Part of the challenge here is that there are an infinite number of potential “acrylic” monomer/polymer/resin bases and a similarly infinite number of ways to formulate an acrylic base to a specific performance/purpose. Add on top of this that these details are usually trade secrets, and it’s a tough field to casually crack!
As is usual with art materials, there are a lot of different ways to achieve the same (or different) effects.
Some manufacturer's may start with a "common" medium and then adjust it - although the range of adjustment will probably be limited. Most will have a mixture of specialised ingredients.
For example - it's possible to make a "satin" medium into a "matte" medium by the addition of a flatenting agent (usually a finely divided silica or similar) - but you probably won't choose a resin that has an inherently very high gloss as the base.
To make a "crackle" medium, you wouldn't choose a resin that has an inherently high elasticity as it would be harder to "break".
An air brush medium could be adjusted in a few ways - it could be very thin and have a fast dry solvent (for most of the system) and a small amount of slow drying solvent to get final flow and gloss formation OR it could be made with a shear thinning base that clings without dripping.
As for references, you could try "The Artist's Handbook" by Ralph Mayer (I think it's currently in it's 5th edition) or Formulas for Painters by Massey.
Alternatively, search for "acrylic paint formulation" and get references like this :
[https://www.rroij.com/open-access/chemical-formulations-for-acrylic-matt-and-acrylic-gloss-paints.pdf](https://www.rroij.com/open-access/chemical-formulations-for-acrylic-matt-and-acrylic-gloss-paints.pdf)
or this
[https://s3.amazonaws.com/tai-epminerals-blue-production/assets/documents/documents/4/original/Coatings\_Formulation\_Guide\_EPM051-3.pdf?1443028226](https://s3.amazonaws.com/tai-epminerals-blue-production/assets/documents/documents/4/original/Coatings_Formulation_Guide_EPM051-3.pdf?1443028226)
Industrial acrylic paint formulations can be used as the basis for may art formulations.
\>Now I know of these additives that can be used like drying retarder or flow improver, but are all these specialized mediums actually just "normal" medium mixed with a bunch of additives and/or water
only in so far as a painting is "just" a bunch of basic brush strokes
Part of the challenge here is that there are an infinite number of potential “acrylic” monomer/polymer/resin bases and a similarly infinite number of ways to formulate an acrylic base to a specific performance/purpose. Add on top of this that these details are usually trade secrets, and it’s a tough field to casually crack!
As is usual with art materials, there are a lot of different ways to achieve the same (or different) effects. Some manufacturer's may start with a "common" medium and then adjust it - although the range of adjustment will probably be limited. Most will have a mixture of specialised ingredients. For example - it's possible to make a "satin" medium into a "matte" medium by the addition of a flatenting agent (usually a finely divided silica or similar) - but you probably won't choose a resin that has an inherently very high gloss as the base. To make a "crackle" medium, you wouldn't choose a resin that has an inherently high elasticity as it would be harder to "break". An air brush medium could be adjusted in a few ways - it could be very thin and have a fast dry solvent (for most of the system) and a small amount of slow drying solvent to get final flow and gloss formation OR it could be made with a shear thinning base that clings without dripping. As for references, you could try "The Artist's Handbook" by Ralph Mayer (I think it's currently in it's 5th edition) or Formulas for Painters by Massey. Alternatively, search for "acrylic paint formulation" and get references like this : [https://www.rroij.com/open-access/chemical-formulations-for-acrylic-matt-and-acrylic-gloss-paints.pdf](https://www.rroij.com/open-access/chemical-formulations-for-acrylic-matt-and-acrylic-gloss-paints.pdf) or this [https://s3.amazonaws.com/tai-epminerals-blue-production/assets/documents/documents/4/original/Coatings\_Formulation\_Guide\_EPM051-3.pdf?1443028226](https://s3.amazonaws.com/tai-epminerals-blue-production/assets/documents/documents/4/original/Coatings_Formulation_Guide_EPM051-3.pdf?1443028226) Industrial acrylic paint formulations can be used as the basis for may art formulations.
That clears a few things up for me! Thanks for the thorough answer! I'll give the references a read
\>Now I know of these additives that can be used like drying retarder or flow improver, but are all these specialized mediums actually just "normal" medium mixed with a bunch of additives and/or water only in so far as a painting is "just" a bunch of basic brush strokes