Does anyone add Damar Varnish to their medium?

[sidbledsoe]

yeah if you can't use turp then forget damar except in those mussini paints.
i gotta be in a vented place and then I place my stuff to clean up and painting to dry completely out of my living space.
If I want some gloss with no solvent then I use low odor spirits with stand oil or walnut oil mixed with stand oil, 2 parts of them to 1 part stand oil for each.

[Dana Design]

Trond, thanks but I have to stay with OMS as I've learned over the years.

Ron, thanks for the advice. Just can't ue turps.

[!becca]

i gotta be in a vented place and then I place my stuff to clean up and painting to dry completely out of my living space.

I am lucky, it just doesn't bother me...almost everything else does. Maybe it bothers me and I just haven't realized it yet.

[Trond]

That makes sense Dana.

The reason why I keep harping on about this is that I think oils would seem less problematic to many if more people knew that they don't have to use any solvents. It could also save many people lots of headache, literally ! The paint will definitely not behave the same way as with OMS, but I no longer want it to behave that way. It's a matter of habit I suppose. Anyway, the fact that my painting area now only smells of linseed, walnut, and poppy oil has made my wife drop all objections to my hobby, and it's more enjoyable to me too.

How about you Becca? Have you tried dropping the solvents and thinning with oil?

[!becca]

Yes, I have used oil alone and was not nearly as pleased with the results...everyone needs to find what works to achieve their goals I guess. I have used margor medium as well and liked the results, but couldn't tolerate the odor.

[Trond]

Originally Posted by !becca

Yes, I have used oil alone and was not nearly as pleased with the results...everyone needs to find what works to achieve their goals I guess. I have used margor medium as well and liked the results, but couldn't tolerate the odor.

Well, at least you have tried it

As for the Maroger's medium odor: Yes, me too. As far as I remember I didn't think the result was any better either, so in my case there was no reason to go in that direction. By the way, the often stated notion that this is the 'old master' medium does not hold much water (unless the old master we are talking about is Joshua Reynolds, whose paintings are notoriously difficult to restore). On top of it all, the black oil ingredient made me a bit nervous, and perhaps it should. If we should vote for the most toxic medium in our repertoire, I think we have contender here

[!becca]

If we should vote for the most toxic medium in our repertoire, I think we have contender here

agreed! (and thanks for figuring out my lousy spelling..what was I doing? )

[Trond]

Originally Posted by !becca

agreed! (and thanks for figuring out my lousy spelling..what was I doing? )

Actually, I had to re-read your post to find the spelling mistake. I had no idea. I think I skipped a one-letter word in my own post, by the way .

Anyway, I was wondering if I should try to melt some damar in my oil, but I think I will keep it simple. If I want slightly more gloss, then adding a little stand oil seems to do the trick (e.g. I think four parts poppy oil to one part stand oil worked pretty well in one painting).

[!becca]

I love stand oil! And, thank you. Not sure about melting the damar...though it does sound like fun.