You may have noticed the new labels adorning the bottles and jars in the GOLDEN Mediums, Gels, Pastes, Additives and Varnishes sections of the stores and online retailers. The new fresh look and new naming convention is our way of updating the look of our products, as well as making some of the names of the products easier to understand and more descriptive of their purposes. We have not changed any of the formulas of these products. They are the same tried and true GOLDEN Mediums, Gels, Pastes, Additives and Varnishes that artists have come to rely upon.
The first thing that is a noticeable difference is that the GOLDEN logo has changed in placement and color. There are 5 colors used on these logos, which signify different categories of usage. The orange logo represents Grounds, the lighter blue for Fluid Mediums, the darker blue for Pastes and Gels, the green for Additives and the purple logo is for Varnishes. This change was intended to make it easier for artists and retailers to quickly recognize in which category the material belongs.
The next thing that is likely most noticeable is that some of the names of the products have changed. We felt that it would be easier for most to understand the uses of these products by giving them simpler, more descriptive names. For example, in the case of the name change from Acrylic Flow Release to Wetting Agent, we felt that the name confused people about how it should be used. Without reading the directions and just relying upon the name, people assumed that adding this to paint would make it flow better. In truth, this is a surfactant, meaning literally surface-action. A surfactant is a wetting agent that breaks the tension of the surface area, allowing it to penetrate into an absorbent surface better. This product should always be added to water in a tiny amount (3-4 drops, per 8 ounces of water) that you would then use to thin the paint. Since a surfactant is essentially a soap, if used too concentrated or in too much quantity, it can bubble up with paint brush friction or migrate to the surface and remain sticky and may never properly dry or cure. Another change is Polymer Medium Gloss to Gloss Medium. This change, we felt, would help artists understand that this is our general purpose Gloss Medium and in truth, all of the acrylic paints, mediums, gels and pastes are polymers. If you refer to the chart below, you can reference the old names with the new for most of the changes made. Excluded from the chart are the name changes of the gels, where we simply put the sheen in front of the product. For instance, we changed Soft Gel Gloss to Gloss Soft Gel.
We want everyone to understand clearly that we did not reformulate any of the products. They are exactly the same as they were before the change. Once the older labels have worked their way completely out of circulation, we imagine people will get used to and embrace the ease of the newer naming conventions.
