Chris and I have been experimenting with linseed oil paint for about a year now, since he started working on his next book, “The American Peasant,” and we’ve both painted a lot of wooden stuff with it – from large flat surfaces on chests to fiddly roundish bits on stick chairs to decorative curves and pointy things. We’ve used it on ring-porous woods including oak, ash and elm (looks great; it is a pain in the posterior, like all paints on ring-porous woods) and closed-pore woods such as poplar, linden and white pine (looks great, easy to apply). We have not used it on other material, but I’ve read that it will stick to many other building materials (plaster, metal, masonry and more). I’ve even read claims that it will stick to anything. But I know for a fact only that it sticks to wood (and fabric).
What we have not done is tried every color, brand or brush available. And, all of the stuff we’ve painted is indoor stuff. We have no personal experience with this paint on exterior work…though I am hoping to have some in the near future, if I can find someone to use it on my house for less than the going rate for a kidney*.
This is what we know, thus far.
Most linseed oil paint is made from raw linseed oil and ground natural pigments – no added binders, driers, solvent or synthetic emulsifiers – so it’s far more environmentally friendly than most hardware store paints. (Milk paint is also environmentally friendly – my hardware store doesn’t carry it or linseed oil paint.)
Linseed oil paint is more expensive than latex, acrylic or milk paint (the other paints we know well). However, it takes fewer coats for full coverage – so penny for penny, it ends up not so expensive after all (plus it takes less of your active time – and no sanding! – if you’re including the human factor in your price calculations). Depending on the wood, we have found that it takes one coat (closed-pore woods) or one coat plus a touch-up here and there (ring-porous woods) for coverage that fully colors the surface and allows the grain to show through (which is what we want). Neither of us has had to apply two full coats to achieve our desired coverage – though if you want to cover the grain a second coat will do it, in our experience. (The hanging cupboard that is now the Anthe bathroom cupboard has two full coats of paint only because Chris decided he didn’t like the green of the first coat on that project, so it’s topped with one coat of blue – and on that piece, the grain no longer shows through. NB: He likes the green, just not on that project. He’s a mystery.)
Linseed oil paint is a lot thicker than any other paint we use, and with a good (or at least decent brush), a lot will remain in the bristles, and you should “draw it out” quite a ways from the initial strokes. That is, deposit the paint from the brush onto the project, and make long strokes, pulling the paint with as you go, then go back to the original deposit of paint and draw it out again, overlapping the first stroke. I don’t have to dip the brush back in the paint as often as I do with latex, acrylic or milk paint. But because of its low viscosity, you might find the linseed oil paint more difficult to use at first – or at least different than what you’re used to. Be sure to draw it out a lot and not leave it too thick, or it will drip and/or sag as it dries (and take longer than it ought to dry). It’s kind of like spreading a crumb coat on a cake – you want full coverage, but nothing extra.
Some instructions say to wipe on a coat of washed linseed oil and let it dry before painting, others say to use the paint on bare wood. We’ve done both, and both have worked for us. For what it’s worth, I am now a convert to a base coat of linseed oil. It makes it easier to draw out the paint (much like a second coat of most brushed finishes are easier to apply than the first coat).
I’ve tried out a number of brushes, and Mattias Hallin, a long-time user of linseed oil paint, says his favorite are the Gnesta Penselns shown above. Hardware store brushes that are decent are the Wooster Yachtsmans. I think you can see from the picture, though, that the brushes on the left will hold a heavier paint load. However…then you have to clean them; they’re too nice to toss. (More on that at the bottom.) Travis at Heron paint recommended to me Escoda Natural Chungking Bristle Brushes, but I’ve not yet tried them (also too expensive to not wash!).
Most of the instructions I’ve read say to use the paint as it comes…but we’re good at disobeying. To make it a little easier to draw out and to make it lay out better with less effort – that is, dry without brush marks (without having to “tip off”) – we sometimes add about 10 percent low-odor mineral spirits and mix it (yes…this makes it less environmentally friendly – and I would not dilute it for exterior work). I cannot stress enough to mix it well…whether or not you add mineral spirits (or turpentine, which the owner of Heron Paint said he uses when he needs to thin the paint a bit). The pigment settles fairly quickly, and you want it to be evenly suspended in the mixture. So, I have made friends with every hardware and paint store between my house and the shop; they are kind enough to shake up the paint as needed in their fancy paint shaker machines. I try not to abuse the privilege…which is why I spread my mixing asks among four locations. (I want a fancy paint shaker machine for our shop – preferably the old kind that clamps top and bottom, and runs the risk of spraying paint everywhere should the top come off the can. The newfangled fully contained ones are no fun – not enough risk. Plus they’re a lot more expensive.)
