Jackson’s Aluminium Painting Panels are great for painting. They are specially treated for paint to adhere to and they offer a great value with a 100% conservation-quality stable support for your painting.
Aluminium art panels make even, rigid and lightweight painting surfaces. Unlike canvases (with wooden stretcher bars) or wood panels, aluminium panels are artwork supports that will not release gases over time and barely react to changes in humidity and temperature. The conservation benefits and archival properties of the metal mean that aluminium art panels can easily be stored in damp studios where traditional painting surfaces would warp. Areas on the aluminium painting panels can also be left exposed, as the material won’t tarnish due to its resistance to oxidation. The lightweight nature of the aluminium panels makes them ideal for large artworks which need to be transported. The panels have an industrial finish with slight marks or imperfections.
These panels have an anodised aluminium surface that is ready-prepared for use with all types of painting media, including oil, acrylic, watercolour, gouache and ink as well as some drawing media like pencil and pen. No priming is necessary. The paint will adhere very well to the metal. Either side of the panel can be used. Jackson’s Aluminium Panels are the perfect solution for those who like to paint on ultra smooth, hard surfaces. The smooth panel means that paint can easily be spread and that brushes never need to be scrubbed into the surface. Jackson’s Aluminium Panels have a smooth, light grey, satin finish, but can be primed with any of the Jackson’s primers should a different colour be preferred.
The Jackson’s aluminium panel is an anodised aluminium surface, which is widely considered the best process for preparation of an aluminium surface for the application of paint. There is no residue from the process as it is a change to the structure of the aluminium face, above and below the surface. The process modifies the surface by creating aluminium oxide within the surface, creating an extremely hard porous surface that allows fantastic adhesion of paints.
The very fine, regular, porous surface suits fluid paint best as it can get into the small pores. But the paint still needs plenty of binder so it will cure to a durable paint surface. After complete drying and curing both acrylic and oil colours are permanently bonded to the surface. If you wish to use thicker paint you can gesso the surface with a fluid gesso that penetrates the pores and then paint on top of that. The gesso will be permanently bonded to the surface.
The 3mm thick panels are available in 10 ready-cut sizes: 6x8inch (15x20cm), 8x10inch (20x25cm), 12x12inch (30x30cm), 11x14inch (28x36cm), 12x16inch (30x40cm), 16x16inch (40x40cm), 16x20inch (40x50cm), 18x24inch (46x61cm), 24x24inch (61x61cm) and a 5x5inch tester size. Or they can be cut to your specified size up to 100 x 100cm, please ring our order line to order a bespoke size.
A hand study in oil done by a staff member on a Jackson’s aluminium panel.
Hanging the Aluminium Panels
To display them – like all flat panels with no edging structure they will need to be framed or have a hanging system glued to the back.
You can adhere a wood strip to the back that will take screws for hanging.
For the panel shown below we used regular pva to adhere a thick strip of plywood to the panel. It is so well adhered it seems permanent.
Be aware – as with all glues you need to create a firm contact between the two surfaces and the glue. Clamping is best, a heavy weight will work.
Because clamping might damage a painting you can glue the wood strip on using a clamp before you paint or if you need to add the wood strip after you can use weights.
Jackson’s Aluminium Panel with a wood strip adhered to the back that will take screws for hanging.
Aluminium Painting Panel Testing
Multiple Painting and Drawing Media
I wanted to see how different media worked on the smooth metal surface.
I expected the paints to bead up like they would on plastic and for pencil and pen to wipe off.
I was surprised.
- Acrylic inks, Liquid Acrylics and Acrylic Paints all are permanent and can be glazed over each other when dry. They dry fairly quickly.
- Oil Colour grabs on nicely, it is not the slick surface I expected.
- Graphite Pencil goes on beautifully with subtle gradations possible. It will smudge slightly for blending and erase completely with a rubber.
- Coloured Pencil makes beautiful marks and doesn’t smear.
- Sketching and Brush Pens like Pitt Pens and Sakura Micron draw crisp lines with no feathering and give a great tonal contrast. They dry in a few minutes and do not smear when brushed with water.
- Watercolour washes flow nicely and dry fairly quickly with a beautiful satin surface. They are the least permanent medium on the panels as they will lift off completely when re-wetted. You cannot build up layers of colour.
- Soft Pastel doesn’t work, it brushes right off.
