Do all paints have surfactants in them?
The short answer to this is: no.
Hi –
All water-based acrylics contain surfactants and it is integral to their formulation. The same is largely true of water-based oils. Traditional watercolors do not have surfactants per se but they do have wetting agents – such as ox gall – that perform some of the same functions but are quite distinct chemically. Regular oil paints at their most basic do not require surfactants or wetting agents, although many companies will use aluminum stearate which functions as both a dispersing and wetting agent, but its use is not universally embraced.
In the end, surfactants are really mostly a term and class of chemical associated with water-based acrylics, and to a lesser extent, water-based oils.
Hope that helps.
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