Linseed oil paint takes a lot longer to dry than any other paint we use. So while it takes only one coat, or one coat and some spot touch-ups (either while the first coat is still wet enough to easily work, or after it’s completely dry), it will be dry to the touch after about 24 hours at average room temperature and low to mild humidity – and even then, there will still be some areas where it might have been applied a little too thickly that will transfer to the white shirt you shouldn’t have worn while leaning up against it. We have found it takes two or three days to completely dry (longer in cold and/or humid conditions) to the point where it’s “carveable” without making a small mess (in case you, too, are covering your work in spells). If you have curious pets or curious kids, keep them away from the work for a while. And you do need to be mindful of kicking up dust around a freshly painted piece for 24 or so hours, as it can stick to the wet paint. You can speed up the drying by exposing the work to UV light – but do not put it in direct sunlight to dry (that resulted in a pimply surface when we tried it). Update: This might be due to the thinner; the full-strength stuff dries just fine in the sun, I’m told by several log-time users.
Here, I’m painting an elm coat rack in a custom shade of linseed oil paint from Heron Paints (a close match to Benjamin Moore 2060-30). First, I wiped on a coat of washed linseed oil (as recommended by the paint maker) and let it dry overnight. I then poured some of the paint into a Mason jar, added a splash of low-odor mineral spirits and shook it up by hand for maybe 10 minutes. It was easier to brush than the non-diluted paint I used on the stool, but the color is not as saturated on the surface (that is, more of the wood is showing through, and it will need a touch up in a few places. But also, elm is a ring-porous wood, and doesn’t take paint as well as the poplar. So there are a lot of variables going on. Whatever. We’re happy with the way it looks, and that’s the goal.
About the “easily work” I mentioned above: I’ve found I have about two hours in which I can manipulate the fresh paint and still have it lay out flat as it dries. Any longer, and it’s already dry enough that the brush marks remain where I’ve gone back and retouched an area.
More coats of paint will make the finished item shinier – so if you like shiny (we prefer no more than a soft sheen), consider more than one coat. After the piece is completely dry, you can add a topcoat to adjust the sheen a bit to your liking, and to blend areas where the paint looks more flat and/or more shiny (which I think might be a result of adding mineral spirits…though I haven’t yet done enough “experiments” to back up that statement). We use soft wax or simply a coat of washed linseed oil.
So what is this “washed” or “refined” or “purified” linseed oil? It’s a purified version of raw linseed oil, and all we know for sure is that it is lighter in weight, lighter in color (and so results in less yellowing) and dries faster than plain ol’ raw linseed oil. There is also “blown” linseed oil, which is another method of purification that involves air, and is even lighter in weight and dries faster still. We hope to have expert information on these processes in the future, and more experience with the various purified/cleaned/washed/blown/magically delicious versions of the stuff. But for now, we can tell you that “purified” dries faster and yellows less.
What about cleanup? Well…here’s where my argument for using this paint falls apart (a little bit). Linseed oil soap is what everyone says to use for cleanup. And it works. But it does not work quickly or easily. I cleaned one brush and it took three intense rounds of soaping, combing and rinsing…and I still wouldn’t call that brush perfectly clean. I’ve read that the easy solution is to simply suspend the brush in linseed oil, and it remains at the ready for the next use! OK…but the number of blues I have alone…I don’t have room for suspending five brushes, and I have cats. So I use the relatively cheap Yachtsman brushes, and throw them away. (Yes, in this I am a bad person.) And because it’s linseed oil, I let the brush dry hard before putting it in the trash (ditto on any rags I’ve used).
So when would I use linseed oil paint vs. acrylic (faux milk paint) vs. actual milk paint? Well, they all result in different looks, so that’s my first consideration.
Linseed oil paint gives it an old-world look, and, after a topcoat of oil, has a low sheen that I like. And it “feels” like the right choice for any project of Scandinavian or Eastern European origin (but that’s probably because we started using it on American Peasant projects). I have yet to try it on a tool chest – and won’t offer it for commission chest builds until I’ve road-tested it (which I will do soon). Plus it’s harder to clean up afterward…so I have to be a lot more careful when using it than I do with “milk paint” or milk paint. That would be factored into the finishing cost (along with the one-use paint brush). But I’d use it on a personal project for which I had ample dry time during which I could keep any cats away (two scenarios that almost never coincide!).
General Finishes “Milk Paint” is my long-time favorite for ease of use, price and cleanup. It dries with an almost-flat finish, cleans up with water, goes on easily, lays out nicely, dries quickly and typically takes two coats. And because it dries quickly, I can recoat late in the day if my first coat was early that morning. Plus it needs no topcoat – so two coats and done, then easy cleanup. I can apply it with a cheap chip brush and toss it, or use then easily clean one of my long-beloved Purdys. (Sherwin-Williams bought Purdy in 2004 – I don’t remember exactly when the brushes changed, but change they did. I haven’t liked any I’ve bought since.) However, last year, General Finishes severely curtailed the color choices, and got rid of my two favorites, Twilight and Blue Moon. (Yes, I know I sound like the old fart that I am.) And no local paint store carries it – so I’d have to buy it one place, then pay another for the privilege of mixing it to a custom color. Boo. (And that’s high on the reasons why I’m planning a road test soon on the linseed oil paint.)