Testing Images
Acrylics- Phthalo BlueGS appeared darker on the area with acrylic primer applied, on the right, than on the left where it is on the bare aluminium panel.
Acrylics- Acrylic colour glazed over with liquid acrylic colour, Dried quickly and there was no lifting of the first colour.
Acrylic Inks- Thin applications dried quickly. Waterproof when dry.
Oils- Oil paint moves beautifully on the aluminium panels.
Oil colour after it has dried for a few weeks.
Pens and Pencils- Graphite shown with slight smudging and erasure, coloured pencil with almost no smudging, Pitt brush pen and Sakura Micron pen each has a puddle of water on top and no smearing.
Watercolour- Watercolours flowed beautifully and dried fairly quickly.
Watercolour- Top row watercolour is directly on the aluminium panel, lower watercolour is on a coating of acrylic primer. Colour on primer took longer to dry and looked darker. Colour lifted from both surfaces equally well.
The Colour of the Metal
I was surprised that transparent colours did not appear darker because of the colour of the metal showing through. Its light grey surface acts nearly as white.
I tested a portion with acrylic primer and both the blue acrylic and the umber watercolour took longer to dry on the acrylic primer than on the bare aluminium and the colours of the paint were darker, even with the white behind them.
The Surface
It is a super smooth surface that is lovely to stoke your hand across.
Yet because of the chemical treatment of the surface it is porous enough to be absorbent.
Unfortunately the surface is not pristine it has scuffs and scratches which you may wish to take into consideration if you are doing precise work or want to leave parts of the metal unpainted. If you are covering the whole surface with oil or acrylic colour I don’t think you will notice the slight imperfections at all. The surface could be given a smooth ground, clear or coloured, if you don’t mind changing the surface.
Click on the underlined links to go to the aluminium painting panels on the Jackson’s Art website.
Postage on orders shipped standard to mainland UK addresses is free for orders of £39.
31 Comments
informative, thank you. Inspiring …
These panels look fantastic, I will certainly be buying some of these and trying them out, looking forward to receiving them, I will of course keep you updated with my experiments using these with my mixed media work.
Very informative results on aluminium painting panels, which I look forward to using in the near future
I’m not sure it’s quite as straightforward as portrayed.
There is no mention of the chemical treatment, which is the *actual* surface to which any paint, etc., has to adhere (rather than the aluminium underneath the treatment).
There is a claim that, “Unlike canvases (with wooden stretcher bars) or wood panels, aluminium panels are inert artwork supports that will not release gases over time or react to changes in humidity and temperature.”
As anyone who works with metal (or has studied chemistry to GCSE level) will tell you, metals, including aluminium, *do* react to temperature, more than many other materials. They expand and contract. A problem is that as the paint, etc., is not sinking into the aluminium itself, as it would into supports such as canvas and paper, it is effectively a separate layer subjected to stress and strain as the underlying metal expands and contracts. The repeated stress and strain are likely to cause the separate paint layers to separate from the underlying aluminium layer more than might be the case with traditional supports.
Hello.
You are right that it is a bit complicated.
In response to what you rightly pointed out we have changed some of the wording a bit now and removed ‘inert’ as it’s a very specific term which probably doesn’t apply to the panels, we used it too broadly. You are correct that the panels will react to changes in temperature and humidity but only minute changes by comparison to paper or canvas, so we have clarified that as well.
The chemical treatment modifies the surface to allow paint to adhere extremely well. We are considering the treatment a proprietary process, so are not being more specific than that, I’m afraid.
You are incorrect in saying that the paint does not sink into the surface of the metal, the paint is drawn into the surface. I think you are also incorrect in saying that paint on canvas sinks into that surface because it’s actually attaching to the primer, as I understand it with oil paint the primer provides a barrier from direct contact with the canvas as the oil can damage the canvas.
There will be differences depending on the paints – some oil paints for example, are fairly lean when used straight from the tube so might not adhere quite as well as others, and since oils take longer to fully cure they will be a bit fragile for a longer period of time (until they are completely dry) compared to say acrylic.
I hope that helps.
It is a lovely surface to paint on!
