Save oil paint

[laika]

It fascinates me that people have trouble with oil paint drying out.

 

[Artyczar]

It fascinates me that people have trouble with oil paint drying out.

Maybe their caps were broken and air got into them?

 

[laika]

Maybe their caps were broken and air got into them?

I was thinking more of the oil paint that is still wet and pliable on the canvas weeks after painting with it Or months in the case of a glass palette.

 

[Artyczar]

I was thinking more of the oil paint that is still wet and pliable on the canvas weeks after painting with it Or months in the case of a glass palette.

Really? My oil paint dries out in a few days on the palette. Not completely, but enough for me to not want to use it anymore. I use it sparingly though.

 

[Enyaw]

more oil longer dry time .. mediums make it dry faster as well .. different brands .. a lot of factors ..

 

[laika]

more oil longer dry time .. mediums make it dry faster as well .. different brands .. a lot of factors ..

I guess it's the humidity. Oil paints drive me nuts, but I still want to paint with them without a lot of mediums. I end up using alkyd paints more than I oils because of grievously long drying times with oils.

 

[Enyaw]

I use Cold Wax Medium (Dorlands] and my paintings are dry within weeks. Of course I use more than they suggest but hey, I'm not going to the museum to see my paintings any time ever.

 

[laika]

I use Cold Wax Medium (Dorlands] and my paintings are dry within weeks. Of course I use more than they suggest but hey, I'm not going to the museum to see my paintings any time ever.

You never know...

Have you ever looked at that Wilson's Medium over at NatPig? An interesting sounding old waxy concoction.

 

[Enyaw]

Canadian. Exchange, duty, shipping. $$$$$... same shit, different wax. Thank you for the thought.

 

[Bongo]

Enyaw - how much wax do you use, and how does it handle? I have some Dorland's wax and I'd like to give it a try.

 

[Enyaw]

Bongo .. I use 50% to 75% minimum to 100% paint. Sometimes less. It all depends on the amount of oil in the paint. It will make your paintings matte. Different mfgs paints react differently. Just add till you see the slickness of the oil disappear. I add it to the globs before I start mixing and painting.

 

[Hermes2020]

Bongo .. I use 50% to 75% minimum to 100% paint. Sometimes less. It all depends on the amount of oil in the paint. It will make your paintings matte. Different mfgs paints react differently. Just add till you see the slickness of the oil disappear. I add it to the globs before I start mixing and painting.

Does the paint dry like normal paint, or does it stay waxy?

 

[Enyaw]

I have no idea as I've been using it for 40 years. It dries matte and I think I read somewhere that it is softer but I can't say. They say it should be used on a hard panel and not stretched cancas. I have been painting on paper for a year now and have had no issues. I lay the paper in a frame, put a board behind it for support, and it stays straight in the frame. I krinkled one up after a few months and the paint didn't break, it folded with the paper. I really don't pay any attention to archival or anything as I am just a hobby artist.

 

[john]

Interesting thread. Thanks Bongo! I like to keep a pallet with the paints on it ready to go but sometime I go a long time without painting. I have a Masterson stay wet pallet box from my foray into acrylics, and a glass pallet that fits into it. I've tried just putting the pallet with oil paints in the box but the paints still film over. Too much air still. So the answer for me just might be to put the glass pallet in the box and cover with water. I can use the same pallet for both studio and plein air. I'm definitely going to do this. I'm pretty psyched! As a watercolorist this constant squeezing of tubes for your paint seems ridiculous. I should have stayed with watercolor. I would fill the wells and just spray with water to get going again. Stupid oil paint.

Interesting video here where 5 months later the paint kept under distilled water was still fresh. I think maybe the distilled is important because of less oxygen in it. However, he only fills the container halfway so the remaining oxygen would oxygenate the water anyhow. However distilled insures no weird chemical reactions with whatever might be in your water. I'm going to use filtered tap water.

 

[Bongo]

I think the idea behind distilled water is to avoid any untoward chemical reactions. The leftover palette paint that I store in the mini-tubs
has been under tap water for close to a month. Still completely fresh. But next time I'm at the grocery store I'll pick up some distilled water anyway just because.

The paint in the paintbox (that we bought) gets a little stiff even with refrigeration. A drop of linseed oil softens it right up. But I think instead of refrigeration, I'll keep that covered with water too.

When you're finished painting for the day, if you "re-pile" the colors rather than leaving them spread out, that helps them stay fresh overnight, or a day. Sometimes I put a drop of linseed oil on the pile too when I finish for the day- don't know if it helps, but it seems to.

 

[john]

I think I'm going with your idea of keeping the pallet loaded and to just bring the box too as spare supply. I'll save about three pounds. And keep water on top of the paint box wells also.

The only thing that worries me about this plan is the risk of getting water trapped in the paint while painting. Especially if I submerge the whole pallet. At home maybe could use a hair drier to blow dry the water off.

 

[Bongo]

I would dump the water out before leaving to do Plein air. Trapped water has not been a problem so far for me - oil really does not like water.