Actual milk paint is a lot of fun to use. But it’s also a bit of fuss. It takes many coats, and while it dries quickly and cleans up easily, it doesn’t always behave as I might expect, and each color I’ve used performs a bit differently. So, there are a lot of test boards and a lot of time involved in getting a good finish (for me) from milk paint. (Peter Galbert and Travis Curtis both produce gorgeous milk paint finishes – and I think they would agree that it’s not a fast process…even when you use it all the time!) Plus most people prefer it with a topcoat (though I love the dead-flat look it imparts), and that can’t be done until the paint is fully cured – and the more layers there are, the longer that takes (after a few bad experiences, I don’t even think about a topcoat until a week has passed after my final paint coat). But there are a lot of gorgeous colors available, and I love the variegated look I can achieve with it. (Plus, kids can chew on it safely. Not that I encourage such behavior.)
And that’s all the topics I can think of for which have answers…but I expect we’ll have more info to come.
Happy painting!
– Fitz
*A bourbon-loving-person-of-Irish-heritage kidney – so, not worth a paint job.
Thanks for the ongoing discussion on finishing. It bears little resemblance to how you first did this, so it’s valuable information on our end.
Are there any differences between these pre-mixed linseed oil paints and what Jögge Sundqvist recommends in his books where he starts with artist’s oil paint which he thins with boiled linseed oil? Seems like the same ingredients. Most of his projects are smaller, so I imagine it makes sense to mix up small batches. He also recommends (which I imagine you know since you edited them!) cleaning the brushes with pine oil soap immediately after use, but I must admit to being in the disposable paintbrush camp myself. I hate cleaning brushes.
Having not mixed my own, I do not know.
Having used Allbeck paint and making my own oil paint. The big difference is consistency and quicker drying times.
If you use artist oil paints and don’t make enough for your batch, it can be difficult to make a matching set. The artist grade linseed also drys significantly slower.
I generally can touch anything I paint with Allbecks pre-made paint within a couple days, to a week. I’ve used Allbeck linseed oil to make customs paints, and the drying time is a lot slower then the pre-mixed,but still faster then most artist grade linseed oil. I often have to wait weeks for stuff to dry with artist grade.
Very interesting indeed! Yes, I do love linseed oil, linseed oil paint, linseed oil wax and all the related products. Not as quick and “convenient” as some of the more contemporary stuff, sure, but with so many advantages. Also, we know, because surviving furniture and other pieces show that this is so, that these finishes will wear, age and patinate wonderfully well.
My only disagreement with this post is to what extent cleaning out brushes with linseed oil soap constitutes a chore – and that is of course subjective, so I’m not saying that you’re wrong, just that my take on ‘t is different.
I have found that to thoroughly clean a brush after painting for, say an hour or so, i.e. where the brush has been fully loaded with paint, and after first wiping off as much excess load as possible on a rag, I will need to apply soap, work the soap in thoroughly, rinse and repeat for at least five and more likely seven or eight times. I will call the brush clean when the soap lathers white and the rinse runs clear (except if I’ve been using white paint, in which case it’ll be down to a visual inspection of the bristles).
This takes me between five and ten minutes. Not that I’ve clocked it, but I think that’s a fair guesstimate. And yes: the amount of work and time involved makes does register as a mild up-tick on my internal chore-meter, but I find it a price well worth paying for the effect, both pleasure and result-wise, of working with a high-quality brush.
Just to be clear, though: I do not find cleaning brushes “therapeutic”, thank you very much.
Cheers,
Mattias
Sincere apologies: I completely forgot to say (a) how lovely those things look that you’ve painted, and (b) in particular what a nice photo that last one is of Olivia using the low stool for furniture’s primary purpose: help cats look out windows!
Five to 10 minutes?! It took me 25 or so…and I still wouldn’t say I got it clean! What soap are you using?
Well, seeing as I’m a not-quite-card-carrying-but-almost Ottossonite, their soap is the one I’m using. I’ve tried both the standard soap and the lavender-infused variety, and other than the latter smelling rather nice, they both worked equally fine.
Tell you what, though: I’ve nowt in particular on right now (just waiting for a laundry load to finish) so I’ll go down and get a brush well-loaded with paint and then see how long it takes me by the clock to get it clean!
