Five Ways to Use Eco-Solve

May 28, 2025

Looking for a natural alternative to toxic paint thinners? Eco-Solve is a natural, non-toxic, and VOC-free paint thinner and brush cleaner. It is the only archival quality paint thinner that can can be used in paintings and also clean your brushes! It is made from 100% processed soy bean oil, making it a studio essential for eco-conscious artists.

Keep reading to learn a few creative and practical ways to use Eco-Solve!

1. Thin Your Paint for Washes & Underpaintings

Eco-Solve makes it easy to create beautiful, transparent washes and quick-drying underpaintings. Just add a few drops to your oil paint until you reach your desired consistency. The result? A super-thin, silky layer that’s perfect for building up your painting.

2. Drip Techniques

Add some abstract elements to your artwork! Simply dip your brush in Eco-Solve, load it up with a bit of oil paint from your palette, then gently roll or press the brush onto your surface. Watch as the paint flows and drips naturally for a beautiful, expressive effect. It’s a fun way to add some abstract elements to your artwork!

3. Easily Clean Your Brushes

First, wipe off any excess paint with a paper towel or cloth. Then, swirl your brushes in Eco-Solve to remove any remaining paint. Rinse with water, and you’re done! Soap is optional, but not necessary—Eco-Solve does the heavy lifting for you.

4. Restore Dried-Out Brushes

We've all left a brush or two out to dry by mistake—but Eco-Solve can help save the day! To revive stiff, dried-out brushes, simply soak them in Eco-Solve overnight. By morning, the hardened oil paint will come right off. Rinse with water (and a little soap if needed), and your brushes are ready to use again.

Whether you're painting, experimenting with techniques, or cleaning up after a creative session, Eco-Solve is a game-changer in the studio. Non-toxic, biodegradable, and super effective—it’s a small switch with a big impact for both your art and the planet.

5. Create an excellent "Painting Medium"

Mix Eco-solve 1:1 with Refined Walnut oil or Organic Sun Thickened Linseed Oil

Have a favorite way to use Eco-Solve that we didn’t mention? Share it with us on Instagram @naturalearthpaint—we’d love to see your tips and creations!

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This stuff is awesome

I’ve recently shifted my practice to Oil Painting and was looking for a good solvent free impasto medium. This stuff is so good. Mixes up easily with linseed or walnut oil to exactly the consistency you want for your work. Even better, colors remain true when mixed with this medium. Brilliant. Highly recommend.

New to Acrylics

I’ve always been an oil painter leaning to realism. So, I went to an art workshop in Scotland. It was a non objective abstract class. We were asked to use non toxic acrylics, especially easier to travel with. I was given your info, thought why not, non toxic sounded good to me. I really fell in love with process of the abstract and using your acrylics gave me the opportunity to work fast without fussing and it was fun. They layer beautifully, opaque or transparent and the colors are rich and mix beautifully. I’ve already ordered more, I plan to continue using. Thank you for working hard to make safer choices for our environment.

Great nontoxic adhesive!

I’m new to acrylic-type paints and mediums, after avoiding them for many years because of the chemical odor. I tried using the Acrylik Medium for collage, brushing it on the page before placing the paper, and then brushing on top. The adhesion was great and the surface came out perfectly clear. ✅✅
I haven’t yet tried the medium with my new Acrylik paints, and look forward to that. Thank you Natural Earth Paint for opening this new world of opaque paints to me!

Mixed Results

I truly love that these paints are natural and safe, and some of the colors are gorgeous. It's convenient that most of them rinse off with just water, and all of them come off with soap and water. I was surprised how well they stayed on the skin once they dried. I lightly brushed my hand across the design, and it wasn't affected at all. However, the orange I received is more of a brown, and the purple, gold, and brown paints are streaky and don't work well with a brush. Rather than covering an area of skin, they move around on top of the skin, which is frustrating. (See photo and compare the purple to the blue, yellow, and green.) The company did offer to replace the purple paint for me, and they would probably replace the gold and brown paints also, but it doesn't seem worth the effort. I wanted to use these body paints for stencils. and the consistency is actually too creamy for that. I mixed in some corn starch, and that made the consistency much better for stencils (see photos). So I will use up these paints eventually, but having to add in corn starch makes the process a bit cumbersome. Also, the jars and brushes are tiny. The photo on the website is somewhat misleading. The website does specify that each jar contains .4 oz, but the amount is much less than it looks like in the photo. The part of the jar that holds the paint is only an inch in diameter and about a half inch deep. Because 3 of the 10 colors don't work well with brushes, and because the jars are so tiny, I would give the product 3 stars. But the other colors work well and the blue, green, and yellow are gorgeously vibrant, the paints wash off very easily, and they don't have heavy metals. And the company does back up their product, so for that I would give the product 5 stars. The result is a 4-star rating.

Small Muller

It's just the right size for smaller batches of pigment. The lighter weight is easier on my hands.

Great for collage!

I am really enjoying this medium for my collage work! Easy clean up, and I don’t have to worry about toxins in the drain. Thank you!

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