Gels & Mediums
5 ways to bring texture into a painting: modeling paste, Gray Stone Powder, rust
Relief, color in the paste, targeted cracks, grain and real rust — five techniques for artists who work with a palette knife.
Texture changes how a painting catches light. Raised areas cast shadows, grain breaks up glazes, cracks and rust make a surface look aged. For each of these effects there is a dedicated material in our assortment. Here are five ways to use them, from smooth relief to a rusty surface.
One rule applies to all five: seal at the very end, when no more paint is going on. As long as the texture stays open, it takes up glazes.
1 Relief with Modeling Paste Smooth
Modeling Paste Smooth White is ready to use. You open the container and get started. The consistency is reminiscent of a smooth cake batter. You spread the paste with a palette knife or painting knife and can move it around as long as it is wet.
Once dry, the surface is matte and stays absorbent. That is the real advantage. Glazes of Aquarylic Color or diluted Acrylic Paint soak into the paste and collect in the hollows. That makes every raised area visible.
- Ridges and peaks: Draw the painting knife flat across the paste for ridges, dab it for small peaks.
- Wet-in-wet: The paste doesn’t need to set first. Work paint, Gray Stone Powder or iron filings straight into the wet paste.
- Collage: Papers can be embedded too.
White comes in 650 g and 1300 g. The smaller container is enough for a first relief painting. If you work in large formats or in series, the larger one is more practical, because you don’t have to restock in the middle of a painting.
2 Color in the paste: 25 colored shades and Deep Black
Since May 2026, Modeling Paste Smooth has been available in 27 shades: White, Deep Black and 25 colored pastes. The colored ones carry the names of the Chalk Paint shades, such as Terracotta, Jade, Pigeon Blue or Champagne. Relief and color are created in a single step.
There is one quirk you should know: colored pastes are darker when wet and lighten as they dry. So only judge the shade once the surface is dry.
- Dark relief ground: Modeling Paste Smooth Deep Black gives a velvety black ground. Glazes and metallics such as the shades from the Pearlescent collection glow intensely on it.
- Same name, two materials: Modeling Paste Smooth Terracotta and Chalk Paint Terracotta share the same name. Try out how you set relief and flat surface side by side.
- All shades: in the Modeling Pastes collection.
3 Setting cracks on purpose
Modeling Paste Smooth forms slight cracks when applied thickly, especially when it dries quickly, for example under a hair dryer. That can be a nuisance. But you can also use it deliberately. Fine cracks make a surface look like old plaster or dried earth.
You control the crack pattern through two things: the layer thickness and the drying speed. Applied thickly and dried with warm air, cracks form. If you want a calm surface, apply it more thinly and let the paste dry undisturbed.
- Both in one painting: Apply thickly in one spot and thinly next to it. That way you see both effects side by side.
- Emphasizing cracks: A diluted glaze collects in the gaps and traces them.
- Pour instead of spread: Our knowledge article shows a variation. Apply modeling paste and Chalk Paint White alternately over large areas with the painting knife, thin and thick in turns, and let it set for no more than 15 minutes. Then pour Aquarylic Color, diluted 1 : 1 with water, generously over it, ideally one stronger and one lighter mix.
4 Gray Stone Powder: bonding ground and grain
Gray Stone Powder is finely ground natural limestone from Vorarlberg, gray in tone. On its own it doesn’t adhere; it always needs a binder. That is exactly what makes it versatile. Depending on the binder, it becomes a bonding ground, a cracking modeling paste or a flowing texture.
- Acrylic Adhesive : Gray Stone Powder 1 : 3 — creamy and low in cracks. A bonding ground for canvas and other grounds.
- Chalk Paint White : Gray Stone Powder 1 : 2 — cracking and matte.
- (Chalk Paint + water 1 : 1) : Gray Stone Powder 1 : 2 — flows and forms puddles.
The quickest method needs no stirring. Sprinkle Gray Stone Powder loosely onto wet paint. Once dry, tap or brush off the excess and reuse it. This creates rock and concrete looks. You’ll find more fillers in the Fillers collection.
5 Real rust in three steps
Rust from the container is not a shade that looks like rust. It is real iron that oxidizes on your painting. The process has three steps.
- 1. Apply iron: Liquid Iron is an iron primer, pure iron in paint form. You brush or spread it on neat. Diluted with water up to 1 : 1, it becomes more glazing. For a rough surface, sprinkle Iron Filings into a still damp bonding ground, such as acrylic adhesive, Chalk Paint or modeling paste.
- 2. Oxidize: Fill Oxidizing Agent into a spray bottle with a fine mist and wet the iron layer thoroughly, without puddles. The first rust tones appear after about one to two hours. You can repeat this step until you like the tone. Letting it dry stops the process; moistening starts it again.
- 3. Finish: Sealing is possible, for example with Final Varnish. It darkens the rust surface, so test it on a small spot first. Many artists leave real rust unsealed. It can then darken further.
The binder changes the image. With acrylic adhesive you get sharply defined rust islands. In Chalk Paint, submerged grains stay gray and visible ones turn orange. In modeling paste, the filings look like rocks. You’ll find the safety data sheets under Downloads. If you’d rather learn the techniques by video: the Comprehensive Rust Set including video course contains the materials and more than two hours of course with six rust techniques.
Seal at the end: Final Varnish dries transparent and satin matte, is waterproof and, with its UV protection, protects against yellowing and fading. It also fixes texture materials and fillers. Apply several thin coats rather than one thick one. More in the Binders and Varnish collection.
Everything for your first rust
Rust Set
Reviews come from customers after a confirmed purchase (Loox) or are verified by Trusted Shops.The set contains everything for the three steps from point 5:
- Liquid Iron 250 g
- Iron Filings 500 g
- Oxidizing Agent 500 ml
- Adhesive 250 ml as a bonding ground
- PDF guide
€54,00Sum of individual prices instead of €60,00incl. VAT, plus shipping
Modeling Paste Smooth White
Reviews come from customers after a confirmed purchase (Loox) or are verified by Trusted Shops.The ready-to-use base for relief, cracks and rust on texture. Dries matte, stays absorbent for glazes and can be combined wet with fillers and iron filings.
€16,00incl. VAT, plus shipping
To Modeling Paste Smooth WhiteFrequently asked questions
What can I paint over modeling paste with?
With Aquarylic Color, Acrylic Paint, Chalk Paint or pigments. Because the paste stays absorbent once dry, glazes soak in and collect in the hollows. You can also work wet-in-wet and bring the paint straight into the wet paste.
Why is my colored modeling paste lighter once dry?
That’s normal. Colored modeling pastes are darker when wet and lighten as they dry. So only judge the shade on the dry surface, and allow for this in tone-on-tone work.
Do I have to seal rust?
It’s a choice, not a must. Final Varnish seals the rust surface but darkens it. Test this on a small spot first. Many artists leave real rust unsealed; it can then darken over time.