Done! While not 100% representative, as I only painted two faces on a piece of pine offcut, and the brush thus will not have been as heavily loaded as it would have been from painting a proper furniture-size project, i’d still say it rather confirmed my guesstimate: after painting, I wiped off as much as I could of wet paint on some kitchen roll, and then filmed myself cleaning the brush with linseed oil soap and water. The video is 3:04 long. (And yes, I’ll send it to you.)
Had this been after an hour or so of painting, so with a brush loaded to the gunwhales, I’d say it would have taken me about twice as long, but that would still come well within my original five to ten minute guesstimate.
Now why this is so much faster than your experience, I wot not. (Cue Pokey LaFarge: “It Must Be Something In The Water”.) Could be the paint. Could be the soap. Could be me. Could be something in the water (nah, not really).
Cheers,
Mattias
I’ve found artist brush cleaners to work really well, but it still takes 2-3 sessions to completely clean a brush. I still often chuck brushes out pure laziness
If you dip your brush in the solvent first then flip the excess out before dipping into your finish, you’ll find your brushes much easier to maintain. I’ve done this for years and I have brushes handed down from my father so…
This is great and useful content. Thanks, Fitz!
Thank you for a very well written description of using linseed oil paint, and addressing most of the curves and speed bumps one might experience, in particular, use of “washed” or purified versions. In addition, there is weather, time of year and low cal. And then there is shellac. And tung oil.
I think you’ve got your next book started.
Well, that was a slew of information about painting with linseed oil. Thanks, Megan. Two or three things – when Jennie Alexander and I were learning to paint our joint stools back in the early 1990s we used dry pigments mixed in raw linseed oil thinned a bit with mineral spirits or turpentine. Sometimes we added a few drops of Japan drier. We also learned to add some raw umber color to our (usually always iron oxide-red) paint. Raw umber is a siccative – i.e. a drier. Helps the oil dry quicker. I painted a couple of stools too thick and they never dried. My other comment shows my own old-fart-ness – the “Scandinavian/Eastern European” note you made. Let’s just be sure for the record that all this milk-paint craze for the Windsor chairmakers has nothing to do with the historic American chairs. They were all painted the way you’re describing here – with oils, turpentine, pigment and lead. The lead acted as a drier as well. The milk paint gig for those chairs started in the 1970s. Some Shaker stuff had casein paint, some early 17th-century stuff had pigments mixed in animal protein – I’ve done some mixing pigments in hide glue. These things need a top coat or you can rub them off afterwards. Like onto your clothing…
Mike Dunbar was extremely clear in his 1984 “Make a Windsor..” that oiled milk paint was his best reproduction of the original (now unsafe and illegal) lead paint surfaces. He really liked the not impossibly uniform color he could get unlike standard paint available at the time, and probably also the texture of the wood showing through a bit (I don’t speak for him but made 5 chairs with him from 1996-2003). Unfortunately the paint idea was spread far and wide without the commentary.
Wow thank you for this great writeup – lots of valuable info here!
Regarding cleanup: if you’re already using mineral spirits, will that work better than linseed oil soap (for those of us that don’t object to using it!)?
No idea; haven’t tried it!
Nice article.
I do have experience with using linseed oil in exterior paint. Our Northwest Pacific coast beach house needs repainting very regularly as the elements are particularly harsh here. Re-siding is usually involved in some manner as mildew and moss are a big problem in this very wet climate. 30 years ago, a boat builder- home builder gave me his formula for paint longevity in our locale. 1 gallon linseed oil to a five-gallon bucket of exterior paint. I have the paint store mix it. I’ve used it with many brands of paint. There is a slight sheen to the house that prevents dirt from sticking, mold and mildew from forming overnight while we are not looking, water to bead or run off, and instead of washing and painting the house every 3 years, we get about 5 years. The paint stores usually raise an eyebrow, but the formula has worked for me.
What type of exterior paint are you adding the linseed oil to? And, is it boiled or raw linseed oil? I remember do this many years ago at the recommendation of the hardware store, but darned if I can remember the details!
Just wanted to say that I love having the cats as photo models. While there’s too much variation in fur sheen and body size for them to be really good references (now I’m imagining trying to get them to hold still for a calibration line-up) they still give me a much better sense of how the piece actually feels to live with than the typical magazine “beauty shot” does.
Megan, Chris, or even Mattias- regarding the info in the paragraph on the “washed, refined, and purified” versions of linseed oil (before adding pigmentation), does anyone have background information about how Tried & True processes their linseed oil in their manufacturing stages? Their website https://www.triedandtruewoodfinish.com/about/environmental-standards/ vaguely refers to removing impurities and the polymerization of the oil (without the use of solvents or chemical drying agents, see their paragraph on “how it is made”), but gives no information of if/how the linseed oil stock may be refined in a manner like the products you are using may be refined. I ask because I have a newer, modest supply of all three T&T oil products (which I feel have given very good results in the past) that I don’t want to abandon to chase after another mfr’s oils (not paint products), such as the Heron. Thank you.
