Many artists and crafters love using their ovens to speed up the drying process when it comes to paints. Some put projects with acrylic or Mod Podge in the oven to cure them faster. However, you’ll always want to make sure you only do this with oven-safe items.
So, can you bake tempera paint? Yes, but you won’t need to bake tempera paint for most projects. Tempera paint dries very quickly on paper, so there’s no reason to do this. However, you can add tempera paint to the salt dough and bake it.
In short, you’ll want to consider your medium when thinking about baking your tempera paint in the oven. There’s a lot to learn about tempera paint, so let’s continue reading!
Can Tempera Paint Be Baked in the Oven?
You can bake tempera paint in the oven since it doesn’t release fumes when it gets hot. Still, you will need to make sure you don’t need to use it for cooking until it airs out. It’s also good to clean the oven after.
There are a few oven safe items you can bake paint on, for instance, you can add tempera to the salt dough and then bake it. Creating colorful salt dough is the most popular reason people bake tempera paint!
My favorite and top pick is always Arteza Tempera Paints. They have so many different colors, and the quality is amazing! I usually use Arteza Paints for all my projects.
You won’t want to use tempera paints on glass because the result won’t last. Tempera paints peel and chip off glass very quickly, so while they’re great for decorating windows for a short amount of time, the paint won’t last on glassware. Even baking it won’t make the tempera stay for long.
Tempera paints aren’t permanent- they’re temporary on many non-porous surfaces. Even if you bake tempera paint in the oven, you won’t receive a permanent result. If you want to use longer-lasting paints, acrylics are a good option. You can achieve a baked finish with acrylics by putting them in the oven after drying!
How To Bake Tempera Paint
Before baking your tempera paint, make sure that you’re applying the pigment to oven-safe objects. You also may get mixed results with homemade tempera paints, especially if they contain eggs.
When baking paint in the oven, you should always start cold. Don’t turn the oven on until you have all your objects inside on a baking tray. Allow the items to warm up with the oven so they don’t crack or break.
Then, slowly bake the items at about 200 degrees F for 30 to 40 minutes. After baking, allow the oven to cool down inside. You shouldn’t touch it for at least eight hours, so I like to let it sit in the appliance overnight.
However, if you’re applying the tempera paint to salt dough, you’ll want to follow different instructions. According to the most common salt dough recipes, the dough needs to cook for much longer than 30 minutes.
Can You Use Tempera Paint on Salt Dough Ornaments?
You can use tempera paint on your salt dough! If you’re making salt dough ornaments, tempera paints are an easy way to add bursts of color. If this is a DIY project you’re working on with children, tempera paints are extremely simple to clean up. You can do it with very young kids and still won’t have to worry about a big mess!
Make your salt dough following a recipe first. Then, add a tablespoon of tempera paint powder or liquid paint. You may need to add more until you achieve the color you want- it’s best to work slowly. You can also mix pigments to get a variety of colors!
Stir and knead the dough until the tempera pigment mixes well with the salt dough. From there, you can shape the salt dough and bake it per the instructions in your recipe.
If you want a simple salt dough recipe, you can try this one:
- Combine two cups of white flour with one cup of salt
- Slowly add water to get a dough-like consistency
- Mix in your tempera paints or powders
- Knead the dough
- Shape your objects and place them on a baking sheet
- Bake at 200 degrees F for four to six hours (or until the object hardens)
- Allow them to cool completely
Overall, salt dough ornaments are a great project for kids! They’re sure to have fun coloring the dough too. It’ll create a teaching opportunity to discuss color mixing with them.
Is Tempera Paint the Same As Acrylic?
Tempera and acrylic paints are not the same. Acrylics are permanent, while tempera paints are not. Acrylics last much longer and won’t discolor as tempera paints will. These two paints contain different ingredients, which makes this happen.
Acrylic also has a vastly different texture once it dries. This type of paint looks thicker and glossier than tempera. It resembles plastic when completely dry.
Tempera paints are chalkier after drying. It’s also very matte and flat looking. Children often use this paint because it’s quick to dry and very easy to clean.
Overall, these two types of paint aren’t the same! Although, they are both water-based paints and aren’t toxic. They contain different binders and pigments, giving them very different consistencies and uses.
How Do You Make Tempera Paint Permanent?
If you want permanent paint, you’ll want to use acrylics instead of temperas. Tempera paint isn’t permanent and can fade with time. It washes away very easily if it makes any contact with water (even a drop!).
You can make your tempera paint longer-lasting but not permanent. Take your paint and mix them with an egg yolk to do this. This process can create vibrant, longer-lasting colors. While doing so adds a lot of fade resistance, you’ll still want to keep your tempera project out of the sun!
Creating your own tempera paint from scratch also helps to make it last a lot longer. You can do this with egg yolks and tempera pigment powders.
Finally, sealing your tempera paint with Mod Podge can greatly increase its duration! The Mod Podge also adds shine to the paint, which can appear chalky on its own. Overall, finishing your painting with Mod Podge can help prevent it from fading, chipping, or flaking off many surfaces.
Is Tempera Paint Flammable?
Companies usually create tempera paint with children in mind, meaning they aren’t toxic or flammable! You can feel safe baking this paint as it shouldn’t catch fire or release fumes into your kitchen.
However, the items you place the paint on can still catch fire if you heat them at unsafe levels! You must bake painted items slowly at a low temperature. Always stop right away if something doesn’t feel right.
In short, tempera paints aren’t flammable. They usually contain simpler ingredients than other types of paint, so you also won’t have to worry about them being harmful to you.
Final Thoughts
To summarize, you can bake tempera paint. However, you usually only do this for projects like creating salt dough objects. The paint doesn’t become permanent after baking, so it’s not useful to do with most types of projects.
Overall, if you want to bake non-food items in your oven, you should always be careful! Make sure you aren’t adding anything toxic to your appliance because you don’t want it to release fumes.
Make sure to follow all my tips and recommended products to ensure your tempera painted project turns out great! Also, don’t forget to check out my other articles for all your painting Q&A’s. Happy painting!
