If you’re looking for a paint to impart an all-over metallic effect or one that can just add a light-catching detail here and there, metallic acrylics may be the way to go. But it’s hard enough to find an acrylic paint with a flawless consistency, let alone one with a beautifully balanced metallic sheen. Many look too glittery; others too dull. To find that perfect space between the two extremes is an art that few companies have mastered. Fortunately, we’ve located some excellent products to guide your choice. Check out our reviews below.
1. Arteza Metallic Acrylic Paint
Though this set of metallic acrylics is an incredible option for adults, it is also certified safe and nontoxic, so you will have no problem using these paints with children. While the set includes a wide selection of silvers, golds, and bronzes, it also offers plenty of bright tones like magenta and tangerine as well as pastels such as lilac and sage. Packaged in a sturdy box, they are also easy to store after use.
2. Winsor & Newton Reeves Acrylic Metallic Set
This set delivers four 75-milliliter tubes of acrylic paint in the classic metallic hues of gold, silver, copper, and bronze. The acrylics are thick enough to remain opaque when brushed, yet thin enough to manipulate easily, requiring no additional solvents. While still wet, the paints are water soluble; after drying, they are quite durable, no matter what surface they have been applied to. The metallics give off an attractive shimmer, bringing paintings to life in the most light-catching way.
3. Shuttle Art Metallic Acrylic Paint Set
If you’re looking for a metallic pigment set for beginners, consider this multipack. Included are 20 flip-top squeeze bottles (60 milliliters each) in a variety of metallic hues—from burgundy to peacock blue to forest green—all nontoxic and easy to dispense. The set even comes with three brushes and a palette. The colors are all low-luster metallic, giving off a glow without going over the top in the glitzy sheen department. The paint dries quickly and is waterproof and fade-proof, suitable for hard surfaces like wood and metal as well as soft ones like canvas and apparel. And all of this comes at a very reasonable price.
4. FolkArt Metallic Acrylic Craft Paint Set
Many metallic multipacks include a rainbow of tones, but if all you’re really after is a variety of silvers and golds, this set is just the one for you. You get seven 2-ounce tubes of gold, copper, and silver paint plus one bottle of black. The paint is water-based and nontoxic, making it suitable for children. Each of the metallic pigments stays true to tone when dry and is highly pigmented for a truly opaque finish.
5. Jacquard Lumiere Metallic Acrylic Paint
Many serious artists prefer to buy their pigments one at a time, rather than in a multipack. If you are among them, consider Jacquard’s 70-milliliter jars of metallic acrylic paint. The paint has an extremely smooth texture and is highly pigmented, so a little goes a long way. It is suitable not only for traditional painting but for stencils, screen prints, and more; it will even produce good results on softer surfaces like fabric and Styrofoam. Each pigment, whether classic silver and gold or a bolder hue like violet or crimson, has a nicely calibrated sheen that is neither too glittery nor too matte.