Hi Steve,
For my part I have no more knowledge or information than what you already found; furthermore I have not (yet) tried (ha!) any Tried & True products – so far I’ve only ever used Ottosson products, for the very simple reason that they were what I first went with and was happy enough with that I saw no reason to look elsewhere. That choice of mine doesn’t make them superior (or inferior) to anything else out there – it just means I like them. Which, if you add ten cents*, will buy you a cup of coffee.
In fact, I think even this fairly artisanal corner (not just T&T, I mean, but also Allbäck, Heron, Ottosson, et al.) of the finishes business suffers to some extent from the same sort of terminological confusion and marketing needs that so blight any attempt to understand the composition of modern mainstream finishing products.
I could go on for a long(ish) while on the subject, but will spare everyone the ordeal.
Instead I’ll just say that in my opinion, for however little it may be worth, if you are happy with those T&T oil products, then don’t abandon them!
These are not religious wars of Ottossonites vs. Allbäckers (until faced by their common enemies, those pesky Heron Heretics or the Truly Trying T&T:s). I am not oilier than thou, nor is there a Holy Grail filled to the brim with an oil so pure that just bringing it into the workshop miraculously finishes all projects to perfection with no subsequent clean-up required.
I did however happen to notice on the T&T website that these days they are owned by a company called FBC that, again according to the website, used to supply the raw materials to the founder of T&T, Joe Robson, when he was still running it. Furthermore, on the FBC website, there’s more information about the linseed oils that they sell, “boiled”, “raw” and “superb”. If you are interested in further details, such as which of the three (or something else again) they use for T&T products, you could always try reaching out to them!
Cheers,
Mattias
Adjust for inflation and currency as appropriate
Thank you, Mattias!
Back when T&T got started they were more open about how they did NOT process their product. What they do is old-school, they cook it. That’s right, they entered the Way Back machine and do it the way it’s still referred to. BOILED linseed oil. What that accomplishes is a true BLO without the added metallic dryers. Back then they also said you could put it on your salad but it’s a bit bitter. They weren’t kidding about the bitter part as I took them at their word and tried a dipped finger. Still here and still not putting it on my salad. LOL I use the stuff on smallish projects. Imparts a nice color that ambers up well during the ensuing years which is the nature of the beast. Easily rejuvenated with a light sanding and a new coat.
As a side note to all this about BLO, it NEVER really dries. BLO is the thing that makes spar poly spar poly. It affords a permanent elasticity to the finish under duress of wet/dry cycles. Spar also contains additives to help it standup to sunlight.
Have a look at Tage Frid’s blog, he has good info on this and an interview with T&T’s founder. Sorry, linking from my phone is a pain but it should be easily findable.
Rather than seeking out a paint shaker or shaking by hand you might want to try a magnetic stirrer. I use one for milk paint and shellac flakes and find it much easier and better than hand stirring. You can get an inexpensive stirrer on Amazon such as this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072K24X5P/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
We have that very one (https://blog.lostartpress.com/2020/07/13/how-i-mix-shellac/). The settled pigments – if not the oil itself alone – are far too thick for our magnetic stirrer to work.
In that case you could try an eggbeater (a real eggbeater, not a drill). That’s what I used for milk paint before buying the magnetic device.
But…why do you want to deny me an old fashioned paint shaker?!
I’ve looked, in the past, for a paint shaker, but it’s been a while. Are the ones you’ve seen all air operated, or do some just use an electric motor?
Oh – I’m talking old-school paint-spattered Red Devil – electric. Every time I go in my neighborhood hardware store, I offer the owner $ for a) his revolving screw tower and b) his Red Devil shaker. Eventually I might tire him into submission on one of them!
You can try a smaller magnet bar and starting it very slowly to have more success, if you turn it up too fast with viscous fluids it’ll just ‘wiggle’.
I started using a immersion blender I picked up for about 20 bucks on Amazon. Works like a champ.
Are their any certain grits that need to be sanded too before apply or just a smooth plane prep?
We plane everything we can. But if sanding is required, #120-grit or, at most, #180, is as high as we typically go. I should have included that the oil paint doesn’t raise the grain – so no sanding required in between coats if doing more than one coat. (Unless you have to remove dust)
Thanks Megan, great read. I have finished a couple of Chris’s stools and four simple stick chairs with linseed oil paint and they turned out pretty well. I thinned with a splash or raw linseed oil.
Here in Canada I have never seen “odorless” mineral spirits so I was happy to read turpentine is another option.
He also mentioned a splash of limonene as an option (the same natural solvent that is in Katherine’s soft wax)
Another product I was not able to source here in Canada.
So healthy in Canada! (Except for the poutine.)
You can order it from Real Milk Paint Company or their canadian stockists. I’ve ordered some through both.
