How to Make Traditional Gesso Using Acrylic Glue
The advantages of making traditional gesso using acrylic glue are that you can sand it to the texture you desire, and room temperature is good for application. Unlike traditional gesso made with rabbit-skin or calf-skin glue, you can store your batch of gesso for using later. It is more porous than acrylic primers and is suitable for many mediums. Being water-based, it cleans up easily with soap and water.
1. Gather ingredients :
a. 2 parts zinc white pigment
b. 16 parts calcium carbonate (marble dust)
c. 8 parts water
d. 4 parts PVA glue (neutral ph adhesive)
2. Combine in a large container the PVA glue, water, calcium carbonate (marble dust), and zinc white or titanium pigment, by volume, with a wooden spoon or straight-edged wooden stirring blade.
3. Stir the mixture gently to allow the pigment to absorb and to get rid of any air bubbles. Then, let it stand.
4. Give the mixture a good stir once again before applying to the panels.
5. Make your mixture thicker by increasing the calcium carbonate by two to four parts. You want to do this if you are covering a very rough surface. This is known as gesso grosso.
6. Thin the mixture using two parts water. Thinner mixture gesso is good for the final layers and is known as gesso sottile.
Tips
Use two to five applications when applying gesso to the canvas or wooden panel in extremely thin layers. You can then sand it to the desired texture using fine sandpaper in a circular motion. Sand both vertically and horizontally to get a smooth surface. Remove sanding dust by using a soft, folded cloth and gently rubbing the surface in circular motions once again; then rub vertically and horizontally to remove any dust, and make the surface as smooth and clean as possible for the application of paints.
Disadvantages
One disadvantages is that this is not a good medium for egg tempera painting. But, it's generally fine for oils and acrylics. Also, using the acrylic glue instead of an animal-hide glue with oils means no physical or chemical bonding takes place, meaning that in time oil paints will delaminate from the acrylic primer. This has not stopped it from being accepted in some museums, however.
Warning
Some of the ingredients you will use are potentially harmful to your health. Wear a mask to protect your nose and mouth, and be sure to not breathe in the dust.