What I have not found on the internet yet, and is
strongly needed, is for someone to get specific and
accurate about the linear thermal expansion
coefficients of different painting surfaces and display
the differences. Manufacturers are strongly implying
how great aluminum is for archival purposes. If so,
then be specific. What is the thermal coefficient for
wood? For copper? For steel? For canvas? For
Gessobord? For aluminum? Don’t tell us how great it
is. Be specific and back it up with scientific data for
us to see. And give us a comparison of the surfaces
as well with microscopic detail. If you’re etching into
the surface with acid or brushes, that’s fine as long as
there is zero residue. Saying you have a proprietary
procedure makes me not want to buy these for what if
you put some kind of varnish on it that doesn’t prove
to last or will react with paint badly in 30 years? If it’s
a pure, clean aluminum surface, say so. Metal panels
are the future no doubt, but it may not be aluminum.
We need to know the thermal expansion coefficients
between them and manufacturers need to be more
detailed. An artist who really cares about archival
materials needs more than ‘trust us’ talk. We may find
that aluminum was all the rage in 2017 because it was
cheep to make, but that in 2018 we found that
aluminum wasn’t all that great after all and we should
have been using steel instead. I don’t care if it’s $5
more for another metal. I will use it if it truly doesn’t
react to temperature swings as strongly. Again, it’s
about, in the end, strength (will it dent?) and how
MUCH it expands and contracts… then price. Get
specific guys. Give us DATA. And show us the
surfaces in fine detail. Thanks
Hi Sarah
We have updated our description of our aluminium panels so artists have a better idea of what they are getting.
I hope this information is helpful.
The Jackson’s aluminium panel is an anodised aluminium surface, which is widely considered the best process for preparation of an aluminium surface for the application of paint. There is no residue from the process as it is a change to the structure of the aluminium face, above and below the surface. The process modifies the surface by creating aluminium oxide within the surface, creating an extremely hard porous surface that allows fantastic adhesion of paints.
The very fine, regular, porous surface suits fluid paint best as it can get into the small pores. But the paint still needs plenty of binder so it will cure to a durable paint surface. After complete drying and curing both acrylic and oil colours are permanently bonded to the surface. If you wish to use thicker paint you can gesso the surface with a fluid gesso that penetrates the pores and then paint on top of that. The gesso will be permanently bonded to the surface.
About conservation considerations – it is not just heat expansion but also expansion caused by humidity absorbed into the wood and canvas of a stretched canvas.
You should be able to find a thermal expansion chart on the internet to compare materials.
I agree I would love to see a study with facts
based on oil paint and all the different reactions
it has with different surfaces. For example
luiquitex primer on a non porous surface is
flexible…. add an oilpainting and it stiffens up
and can crack like wafers when the surface
changes. I’ve never seen a fact filled study for
primers or unprimed surfaces but if you find one
I would be soooo interested to read it.
Good post. For hobbyists, not
bothered about selling their work,
they might not be that interested
what the surface treatment of this
aluminium is. However, if you sell
your work it’s very, very important
and vague claims or lack of specifics
isn’t good enough.
Hi Gwen
Professional artists use our panels.
The Jackson’s aluminium panel is an anodised aluminium surface, which is widely considered the best process for preparation of an aluminium surface for the application of paint. There is no residue from the process as it is a change to the structure of the aluminium face, above and below the surface. The process modifies the surface by creating aluminium oxide within the surface, creating an extremely hard porous surface that allows fantastic adhesion of paints. The very fine, regular, porous surface suits fluid paint best as it can get into the small pores. But the paint still needs plenty of binder so it will cure to a durable paint surface. After complete drying and curing both acrylic and oil colours are permanently bonded to the surface. If you wish to use thicker paint you can gesso the surface with a fluid gesso that penetrates the pores and then paint on top of that. The gesso will be permanently bonded to the surface.
Per one linear foot a temperature change of 1.8 degrees
Celsius (35.24 degrees Fahrenheit) can cause an
expansion of .0000131″. Larger dimensions like 90′ feet
can case a 3/4″ flex in aluminum sheeting. Most
paintings on aluminum comp will be hanging in a
temperature controlled environment, i.e. homes, office
buildings, museums, galleries, etc with HVAC. The
extreme temperature effects on aluminum comp in a
controlled environment is null.
I am so excited about the aluminum panels. I have a client in South Carolina with an open fronted outdoor room overlooking the swimming pool. I have already painted a large summer picture for her on primed and varnished wood for this area but she now requires an even larger (probably 2 or 3 panels ) winter painting for this area. These would be ideal as the humidity, heat and cold are quite extreme there. Also these would be comparatively light for shipping.
