Liquitex Professional Gesso Surface Prep Medium, 237ml (8-oz), Black

Great product, always use this.

I bought some small wood panels and primed with Liquitex gesso. Even with three coats of primer, the wood tone and grain showed through. Here is a painting I did on a clear primed wood panel. It would also be excellent for unbleached linen.

I wanted to add 2 or 3 more coats of gesso to my pre-stretched canvases, because I like a good toothy background surface to do oil painting on, and figured that more gesso would give me more texture. I bought the gallon tub, thinking it would last a long time. And it has, of course -- a little goes a long way. If you put too thick a coat on, it may not be as flexible as youd like, which means your painting may show signs of cracking in later years. Canvas needs to flex, so a few THIN coats of gesso is fine, but if you glob it on, youre asking for trouble. Anyway, I found the Liquitex gesso easy to work with; it washes right off with warm water and some dishwashing liquid. I always make sure I get every atom of paint or gesso out of my brushes when Im through with them, so they dont get clogged with old dry paint. This is especially important down at the base of the bristles. The Liquitex gesso came right out, and since it has very low odor and dries quickly, I had absolutely no problems or complaints. I even hand-stirred the tub using a bent coat hanger, and it blended nicely. This product is not like regular latex room or house paint -- it stays in suspension for a long time and the pigment doesnt seem to settle to the bottom, like most latex paints do. Id highly recommend Liquitex gesso. Maybe all gesso is about the same; but Im not taking chances! I know Liquitex is a 5-star product at a good price from Amazon. Thats all I need to know.

Liquitex never fails to deliver. Ive used numerous brands over the years, generally the cheaper ones found at Michaels and similar craft stores, and if you are at all interested in making a painting full of dimension and quality texture, you need to get something nice and thick like liquitex. The bargain brands are generally thinned down and just dont cut it, but liquitex always provides nice, even texture and lasting quality. Like most acrylics, it drys relatively fast, so unless you are skilled you might want to add some retarder that slows down the drying process and allows you to paint like you are using oils. As for this gesso, you wont need much at all to get a wonderful coverage. It is very opaque and applies evenly and covers even the darkest colors very easily. I generally only have to apply one coat for most colors unless Im covering a lot of black and I might use two coats. After I apply each coat I sand the canvas with a fine to medium grain sand paper to give it a nice smooth working surface and presto! Its like new and no one ever has to know Im working on a used canvas.

Good Quility

Works as advertised.

This gesso pours really well and doesnt crack, even when it is caked on.

Excellent! Kept wood from absorbing so much paint. Highly recommended

Needed this for a school project and I have to say I love the matte finish of the paint

Good gesso to use weather it’s for preparing a canvas or in the actual painting itself.