How to thicken/re-thicken acrylic miniature paint.

[FormelyKnownAsSmashyPants]

Hi all, after having bought some Drop-Tops (which are pretty great at this point. I’ll be putting them through their paces before I do a proper review as-well as buying second batch if I really like them), and decided I’d add a little Lahmian medium to my Citadel paints before replacing the top. I also added some Lahmian medium to Army Painter ‘Poisonous Cloud’, a brand known for being particularly thick by nature. Long story short, I believe I have added a bit too much medium to the Poisonous Cloud and a couple of my Citadel pots, and was wondering what, if anything, I can add to thicken them up again. YouTube has provided a lot of answers that appear to be mainly directed at artists/canvas painters, a lot of which seem like old wives’ remedies. After filtering out what I believe to be bull , I figure I’ve got three options: firstly I can buy some thickening medium, which I’m not really keen on because it comes in a large and relatively expensive pot, which I’m not keen on as I don’t know whether it will work at all and I really don’t plan on making the same mistake all too often, and also feel the product not worth buying for the sake of a couple of pots of Citadel/Army Painter paint. Secondly adding a drop of PVA, which I have a abundance of for basing. And another option is to buy a new pot of the same colour, not so much as a replacement, but to mix back in to the original pot, and then I would also have a replacement ready to go when I run out. So what are people’s thoughts? Also how do you gauge thinning down your paints still in the pot? Or is it really better just to leave it neat and only thin paint on your ceramic/wet pallet (I use both depending on weather, and technique/application). A final option I thought of is leaving the pot open for a period of time and have it dry out partially. Any help anyone has would be greatly appreciated. 
 

Edit : worse case scenario a just chuck the pot out.

Edited October 23, 2021 by Captain Smashy Pants

[Lucien Eilam]

I never add anything to paint in the original pot. I bought a sack of dropper bottles years ago and mix up a small batch with whatever additives I want to use in one of those. If I get it wrong, I can add more paint from the original pot/bottle, and haven’t ruined the entire pot.

 

If you don’t have any use for an entire bottle of acrylic medium, I’d just replace the pot for now. It’ll probably cost the same or less. Anything you add will also further dilute the pigment and may change the properties of the paint in more ways than just thickening it.

 

Paint being too thin is a problem Citadel flip-top lids have been solving for decades. Stick the bad one at the back of the shelf and see what it’s like in a year or two.

[Firedrake Cordova]

I vote for getting a second pot and just mixing the two - it's probably the easiest and least waste option (especially if you just put both bottles into an empty 24ml shade bottle or a 35ml Vallejo mixing bottle). :)

 

W&N Professional Acrylic Matt Medium is very thick (gel-like), but at £12+ for 250ml likely not at all cost-effective.

[LameBeard]

When my paint is too thin I just let a blob dry out a bit on the palette as I use it.

[Captain Coolpants]

Can't you just leave the lid open for a few hours or a night? Won't some evaporate away and naturally thicken?

 

Otherwise, buying another pot of the same colour definitely sounds like the best option to mix them.

Edited November 8, 2021 by Captain Coolpants

[Xenith]

I mean, GW paints thicken when you're not looking. I'd just leave the top open overnight. Make sure you stir it also.