Painted Pictorials - Need Help

[Donny Pavolini]

I've been painting small pictorials with lettering enamels for years and struggle with the paint drying too fast. I've used boiled linseed oil as a retarder but still I need a little more "open" time. I am not interested in another type of paint for this particular purpose. That purpose being able to continue to manipulate a brush for relaxation in the medium I started in. I hope to eventually market these in the future. Here's the kicker, the paint still needs to dry overnight.

Is it possible to have my cake and eat it too?

Thanks in advance.

[Bill Masters]

Donny, try using equal parts boiled linseed oil, smiths cream, and japan dryer all mixed together to make a painting medium,you can buy smiths cream from Triangle Coatings in California,Letterhead sign supply.Hope this helps, if you need more info drop me a line.Good luck Bill Masters.

[Donny Pavolini]

Bill,

That makes perfect sense. I will definetely try that. After enjoying the work you've done over the years, I don't question your advice.

Heartfelt Thanks,
Donny

[Dan Seese]

Donny,
Go to the top of the page and click on "Search".
Then type "smith's cream" in the keyword.
There are a number of posts that will be displayed that have mention of using Smith's Cream which you may find to be helpful. One of them is a thread I began called Signmaking 101: Smith's Cream Uses and Techniques. I use a similar formula to the one Bill Masters mentions here (Hi, Bill) but it looks like he uses a higher percentage of Japan Dryer, which would obviously cause it to dry faster. He has a lot more experience than I do. There are no set rules so experiment with it.

[Mike Jackson]

http://www.cad-red.com/mt2/oil.html

I found the page above doing a Google search. Way back when I was in college, I got to spend some time with an old sign painter that did a lot of Coca Cola walls for the convenience stores in the area. Jim Wade swore by Stand Oil, vs regular Linseed Oil.

Stand oil

Stand oil ( sometimes called Polymerized oil ) is made by heating linseed oil at high temperature ( 250 to 350 degree centigrade ), cutting off oxygen. Because the oil hasn't involved oxygen, the drying speed is very slow. The oil has a pale clear colour and extremely high viscosity. It produces a tough, enamel-like, none-yellowing film.

Though bodied heavy-boiled oil like this has been used since medieval times, some technicalists say the modern stand oil is very different from the traditoinal stand oil.

Sounds like you are getting some very good advice from the "Masters" above.

Mike Jackson

[Roderick Treece]

I have great success with a product called "LIQUIN" BY Winsor Newton.If you like useing 1 shot you'll love it.It is always dry the day.

Roderick