That sounds exciting 🙂 Let us know how it goes!
Great to hear that you like the Jackson’s Acrylics. We are very proud of them.
I forgot to put in my last comment re aluminium panels that I use Jackson’s acrylics for all my work and get amazing results from this high quality, versatile medium
I would love to try these panels
Thank you Julie for a really informative and interesting article. I bought a panel recently and loved working on it – I have been looking for reasonably priced aluminium panels to paint on for a long time! However when I tried to order some more panels they were all out if stock! Any idea when Jacksons will be getting further supplies in?
Hi Mandy
We are expecting them on May 5th.
Now that we know how popular they are we should now get the amount in we need.
I have let our IT team know there is a problem with the due date not showing on the website.
Thank you for that
[…] Read this earlier blog article for in-depth information about the Aluminium Painting Panels. […]
I have used one of these aluminium panels for the first time and love the effect of oil paint on them, painting a beach scene and leaving a clear area to show the sun on sea on the horizon, it works fantastically.
However, what I now need to know is do I need to varnish with artists retouching to protect the painting from scratching. Can anyone advise?
Hi Annette
I can almost see your shining sun! Sounds like a great effect.
As varnish is protecting the top of the painting, the oil paint, then the substrate (canvas or panel) doesn’t matter. So I would varnish it the same as normal, with a retouching to protect it.
Hi…I am intrigued by the use of aluminum for my painting surface. I want to
leave areas for the metal to “shine through”. As I seem to gather from your
description, the metal is actually covered by a colored primer. Is that correct?
Could I scratch through that primer? I work with acrylics. Thank you so much,
Beah
Hi Beah
No, there is no primer of any kind. It is chemically treated to make the surface molecules ready to bond with paint, ink, graphite or a primer. But the surface is light grey bare metal, with a texture like it has been rubbed with a steel brush.
I hope that helps.
Hi Julie
I am very interested in trying out your aluminium panels,
especially because they are archival. I also like painting
on your inhouse linen panels, because I prefer them to
stretched canvas, but am wary of any kind of wooden
backing board, whether MDF, pliwood or hardboard,
because of the risk of warping at some time in the future.
So here’s a suggestion which you might take on board:
Source some cheaper Dibond composite aluminium
panels, then glue your linen canvas to them,
thus offering a museum quality, archival art panel which
will never deteriorate or warp. From browsing the web, it
seems to me to be what most artists are looking for.
Regards
Stuart
Thanks Stuart. Sounds like a great idea!
I have been discussing it with our director.
It looks like we may go ahead with sourcing the Dibond.
I will keep you updated.
Hi there,
Love working on these panels- so smooth! Just wondering about hanging them .. The
panels look great as they are so would be a shame to frame them. You mention glueing a
hanging system to the back- but the large panels are quite heavy.. Can you recommend a
suitable glue?
Thanks
Hi Felicity
Great news, you can adhere a wood strip to the back that will take screws for hanging.
We have a sample here on which we used regular pva to adhere a thick strip of plywood to the panel. It is so well adhered it seems permanent.
Be aware – as with all glues you need to create a firm contact between the two surfaces and the glue. Clamping is best, a heavy weight will work.
Because clamping might damage a painting you can glue the wood strip on using a clamp before you paint or if you need to add the wood strip after you can use weights.
Here is an image we took of our sample. I will add it to the product information shortly.
https://www.jacksonsart.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Jacksons_Aluminum_Panels_Wood_Mount.jpg
If you try it please let me know how you get on.
Just wondering if anyone has tips on how to get all the fingerprint marks off once you’ve
finished working on the panel.
Hi Willow
It’s possible that rubbing alcohol or Isopropyl alcohol could help remove fingerprints from the bare aluminium as alcohol is a good degreasant and won’t leave any other residues. But the fingermarks are happening because the surface is meant to be porous and oil from your skin is getting into the pores of the aluminium – the aluminium is made to be this way so that the paint will adhere firmly. I think it’s just something you might have to live with or try to avoid in the first instance.
Do let us know if you try the alcohol.
Wondering if it is possible to etch into this surface and if
so, is it safe to this ? Any recommendations or suggestions
welcome.
Hi Dale
I can see what I can find out. What materials do you plan to use?