This Universal Primer with a water base works incredibly well to prepare surfaces for painting. It is an opaque primer that is bright white and has an absorbent quality. You can use cardboard, wood, and canvas to apply Mont Marte Gesso. Oils and acrylics can be painted over gesso once it has dried. Mont Marte Gesso is free of acids and offers a surface that is absorbent for painting. Using Mont Marte Gesso Brushes, apply two thin coats of Gesso to achieve a smooth surface. For a more textured effect, it can also be applied using a palette knife. After two hours, touch dry; longer if more heavily applied. Use water to clean up. When Gesso is applied to a canvas that has been primed beforehand, the painting's surface becomes smoother and more even, allowing paint to flow more freely and prevents wastage.