My recent scroll showing gold Finetec paint over black underpainting and natural pergamenata

I have a new favorite gold paint. It is Finetec’s Artist Mica Opaque Watercolor.  

It’s as good as the Perl Ex mica paint I used previously plus I don’t have to mix it with a gum Arabic binder. It comes in small hard paint pans. So easy to use, it flows onto the support just like I use gouache.

The results are as beautiful as the artist can make. I’ve used it directly on natural pergamenata and over black gouache underpainting. It handles well in fine lines and larger blobs. You can see for yourself in my scanned image. 

This gold product was one of six refills, all the same color, I bought on Amazon for about $10.00. I accidentally ran into the listing when I was looking for something else. Although I’d heard great things about this product from other scribes I didn’t know how fast I’d use it up. I thought the multiple pans would solve that problem. This gold covers as much area as any gouache, so the six pans were more than enough. I’ve given a few away to friends as gifts.

While I only bought one color you can buy this product in a six-color set: Tibet Gold, Inca Gold, Arabic Gold, Gold Pearl, Moon Gold and Sterling Silver. The price varies dramatically, so check multiple sources.


While this is my new favorite gold paint, it isn’t perfect. It takes a healthy amount to appear gold. In a wash, it only gives a gold sheen to the surface. It wouldn’t work thinned for a dip pen and may need several coats for large areas. 

For convenience, price, and quality this Finetec gold is my new best gold scroll paint. This gold paint will be hard to beat.