There’s a Crappy Tire in every city I’ve been in. I’ve never tried it so I’m not sure how it compares. I “looked it up” (did my research?…shudder) and they remove the dreaded toluene and zyleneas well as they can.
https://www.canadiantire.ca/en/pdp/solvable-professional-grade-mineral-spirits-paint-thinner-cleaner-low-odour-946-ml-0491017p.0491017.html?rq=mineral+spirits#srp
If you cannot find odorless mineral spirits in your hardware store, try an art supplies store! It is likely to be noticeably more expensive there, but also of correspondingly high quality.
Thanks for all that, Megan (and Chris). Curious if you’ve noticed any difference in use of the different brands you’ve used so far besides colors offered? And if you do a second coat of different color, is it easy enough to show some wear down to the first coat below?
I would say that as they come, the Heron paint is just a tad thicker than the Allbäck. I’m afraid I don’t know how easy it is to intentionally wear through a top color to a base color – I haven’t tried it. I’ll check out the bathroom cabinet in a few months and report back!
Thanks, wondering how it compares to milk paint (real or faux). I’ll give it a try.
Completely different in application. Like brushing water v. bechamel.
Thanks for this post! I’ve painted one chair and the results were so-so due to brush marks from paint thickness. I’ve just been too swamped with work to do any test boards myself. This was a great time saving intro.
Have you tried, or anyone for that matter, a citrus thinner like Real Milk Paints (limone?)? (When my order arrives this will be my first comparison.)
Can Allback boiled linseed oil be substituted for raw without consequence both as pre-coat and thinner? Are there consequences in drying time? (Second experiment.)
Thank you for the thoughts on types of paint as I’m about to start my 1st piece of staked furniture in a week or so and paint is high on my list of questions. And IMHO no product SW takes over retains its quality.
Thanks Megan, enjoyed the reading the information you and Chris put together. I spent many years working with artist paints and mediums, sometimes making my on color variations mixing pigments and a oil. linseed oils and walnut oils were always my favorite, without dryers of course. they were slow to dry but produced a beautiful texture and luster. I often wondered how the linseed oil-based paint would look on wood. now that I see the results you folks have ended up with I will defiantly try the paint you suggested and may us it on my DTC i am planning to build this year.
What a great guide! Thank you (as always) for sharing everything you guys learn from your testing. In particular I’m glad to hear the Heron worked out well because it’s available where Allbeck is not. I’m foreseeing a lot of painting in my future!
Have you found a particular size brush you like? And have you experimented between angled a square?
I like angled, and the size depends on what I’m painting.
RARELY have I ever introduced the fly to the ointment but here I go. Linseed oil was the oil in my outdoor semi-transparent then solid color stains. It might still be but with one very important additive now, algicide/fungicide. When I first remodeled my front porch with all new woodwork, I happily stained the heck out of everything except the moldings, light fixture and the ceiling. They got matching dye stains and top coated with SG poly. After two seasons in Florida’s avg. 90%+ humidity, I had black stains everywhere. When I did some research, on my own as the paint people were clueless, I discovered that the black mold/mildew was feeding on the linseed oil part of the stain. After that, whenever I order up a new batch of solid stain (semi-transparent will NOT cover mildew) I had them mix in the algicide/fungicide and Bob’s your uncle! Lesson learned–when using BLO finishes outdoors, add the juice. Unless of course you’re going for a dank moldy look. LOL
The purifying / washing is fairly key to avoiding this, but all the paints are also very likely to have zinc oxide in them, which is a fungicide.
This article showed up in me feed recently so my brain got a tick while reading your blog. It’s not too thick, and not too long – file it under myth busting. :^)
Why Humidity doesn’t affect Drying: https://physics.aps.org/articles/v16/211?utm_campaign=weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_source=emailalert
Megan (or Mattias),
I have loved Linseed Oil paint on the handful of projects I’ve used it on but I have one problem that seems to be consistent. On arrises and some other parts of the project, I load up my brush and try to draw it out but I end up with paint just smearing on the surface, not really adhering. It feels more like I’m moving paint over the surface than actually painting, and I’ll get lots of raw wood exposed even on an area that might have had paint on it.
I’m sure it’s a technique problem but I can’t for the life of me figure out how Im screwing it up this badly. It seems that neither a precoat of linseed oil, or thinning the paint, or full strength make a difference.
Thoughts? Feel free to call me bad at painting.
Hi JM,
I really wish I had something useful or helpful to say, but for my part I’ve never encountered anything like it, at least not with linseed oil paint. My exprience has been rather the opposite: I have to be extra careful around the arrises in order not to get an excess of paint there through scraping off against them.
If this is a consistent problem for you, is there any possibility, do you think, that tools and processes that you use for working the wood could lead to those arrises (and other spots) becoming (heavily) burnished, or in some other way different from the main surfaces?
