Pyrrole Red (colour number 315) uses PR254. It is rated semi-opaque with a lightfastness of +++. Knowing the pigment code matters more than the colour name, because names vary between brands while pigment index codes do not. If you are matching a colour across brands or checking permanence, the code is the thing to compare.

Pyrrole Red is semi-opaque. That determines how you should use it. An opaque colour covers what is beneath it in one or two coats and is what you want for blocking in and correcting. A semi-transparent or transparent colour lets the layer underneath influence the result, which makes it ideal for glazing and shadow work but frustrating if you are trying to cover something. Check the swatch on the jar against a black bar to see it for yourself.

All Amsterdam acrylics are intermixable, and Pyrrole Red behaves predictably in mixes given it is semi-opaque. Start by mixing it with titanium white for tints and with a small amount of its complementary colour to knock back the intensity rather than reaching for black, which tends to deaden a mix. Keep a swatch card of your mixes with the ratios written on it, because you will want to repeat one later.

Yes. The question that matters for selling work is permanence, and Amsterdam Standard Series is rated ++ or +++ for lightfastness with a 100% acrylic resin binder that cures water resistant. Where professionals tend to reach for a higher grade is when they need maximum pigment strength in a small area, or very specific single-pigment mixing behaviour. For large canvases, underpainting, murals and blocking in, Standard Series is a sensible professional choice.

Tell us within 7 business days of receiving it. Email customerservice@artshedonline.com.au with your order number and photos of the damage and the packaging, and our team will sort it out. Paint jars are packed to survive the trip, but couriers are couriers. Reporting it quickly with photos is what lets us make a claim and get a replacement moving.

Pre-primed canvas from the shop is ready to paint on. Raw canvas, raw board and bare timber should be primed with acrylic gesso first, two thin coats sanded lightly between, which gives you a stable, slightly toothy surface and stops the binder sinking straight in. On masonry, render or concrete the surface needs to be clean, sound and slightly porous, and Amsterdam's alkali resistance means it will hold there without a specialist primer.

Yes, with a fabric medium mixed in. Straight acrylic on fabric dries into a stiff plastic patch that cracks when the cloth flexes. A textile or fabric medium keeps the binder flexible so the paint moves with the weave. Prewash the fabric to remove sizing, paint with a board inside so it does not bleed through, let it cure fully, then heat set with an iron on the reverse per the medium's instructions.

Barely. Amsterdam is water based and Royal Talens describes it as odourless, which is the main reason acrylic suits home studios, apartments and classrooms where solvent-based oils are impractical. There is no turpentine or mineral spirit involved in painting or cleaning up. Some mediums and varnishes, particularly solvent-based varnishes, do have a smell, so read the label on those and use them with ventilation.

Upright, lid on tight, at stable room temperature, out of direct sunlight. Heat and freezing are the two things that ruin acrylic, so a hot car, a tin shed in summer or an unheated garage in a cold winter are all bad storage. Wipe the rim before you close the lid or dried paint will stop it sealing. Never tip used paint from the palette back into the jar, because you are introducing contamination and half-cured lumps.