This one accepts oil, acrylic, pastels, charcoal, pencil, and crayon, so it really covers all of your bases You can also use a high-quality gesso to prime your canvas. Just make sure the gesso you choose accepts the type of paint you’re planning to use. I only use acrylic paints, though, so for oils that might not be your best bet. I’ve prepped old canvases for reuse with regular primer from the house paint section, and my stuff has held up for years. Preparing the canvas helps avoid that mistake. The key to reusing an old canvas is preparing your canvas properly. Your best bet is to lightly sand the painting, to even out the surface, then paint over the whole thing with primer. You DO NOT want to paint with acrylic over oil or oil over acrylic, because that is a recipe for flaking or peeling paint. Or maybe you want to know how to reuse a canvas from one of your own paintings that you’ve decided to scrap.

Or you have some printed canvases from your old photography business that need a refresh. Maybe you found some terrible hotel art at a thrift store, but the frame is gorgeous. I’m not talking about painting over the Mona Lisa to turn her into a chalkboard, but there are definitely situations when you want to reuse a canvas.

How to patch canvas painting