I’ve no idea if linseed oil paint would adhere less well to a burnished surface, but have noticed different behaviour (although not to as drastic a level as you describe) of such paint on surfaces that varied from one another.
Again, ’tis sorry I am not to have anything more useful to say.
Cheers,
Mattias
Hmm…Maybe break the edges a little more? (finish can’t stick to a zero radius intersection)
My grandfather was a union painter (retired about 1980) and he insisted on oil based paints. He had this nice commercially made metal box with a handle on top and clips inside to hold brushes. He hung his brushes in something (turpentine? thinner?) and the brushes were clean when he needed them. Clean enough that he didn’t need to worry about color transfer.
I used one of those many years ago. We just referred to it as a “wet kit.” I don’t know if it had a more technical name.
I asked around about 10 years ago, and they don’t seem to exist anymore. I got a plastic single brush version from Rockler that I keep half full with alcohol, where I store my shellac brush. It suspends it nicely, keeping the bristles from bending. But Rockler stopped selling that at some point.
Make your own using a mason jar. Cut hole in lid for brush handle and pierce handle with a nail to suspend brush in solvent filled jar.
There’s one on etsy, a “Leaktite Brush Keeper”. Fascinating design with clips for holding several brushes. $50, and very old looking — I doubt if it would hold turpentine.
For short term storage, have you tried storing your uncleaned paint brushes in a deep freezer? My thought would be to wrap the brush in a paper towel saturated in linseed oil, then put it in a freezer bag and then into the freezer.
I do that with brushes for latex – ’cause I need them for a second coat the next day (or hours later). But with the linseed oil paint brushes…it might be a long time before I need it again in that color. And my freezer isn’t very large!
Hi Fritz, I started using linseed oil paint this year as well. It’s taken a bit to master but loving the results. Especially after a couple of decades of milk paint. Definitely faster than milk paint to final finish. I clean up the brushes with a rinse in turpentine then dawn dish soap which works well and keeps the expensive brushes nice. I will also dilute it with citrus oil in place of mineral spirits, all natural and pleasant smelling.
Great post, live to hear more
I hope that some form of this exceptionally useful information will appear in “American Peasant.” The blog with Mattias Hallin (and others’) comments, provides great guidance. I love straight-up wood but also have not dared paint my work. My Swedish DNA demands color. The thoroughness of this blog helps me feel more confident to give linseed oil-based paint a go with my next stool. PS. I wish my cats would be as willing to pose!
Thank you for documenting this info. I sure do appreciate the work you put in and then sharing the results. Gracias!
Given that I hate painting – not the look or color one can get – but the act of doing it, I’ve only been mildly interested in this topic. Mainly for the notion of using it on the exterior trim of my home – it’s mostly colored stucco – no painting! (Although I have seen some great painted chairs on the LAP blog! – I may have to give that a go when I don’t have one with beautiful wood and/or joinery!)
Thus I was discouraged by the comment about “pimply surface” when drying in the sun. In my area we have two basic seasons sunny hot/dry in the summer and cold/damp in the winter with the two transitions in the spring and fall.
I know it’s not your prime interest, but I would like to see the occasional reference to using linseed oil paints for exterior work. Thanks again for all your research, testing and for sharing so freely!
Update: It may be the thinner that causes the bad surface in direct sunlight. A couple long-time users have let me know that sun isn’t a problem on the full-strength stuff.
This is so awesome! And timing is perfect…I am finishing up some pine 6 board chests (based on ADB chapter), and have been following the progress of ya’ll’s linseed oil painting with interest! This could not have come at a better time!
Any thoughts on cheap ass sponge brushes with respect to the linseed oil painting process (I am not sure I need to hear or read or even begin to think about other use cases for cheap ass sponge brushes)? Or application with a cloth or rag as you might with stain?
I tried the sponge – a no go for me. Not enough paint load. I also tried a chip brush – same problem (plus too many lost bristles). I have not tried ragging it on…but it seems too thick to me for that. But give it a go and report back 🙂
How much of the Heron paint would you expect to use for one coat on a six stick chair?
Maybe a pint? Not sure, really. But I know a quart of Allback is enough for a chair, a plate rack, a hanging cupboard and and floor cupboard, with some still left over.
Thank you for this tutorial!
A special mixer for linseed oil paints is also available (a stick should be burned or reserved for a chair). During the last 20 years I have used this:
https://rakennusapteekki.com/en/product/paint-mixer-hans-300×60-mm/
Thank you! I’ll try to find one closer to home…then order that one if I can’t find it.
Hey there, another super-powered paint called “tempera” has also been used for centuries on European furniture, have you heard of it? The recipe is equal parts egg yoke, pigment and water (not much harder than making coffee). Supposed to be super wear and weather resistant. Just saying, but I’d love to see you try that one. Greetings from France, and happy new year!
