Oil Media

[polyphemus]

Couple of questions; For years I've used W&N's Sansodor but I've recently come across a product called Zest It. Apparently it does a similar job to Sansodor, dilutant/brush cleaner, but with a citrus smell. Does anyone have any experience and opinion of Zest It?

For many years I've seen references to the use of Dorland's Wax Medium as an additive to oil paint to induce a matt effect. Again does anyone have any experience of this.
I've had very mixed results with brushed-on matt varnishes and for several reasons the use of sprays such as Testor's dullcote isn't viable.
Also there are other brands of wax medium eg Michael harding but I'm not sure if these are the same as Dorland's.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Geoff

 

[old grumbler]

Like you I use Sansodor and find it excellent, I've used the citrus stuff too and that too is fine, they are both great if you are painting in a confined area. Dorland's is again a super product. I used it with oils and achieved a matt effect. If you are really after a matt effect with oils the best undercoat I've found is Pelikan plaka even mixed with a small amount of Vallejo, it absorbs the oil and leaves a guaranteed matt finish. Also you may want to 'drain' your oil paint by squeezing it out onto blotting paper so excess oil is removed before commencing painting. Always remember that with painting figures in oils 'less is more' These techniques work for me but you do need to practice a bit to get a feel for just how much oil to drain off and how thick to apply the PP undercoat etc, basically what works for you. Best of luck!

 

[polyphemus]

Many thanks for the response. I think I've tried all the matting techniques over the years except the use of a wax medium. Until recently I've relied heavily on Testor's spray dullcote which gives excellent results but my work area doesn't let me get away with using any sprays so I'll give the wax medium a try. Ditto the citrus thinners.

Geoff

 

[chippy]

Hi Geoff , from what I understand most matting agents work the same way as non reflecting glass used in picture framing in as much as they creat a layer of minuscule bubbles over the surface that deflect the light coming in from different angles and so creating a mat surface . The best matt painted figures I ever seen was this year at Hinkley Model show , when I asked the guy how he achived this finish he told me he simply use white spirt to thin down the oils to point where if he painted over newspaper print and if the print showed through then it was ready to use , couldn't be simpler !!
chippy

 

[Einion]

Couple of questions; For years I've used W&N's Sansodor but I've recently come across a product called Zest It. Apparently it does a similar job to Sansodor, dilutant/brush cleaner, but with a citrus smell. Does anyone have any experience and opinion of Zest It?

This is one of a large class of products that now sell themselves as natural and safe, but that's largely smoke and mirrors I'm afraid. This stuff will clean your brushes no problem, in fact it's very good at it, but it's not nearly as safe as the manufacturers claim. The main issue is probably whether you should mix this (or anything similar) with your oil paint directly and unfortunately opinions vary on this, but FWIW I wouldn't.

For many years I've seen references to the use of Dorland's Wax Medium as an additive to oil paint to induce a matt effect. Again does anyone have any experience of this.

I wouldn't recommend it Geoff, for reasons I've gone into in past threads - there are better and more reliable methods for ensuring a matt finish when painting in oils.

Einion

 

[polyphemus]

Thanks to everyone for your answers. Clearly there is no advantage to using anything other than Sansodor. I was sounding out the idea of a wax medium to address some issues I have with the location of my work area, no sprays allowed etc. From the suggestions I've received I think my best option would be to presoak the excess oil out from the paint.

Geoff

 

[Einion]

Thanks to everyone for your answers. Clearly there is no advantage to using anything other than Sansodor.

Sansodor is a very good example of its type (very low odour, very good safety numbers) but in case you didn't know you can actually get something nearly exactly the same from the overage hardware store/DIY centre. Needless to say, lots cheaper!

From the suggestions I've received I think my best option would be to presoak the excess oil out from the paint.

I think so, that plus heat-drying the model under a lamp, in a homemade hot box etc.

Most mass-market oil paints are somewhat oilier than they could be (the cheaper they are the more this is true as a rule) so soaking out some oil won't do any harm for our kind of work.

Einion