to be concerned about accumulation of acrylic inside their household plumbing as well, which is why this process should be of interest.
Can you substitute the al acetate with anything?
Hello Richardruhe - I am unclear on what you're referring to. The process involves Aluminum Sulfate purchased from a gardening center. Aluminum Acetate is Al(C2H3O2)3, Aluminum Sulfate is Al2(SO4)3 - call our product support team for a discussion about whether alternative chemicals can be used in this process.
Thank you. Just what I was looking for.
My house painter pored the waste water out on my lawn and left a big brown spot of dead grass. I am looking for solutions on how to bring it back.
Hello S.S. - that's really a gardening question, you might try asking at a local nursery or landscaping company. Sorry I can't be more help.
Dig around it down to at least a foot, soak well, then replace with soil and new grass seed. Discard old soil in trash bags or at approved minor haz waste station.
Just a hint, the more viscous your paint, the more times you'll need to repeat adding Aluminum Sulfate and Hydrated Lime. Also, it's best to use a power mixer. Large Funnels are expensive and hard to find, use a 400 micron 5 gallon EZ-Strainer instead.
Can this water be reused?
Hello Victoria, we do not advise re-using this water (for painting), rather this process is only meant to remove acrylic paint solids to facilitate safer disposal - particularly through household plumbing into a septic system.
can you burn the waste paint without problems
You would be burning plastic among other compounds. Not a good idea.
Thank you so much for posting this. I had called my city hall's directory looking for information on safe disposal of acrylic paint waste water and couldn't find anything. I'll be sure to pass along this information to them and to the local artist supply stores around the city.
Does Golden produce printed documentation of this process?
@blackturtleneck Great idea about the city! That made me now think to offer my own city a guide. Super idea! Thanks.
Why is ph important isn’t it sufficient just to filter out the paint? Seems like too much trouble to do more than basic filtering.
Hello Janine, for a really technical and thorough answer you should send this question to help@goldenpaints.com - but my understanding is that it is the shift in ph that causes the solids to "floculate" (or "crash") which makes filtering more effective. It is not for the sake of the water, but for the solids suspended in the water. This is roughly the same process used in many municipal water treatment facilities and is only beneficial to artists on septic systems or who dispose of enough paint water that accumulation in drain pipes is a concern.
The aluminium sulfate lowers the pH (makes the water acidic), which induces flocculation (forces the tiny dissolved/suspended particles out of solution and makes them clump into bigger particles). The hydrated lime is to bring the pH back to neutral before filtering the paint particles out and then discarding the water.
I use cement but it takes 24 hours for sedimentation. Just 125 grams each 5 gallons
Thank you!
Thanks!
Warning: Make sure you get Aluminum Sulfate 0-0-0. I picked up a bag clearly marked Aluminum Sulfate, tried the process over and over again, but nothing happened. It wasn't until I zoomed in on this video and saw that their bag had a 0-0-0 after the Aluminum Sulfate. The bag I had bought was 21-0-0. After purchasing a bag of Aluminum Sulfate 0-0-0 it worked like a charm. Their list of needed supplies should indicate 0-0-0 for the Aluminum Sulfate.
Thank you for your comment. We are glad you found 0-0-0 Aluminum Sulfate and that it worked as expected. Is it possible the 21-0-0 was Ammonia Sulfate, rather than Aluminum Sulfate? We’ve been looking into your issue and thought this might have been the cause. In any case, glad this has been resolved.
Well aren't those toxic chemicals just as bad for the environment as the acrylics?
Hello Bunny, the primary purpose of this process is to capture solids before they get into the water (storm drains mostly, but also household septic systems). Then it also prevents build-up within your plumbing, which is a concern if you're a heavy user of acrylics.
Dawn, I think you've misinterpreted this whole thing.
Watercolors often have the same pigments as oils or acrylics. This process for treating water is only for people who: 1) Use a lot of acrylics, thus have a lot of waste water - and 2) Live outside of areas served by water treatment systems (if you have a septic tank) This is not about toxicity as much as it is about separating waste for proper disposal.
It would be helpful if you could use the chemical formulas - for people of other languages than english
Makes me want to use watercolors....I stopped using oils because of the toxicity....now this.....
Only middle class cretins will fall for this tosh. Just let the paint settle in the pot slowly, drain the clearer water off little by little, then use kitchen roll and wipe out the solids, placing the dried or drying paper in the General rubbish bin. Rinse cleaned pot for re use.
Wow, that's pretty harsh Galland. I am not sure what one's social standing has to do with this, but the recommendation is really for people using a lot of paint (perhaps a professional artist) with water draining to a septic system rather than a municipal sewer and water treatment system. The process is pretty much the same as what is used in most public water treatment systems. Not everyone needs this solution, but some have found it helpful.
@Galland 34 I'm a professional printmaker working with buckets like this that need emptying multiple times a day and your logic of "Just let the paint settle in the pot slowly, drain the clearer water off little by little, then use kitchen roll and wipe out the solids" makes absolutely no sense whatsoever and just shows how clueless you are. I've been laughing at the first part of you comment for a good few minutes now "middle class cretins" Hahahaha
If I did it your way, I'd spend all my working hours waiting for paint to settle from multiple buckets and scooping paint out with kitchen roll and some would still end up going in the ocean. Look how clean that water is he just filtered! First, try doing it your way with a very small glass of well mixed paint water and let me know how you get on pal.
james harrison there is always one isn't there. If you are employing industrial techniques, you should be using proper industrial ways of disposal. As you have not been able to discern, I am talking about the amateur painter, the occasional painter, even the professional painters who by definition do not have vast amounts of waste. I noticed that your original comments had been edited, I wonder why. Please show a bit of sense when you make a reply to someone.
No industrial techniques mate, just me working in my studio creating my own prints and selling them for a living. I edited my first comment because I made a slight typo and from the rudeness of your first comment leaving a typo in that for you was just a bad idea. Clearly I should have left it as you picked up on the 'edited'. I didn't delete anything, merely changed 'buckts' to 'buckets' haha.
What a waste of time this is talking to you. I stick by my word, you know nothing about this issue and your clearly not a very intelligent or kind person. Bye
Get back to me when you've done a test with your technique in a little glass of paint water and let me know how it went