No, you cannot create oil paint directly from acrylic paint. They are fundamentally different mediums with incompatible bases.
Acrylic paint is water-based, while oil paint is, as the name suggests, oil-based. These two do not mix properly. Trying to combine them would likely result in a clumpy, unusable mess, and definitely not create usable oil paint.
Why You Can't Mix Acrylic and Oil Paint:
- Different Binders: Acrylic paint uses a synthetic polymer emulsion as a binder, whereas oil paint uses drying oils like linseed oil.
- Water vs. Oil: Water and oil do not mix. This incompatibility extends to the paints themselves.
- Drying Mechanisms: Acrylic paint dries by evaporation of water, creating a flexible, permanent film. Oil paint dries through oxidation, a chemical reaction with the air, forming a more durable and richer finish.
Can You Use Acrylic and Oil Paint Together?
While you can't mix them, you can use them in layers, but with a crucial restriction:
- Acrylic Under Oil: You can paint acrylic paint first and then, once it's completely dry, paint oil paint on top. The flexible acrylic layer provides a stable base for the more rigid oil paint.
- Oil Over Acrylic - A Definite NO: You cannot paint oil paint first and then acrylic paint on top. The oil paint's flexibility and slow drying time will cause the acrylic to crack and peel over time. This is due to the "fat over lean" rule in painting, where more flexible paints should be applied over less flexible ones.
Alternatives and Considerations:
Instead of trying to convert acrylic to oil, consider using alkyd paints. Alkyd paints are a synthetic resin-based paint that shares many characteristics with oil paints (like blending time and finish) but dries faster. They can often be thinned with mineral spirits like oil paints, but they don't yellow as easily.
