Product Test - Clear Gesso Trial Sample: Test 1 - Paints, etc.

A while ago, I sent emails to two local paint and art product manufacturers, here in South Africa. I complained to them that the Clear Gesso available on the market, did not fulfill the need of its users. I sent them an explanation of what I was talking about, and being a blogger, I fortunately had a selection of photos to support my claims. I asked them if they would be willing to look into the possibility of putting a product on the market that would meet the needs I had specified. Both manufacturers were quick to respond to my emails and both were eager to look into the development of the product, used largely for journaling, namely, Clear Gesso. Then one of the manufacturers contacted me to ask if they could send me two samples to test. I jumped at the idea. In the following couple of blogs, I will share the results of these tests with you. Hopefully, by the time this blog publishes, the product is already available on the market and in your hands, as I am working a couple of months ahead of schedule. In the photo below you can see the samples that were sent to me for testing. In this first blog in the series, I test paints and similar mediums on the samples.

I decided to put Sample 5 to the test first.

I found the consistency to be creamy, but slightly runny.

I prepared a couple of sheets of paper with the gesso and left it to dry.

Now it was time to try Sample 6.

This one was more like a paste and quite a bit thicker than Sample 5.

I prepared three more sheets of paper with this product and left it to dry. My first impressions left me preferring Sample 5 as far as consistency was concerned. I was simply easier to cover the pages with it and it seemed less thick. I have found that the extra thickness from the surface treatments, is making my Bible bulge out of proportion, and I am only starting in Leviticus now.

I found that Sample 5 was very accepting of Acrylic paint.

The same could be said for Sample 6.

Oil paint proved to sit well on the gesso as well in Sample 5.

Sample 6 accepted oil paint equally well.

I then tried watersoluble oil on Sample 5 and it worked well.

The same was once again true for Sample 6.

I decided to test products that I would not necessarily use in journaling, but which I might use elsewhere where I wished to use a Clear Gesso. The first to be used was Blackboard Paint. I worked a charm in Sample 5.

Again, it worked equally well in Sample 6.

I then tested Chalk Paint on Sample 5 and found it worked very well.

There was no difference in Sample 6.

I tried it with Craft Paint. Sample 5 accepted the paint beautifully.

Sample 6 had no problem with Craft Paint either.

I then ventured into the ridiculous, but decided I wanted answers to these questions anyway. I tested Sample 5 with Fabric Paint and was very satisfied.

No difference on Sample 6.

I also tested Fabric spray on Sample 5 and was satisfied.

I also had great success on Sample 6.

I then tried Acrylic Drawing Ink on Sample 5, with great success.

Sample 6 handled the Acrylic Ink equally well.

I then tried a Pentel Paint Marker on Sample 5. No problems!

The same could be said for Sample 6.

I then decided to venture into my pastels. The first to be tested was a soft pastel. I sprayed it with fixative afterwards and found no problems on Sample 5.

Again there were no problems on Sample 6 either.

I then used oil pastels on Sample 5 and had success.

Success was to be had with Sample 6 as well.

I tried a watersoluble oil pastel, which I painted with water, on Sample 5. Success!

Success on Sample 6 as well.

I then tried Derwent Artbar, which is also a type of watersoluble oil pastel. Iworked beautifully.

Sample 6 also delivered no problems here.

Next up was Faber Castell's Gelatos, which I once again painted with water. It sat well on Sample 5, both wet and dry.

The same could be said of Sample 6.

I then tried stamping Tim Holtz' Distress Ink on Sample 5. It worked very nicely.

It also worked nicely on Sample 6.

I also tried Pretty Color ink on a stamp and it worked well on Sample 5.

I worked equally well on Sample 6.

I then used embossed stamping. This was a rather important test, as I have found in my Bible that my pages would stick together when I applied heat to the embossed stamp. The heat did not seem to affect the surrounding area too much, giving me hope for future use in the Bible. The Embossed stamping worked well on Sample 5.

I also worked very well on Sample 6, possibly even slightly better, but the difference wasn't remarkable.

I then tested some Poster Paint successfully on Sample 5.

I also had success on Sample 6.

I then tried Cottmans watercolours successfully on Sample 5.

I also had success on Sample 6.

I had equal success when I tested Gouache on Sample 5.

The same was true for Sample 6.

I then tested watercolour in a pan on Sample 5. I have had very success with this in my Bible on the other gesso and was hoping for success here, as watercolours is a favourite of mine to use. I found that I could build up the layers beautifully!

And once again the same was true for Sample 6.

I wrote the names of the test mediums on the page with a fountain pen and took a picture of the page as a whole for Sample 5. Literally not one single medium proved to be a problem on this gesso and was getting very excited over the possibilities that were opening up for me.

However, I still was no closer to an answer as to which product was the better. Both were absolutely brilliant and handled all of the mediums well. Most of these mediums would probably not be used in a journal. I was wondering if the thicker paste of Sample 6 should not be recommended for use on surfaces, other than paper, with the thinner Sample 6 recommended for use on paper. But these were early conclusions and I still had loads of mediums to test on the samples.

Overview of Sample 5.

Overview of Sample 6.

I still needed to see if any of these mediums had bled through to the back of the page. Sample 5 proved to be 100% effective in preventing bleeding.

Sample 6 also proved 100% effective in preventing bleeding.

You can watch a short compilation video of the steps above on YouTube:
https://youtu.be/wC4EqYBAGhs

Marietjie Uys (Miekie) is a published author. You can buy my books here:
You can purchase Designs By Miekie 1 here.
Jy kan Kom Ons Teken en Verf Tuinstories hier koop.
Jy kan Kom Ons Kleur Tuinstories In hier koop.
Jy kan Tuinstories hier koop.
You can follow Miekie's daily Bible Study blog, Bybel Legkaart, here in English & Afrikaans.
You may prefer to follow the traveling blog, A Pretty Tourist.
For more crafty ideas and great product reviews, visit A Pretty Talent on Facebook.
If you are in a literary mood, follow Miekie's musings, stories and poetry on A Pretty Author - Miekie.
Remember to keep nurturing your TALENT for making life PRETTY.
You can subscribe to any of these blogs and receive regular updates by email. Simply register your email address at the top of the applicable blog.