Yes, all Amsterdam acrylics are intermixable, but adding an opaque colour to a metallic buries the mica flakes in solid pigment and reduces the shimmer. If you want a metallic version of another colour, glaze a thin layer of Metallic Red over the opaque colour once it is dry rather than mixing the two on the palette. Mixing metallic into metallic works fine and is a good way to shift the tone.

Yes, more than it affects a plain colour. Gloss varnish deepens the flare and makes Metallic Red look richer. Matte varnish scatters the reflected light and will noticeably mute the metallic, sometimes to the point of losing the effect. Satin sits in between. Always test on a painted sample board before varnishing the finished piece, because this is not a change you can undo.

Metallic Red (colour number 832) uses Coated Mica/PR254. It is rated semi-transparent with a lightfastness of +++. The coated mica is what produces the metallic effect: it splits into flat, reflective mineral platelets that align as you brush the paint out, so the surface catches and returns light rather than simply absorbing it the way a conventional pigment does.

Yes. Amsterdam is made by Royal Talens in the Netherlands, a company that has been making artists' colours since 1899. The Standard Series is a general purpose acrylic built for people who paint a lot, with a 100% acrylic resin binder, a satin finish and lightfastness ratings of ++ or +++ across the range. It is not a heavily pigmented professional colour like Golden Heavy Body, and it is not trying to be. What it is, is a dependable, permanent acrylic you can use freely rather than ration.

Yes, we ship Australia wide including WA, the Northern Territory, regional and remote areas. Allow about 2 to 3 business days with Express Post and 6 to 8 business days with Standard Post to those destinations after dispatch. Larger and heavier orders go by Startrack courier rather than Australia Post, which takes about 6 to 8 business days to WA, the NT, Tasmania and remote areas. Tracking is provided on everything.

Thin layers can dry within half an hour. Thick, impasto applications take considerably longer, sometimes overnight, and a heavy texture can stay soft underneath for days even when the surface feels dry. Heat and airflow speed it up, humidity slows it down, which matters in a Brisbane summer. Touch dry is not cured. Allow a good few days before varnishing, and longer over heavy texture.

Yes. Clean and lightly sand the piece, prime bare or previously varnished timber with an acrylic primer or gesso, then build two or three thin coats rather than one heavy one. The important step is the finish: seal it with a hard-wearing clear polyurethane or an acrylic varnish rated for furniture, because raw acrylic on a tabletop will mark and scuff. Allow proper curing time before you put anything on it.

It cures water resistant and permanent, which is enough for an indoor painting and enough to survive being wiped. It is not the same as a waterproof coating, so for anything living outdoors, getting scrubbed, or holding water, seal it with an exterior or hard-wearing clear varnish. Note also that it needs to be fully cured, not just touch dry, before it reaches that water resistance, which means days rather than minutes.

No. Standard Series runs around 90 colours at one consistent grade, medium viscosity, satin finish. Expert Series uses higher pigment concentrations, more single-pigment colours and traditional artist pigments including cadmiums and cobalts, organised into series bands by pigment. Choose Standard for scale, teaching and mixing in volume. Choose Expert when you want maximum tinting strength and the cleanest possible mixes.