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  • August 30, 2014 at 7:31 pm #992205
    Forestgrass
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        How long do most of you who oil-out wait before a final varnish i.e. let’s say the painting is done and dry, then before you apply the final varnish do you feel you have to wait as long as you did for the painting to dry after you oil-out?

        Or can you proceed to varnishing in let’s say, several weeks after a thin oiling out? In my case, I oil-out with a 50/50 solvent to medium and then wipe most of it off with a lint free rag and so it evens out the sheen because I don’t feel varnish alone evens out the sheen enough. Thank you!! :)

        August 30, 2014 at 7:47 pm #1210605
        NancyMP
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            You’re supposed to wait at least six months, but you can use retouch varnish when it’s touch dry if you want a glossy surface. I never have six months to wait, so I wait until it’s more than touch dry, like here in Oklahoma, it only takes about a week before my paint won’t lift when it’s varnished.

            I use GamVar, which always stays removable in case restoration is necessary at some point.

            Then again, I seldom have a really heavy paint layer on my paintings. I just varnished an impasto knife painting I did in 2011, so… just use good sense.

            Nancy http://nancyparkfineart.com
            All human beings are dream beings. Dreaming ties all mankind together. - Jack Kerouac

            August 30, 2014 at 10:50 pm #1210603
            Ron Francis
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                I don’t think you have to wait six months if you’re using synthetic varnishes because they don’t cross link with the oil like damar does, and they let the paint continue to oxidise.
                I don’t know how long though as I no longer use varnish, but I imagine as little as 3 weeks for oiling out as you described could be enough.
                I’ll be interested to see what other members think.

                Ron
                www.RonaldFrancis.com

                August 30, 2014 at 11:56 pm #1210601
                WFMartin
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                    I wait about as long as I would if I were to consider the “oiling out” as the final layer of paint. After all, what is oil, but paint without the pigment?;)

                    It must be dry, but with synthetic varnishes, the drying time can be a short month, or two, depending upon the climate. I usually varnish my oiled-out surface within a month of having applied the oil. Then I varnish with either GamVar (by Gamblin), or Winsor & Newton’s Artists’ Varnish….I mix equal parts of Gloss and Matte Varnishes, and it gives me a nice, satin sheen.

                    wfmartin. My Blog "Creative Realism"...
                    https://williamfmartin.blogspot.com

                    August 31, 2014 at 12:52 am #1210606
                    Forestgrass
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                        Thanks so much Nancy, Ron and Bill Martin for your helpful comments. I use synthetic varnishes so I don’t wait a full six months to varnish anyway even when I’m not oiling-out. I paint thinly in layers and I think my main quandary is that I should oil-out on paintings that need it as soon as they’re touch dry and then I don’t have to worry about how long to wait after oiling out to apply a final varnish. In this case, my gut reaction is to wait about a month and then do a final varnish because the painting is so dry and thinly painted and it’s been a really warm summer so things are drying quicker than usual

                        August 31, 2014 at 1:22 am #1210602
                        WFMartin
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                            Forestgrass,

                            I never used to recommend oiling out, for the reason that you are applying a layer that bonds itself to the surface of the oil painting, and because it is a drying oil, it cannot be removed at a later date, for conservation purposes.

                            However, Sid pretty well convinced me with his logic that the quantity of oil applied is so small that the possibility of it becoming noticeably yellowed with age is practically non-existent. Also, I have found that oiling-out provides a wonderful, rather uniform base upon which to apply the final varnish.

                            The oiling out film provides a surface from which a future varnish can easily be removed without the possibility of dissolving paint in the process. OMS will not dissolve the film of dried oil, but only the varnish, when the need arises.

                            In general, I strongly recommend the oiling-out process, prior to applying a final varnish. The oil used for oiling-out bonds itself to the painting surface, just as another layer of oil paint would, but the synthetic varnish remains just a tad incompatible with that final oiled surface. Synthetic varnish will not bond, or cross-link molecularly, with the dried oil surface.

                            It has been working very well for my purposes.

                            wfmartin. My Blog "Creative Realism"...
                            https://williamfmartin.blogspot.com

                            August 31, 2014 at 3:38 am #1210604
                            Gigalot
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                                Practically, I have no reason to apply final varnish hastily. Oiling out gives a nice sheen. Also, oil is not completely dried even after six month or a year and you are using final varnish on top of non-dried oil. The disadvantage is, that a part of oil penetrates into varnish and make it softer and sometimes tacky, more sensitive to melt in a hot climate. You can ignore this fact and try to use varnish anyway. Gamblin said that synthetic resins are safer. I prefer to wait more, because oil paint shrinks and sunk significantly during first three years of drying period and I can restore some troubles if happens. Or I can overpaint something.
                                I don’t like to hurry with paintings.

                                August 31, 2014 at 11:47 am #1210607
                                Forestgrass
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                                    Bill and Gigalot, thanks for further information. I agree with Bill that oiling out is safe if you use a synthetic varnish that allows drying even after varnishing. And oiling-out is such a teeny tiny amount of oil because most is wiped off that I don’t worry about yellowing. Varnishing alone many times doesn’t even-out the dull/shiny surfaces and oiling-out really does plus makes the painting take on the varnish more easily. But I also agree with you Gigalot to not rush paintings! I generally don’t rush things and that’s the reason I have a lot of paintings going on at once. I also appreciate what Nancy said about retouch varnishing as well that allows it to continue drying.

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