Oh and here we clean brushes and thin oil paint with turpentine or orange peel essence, works allright!
Egg tempera is perhaps the most wear resistant paint on this planet! Unfortunately it takes forever to dry! I have used it in chairs. After several weeks the paint was still wet! Feel free to try, if you’re in a no hurry!
I’m familiar with egg tempera from art classes decades ago – I haven’t tried it on furniture. No promises to do it soon, but I’ll do it.
Hello Megan and Chris, love the article, I just read it again lol. Are the blue colors used federal blue and or soldier blue?
Thanks
No. The Allback blue we have is “Old Blue” and the Heron colors are custom.
Awesome write-up with your experience and perspectives providing honest assessments, along with recommendations based on your individual preferences and situation. Thank you so much and I look forward to your future feedback and the useful educational points/definitions. I am about to start my first stick chair with poplar (using the recent video that Chris released with TWW) and I plan to paint it based on your future experiments. Sounds like brush marks are an issue with the linseed oil paints.
You might try to condition your brushes first with Mineral Oil. I learned this from a sign painter in a pin-striping course that I took. You should first wash any sizing from the brush with mineral spirits then dip the brush into the oil and work it into the fibers and deep up into the base of the brush. This is how you should store the brush after cleaning it up from using it with a solvent. The solvent kind of depends on your paint but mineral spirits should be fine for you or you could try the Castel soap. The mineral oil will keep the bristles supple and let the paint flow. Important for sign painting letters. Hope this helps.
I don’t know how it would work with your paint but I have warmed my linseed oil mixtures to thin them without using solvent. Two jars in a double boiler will keep one hot while the other is being used- then I switch when the finish seems to be getting thicker.
This is great! Thank you!
Nice blog. Well written. I’ve been using Allback white for exterior. No mold after 5 years. I experimented with an HVLP sprayer this year and the results turned out very well. Had to dilute with mineral spirits. Covered a large area in no time. Cleanup was a breeze mineral spirits as well. I don’t know how this would work for other colors. I also use a cheap immersion blender to mix the paint. That does a great job. Cleanup is easy because it’s stainless steel . Keep up the good work.
I get cold-pressed flax oil from an on-line beauty supply company. For a thinner my favorite is citrus peel solvent, at good paint stores. The citrus peel is food grade; otherwise I’d use spirits of gum turpentine.
These are my oil finish ingredients. I haven’t used artist oils since grad school in the 60’s.
The one (but important) traditional ingredient that isn’t available is white lead.
I bought a pneumatic paint shaker from harbor freight and am surprised by how much I have used it. I’ve only used it for quarts and gallons but the reviews say it works for cups, pints, and spray cans as well.
They also have natural bristle brushes which might be acceptable or cheaper if you’re just throwing them away anyway.
This is really helpful, thank you for the details.
Nice, well researched article. By “topcoat” are you referring to linseed oil, paste wax, etc., or a final coat of the paint, or maybe “all of the above?” Yes to Purdy brushes. And, will citrus spirits work for thinning?
Thank you.
Brad
linseed oil, wax, both. Over the paint.
I have not tried the limonene, but Heron Paint says he’d try it, so…
Why don’t you rinse your brushes in Mineral Spirits? I haven’t used the Linseed Oil Paint you described, but I rinse my brushes in MS, soap up with Dawn dish soap, rinse in warm water and let air dry.
Because I’m a lazy git.
“But because of its low viscosity”
I think you mean high viscosity. Water is low viscosity, mineral oil is high, tar even higher.
FWIW… There is a linseed oil paint manufactured in Eastern Pennsylvania in historically correct colors for building exterior restorations. I purchased 15 or 20 gallons for use on a historical restoration of a metal roof. As I recall, two coats were recommended by the manufacturer. The roof still looks good after 10+ years.
The family of color I refer to as ‘Peacock’ to which the Allbäck Holkham Green appears to be in your first photo has always been one of the most intoxicating of colors to me (it appears to be a favorite in much of your work also). “Intoxicating” in such a way that it makes me want that ‘thing’ in my home, in my hands, sitting in the afternoon sun spread against the backdrop of the oak floors in this 127 year old ‘House-Trap’ Wendy and I call home; which is 5x the space we need on the horizon of an empty nest; that’s another problem altogether. I use it every chance I get, even if as a small embellishment stripe on a spoon. Wendy has put her foot down to keep me from using it as the primary color for the kitchen island casework. I loved this article Fitz and admittedly it’s all the more enjoyable when I read/see much of your work I think because we both love the blue-green palettes.
If read that good ole Murphy’s Oil Soap works well to clean oil and linseed oil paints. I have yet to give it a try, and would be curious to hear your results if you try it out.
If you watch for mom & pop paint store close-outs, their paint shakers are often available for scrap price