Oil Paint Drying Too Fast

[Weebeasty32454]

Hi Everyone,

I am happy to have just started the WNW Hansa-Brandenburg W.12. I've begun doing the wood effect and have run into an unexpected problem. The oil paint is drying very fast leaving me with little time to create the grain.  I'm also getting some little coagulated chunks of paint as I drag my brush or sponge through it.  I am using quality oil paint.  Why is this happening?

Thanks,
Steve

[stefanbuss]

You might want to add a small amount of linseed oil - this stretches the oil's drying time a lot.

Stefan

[kornbeef]

Steve.

Just out of interest. Is it one of these new fast drying oils I've heard of but not yet dabbled with?

Keith

[Weebeasty32454]

No, it's just Winsor & Newton straight out of the tube???  I haven't used it in a while, maybe it's past it's prime?

[Weebeasty32454]

The linseed oil did thin it but it's still going in the garbage. 

Thanks

[Dave W]

If this helps, I use Winsor & Newton oils with no thinners or additives. I work some on to some card then use ladies little cosmetic sponge applicators to smear some of the oils over my painted surface ( I use Citadel/ Foundation light brown mixes as a base. Tausept Ochre is one favoured Foundation shade.)

I work the little sponge applicator back and forth to define the grain applying more or less pressure to create different types of grain.

Once done, I set the part aside and leave for a week - yes, a week!- for the oils to fully dry. When ready I apply a overcoat blend 50/50 mix of Tamiya clear orange and clear yellow to simulate varnish. Then a satin finishing coat.

My experience with Winsor & Newton oils is they dry very slowly, so if yours are drying too quickly there's something wrong with them. Bin them and buy some new ones.

Dave Wilson
Gold Coast
Australia

[lcarroll]

   I recently switched from acrylics to oils for woodgrain and really prefer the new method (I'm old and a slow learner!) I use the standard Winsor Newton Oils with Liquin as recommended by many of the members here and it' dries nicely in 24-36 hours. I'd say, like Dave has, bin them and get a new stock.
Cheers,
Lance

[coyotemagic]

Being an oil 'Newbie' not knowing the difference I accidentally purchased the 'artisan' version of Winsor and Newton oils that are water thinable. If thinned with water they dry relatively quickly - 12 hours - presumably because the coat is much thinner.

That's what I use and I love the stuff.  It gives me enough time to work it, but dries fairly quickly (within 24 hrs).
Cheers,
Bud

[Nigel Jackson]

There's lots of good advice here already. The only I could add would be that white spirit as a thinning agent/medium really does need to be used carefully because it can dry out oils very quickly.

Best wishes
Nigel

[Michael Scarborough]

As Nigel says, lots of good info and possible causes listed here already.

If it were I, I'd think twice about chucking them as oils can last for many years. I have tubes of WN oils given to me by a fellow artist that are so old they still have the old WN logo on them. And yes, they are as usable today as they were when first purchased. But, as I have to do, you may need to squeeze out a bunch to get to fresher material.

As the other guys have suggested, it sounds like you may have the wrong thinner/paint combo. Have you tried good old fashioned turpentine? That is the classic thinning medium for oil paints. It's available in an odorless variety, at least here in the States.

Best of luck with this......

Cheers from NYC,
Michael

[RAGIII]

As Nigel says, lots of good info and possible causes listed here already.

If it were I, I'd think twice about chucking them as oils can last for many years. I have tubes of WN oils given to me by a fellow artist that are so old they still have the old WN logo on them. And yes, they are as usable today as they were when first purchased. But, as I have to do, you may need to squeeze out a bunch to get to fresher material.

As the other guys have suggested, it sounds like you may have the wrong thinner/paint combo. Have you tried good old fashioned turpentine? That is the classic thinning medium for oil paints. It's available in an odorless variety, at least here in the States.

Best of luck with this......

Cheers from NYC,
Michael

I have Oils that are over twenty years old! Now one might think that I take good care but some of these don't even have caps...just poke a hole in the dried opening and squeeze    By the way I am being totally serious here, no joke intended! As others have stated my issues usually involve trying to speed up the drying time by using small amounts of Thinners such as Testors Model Master Airbrush thinner vs Terps.
RAGIII
RAGIII