Home Forums Explore Media Oil Painting The Technical Forum Dealing with oily rags, telephone books…

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  • #992812
    Barbara WC
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        Another novice here at oil painting.

        I am aware of the dangers of having oily rags in a pile and combusting. I know some people put their oily rags in water- either in a metal can or plastic bag, then dispose.

        My husband is a hobby woodworker, and he deals with his oily rags by spreading out in a single layer with lots of air flow, and when the rags dry, he throws them out. He usually uses Teak or Danish oil, so his rags dry pretty fast. He doesn’t work often on his woodworking, so he doesn’t usually have more than a couple of rags at a time. We haven’t had a fire over the past 15 years…

        I bought and have been trying to work with watersoluble oils now for a few days. Since I’m able to clean brushes in water while painting, I don’t have any oily rags to deal with. This to me is the real draw to watersoluble oils (and working solvent free).

        Yesterday I went and got 3 tubes of M. Graham oil paints to compare the watersolubles to some traditional oil paints. I want to work solvent free, so I used paper towels and safflower oil bought at the grocer to clean my brushes while working (if I stick with traditional oils, I’ll probably switch to artist grade walnut oil for cleaning).

        Today I have 3 oily paper towels hanging around my studio with clothes pins, waiting for them to dry. None of them are soaked, just a few paint marks and a few oil blotches. Maybe on each towel, total surface area of about 1/4 would be “oiled”.

        To be honest, the whole oily rag issue and fire risk is one reason I’m “trying” to make myself like watersoluble oils. I have a few tubes of Daniel Smith, Winsor Newton Artisan, Cobra watersoluble paints. All of those are a little stiff and sort of tacky out of the tube. They spread okay after the addition of either water or Winsor Newton Fast dry medium, or even M. Graham walnut alkyd. But the M. Graham paints are useable right out of the tube without any medium, and I find the texture much more pleasant than the watersolubles even with medium added. The experience of using the M. Graham was much more sensual to me.

        I know the oily rag issue is serious, and proper disposal needs to be done,but I just wonder if I’m taking this to the extreme and overblowing the risk to myself?

        If I switch to M. Graham oil paints, I’d like to move over to rags instead of paper towels (I just grabbed some paper towels without thinking last night- so used to using them when I paint with watercolor!).

        Do people remove a single rag used during one session that isn’t overly soaked with oil to a metal can? Or, do you use the rag for multiple sessions and wait to put it in the metal can when the rag becomes quite soaked? Is a single rag hanging at an easel between sessions at risk of combustion?

        My plan would be to use multiple brushes for warm/cool values during a session and only have to wipe the brushes on the rag between major shifts in hue or value, then occasionally put the brushes in the oil jar and need to wipe the brush on a rag. Given the number of “wipes” of oil on the paper towels last night, using only 2 brushes, I imagine it would take me many sessions to get a rag very oily… Unless I had to wipe off part of the canvas…

        I read about people using old phone books to wipe off their brushes that have oil on them. What about the pages, does one need to let them dry before putting in the trash? Again, do you remove pages after each session and dispose or wait until the pages are pretty soaked?

        I never realized the risk of combustion with the drying oils. I regularly use walnut oil in cooking, and sometimes use Safflower oil too. After I am done cooking, I always take whatever oil jar is open (olive, walnut, etc)), add about a teaspoon of oil in my cleaned and dried iron skillet or wok, and use a wadded up paper towel to coat the pan with oil. I then just throw away the oil soaked paper towel in the garbage (and this oil soaked paper towel is way more soaked than any of the paper towels I used last night in cleaning the oil paint off my brushes while painting). I have never realized there is a risk of fire with a cooking oil paper towel! Maybe I should stick to olive oil for this purpose…

        I’ll be using up the watersoluble oils, and I haven’t completely given up on them, I want to try some of the watersoluble mediums to see if they improve the texture of the paints. But I may end up replacing the tubes with M. Graham oil paints. However, I’m still paranoid about fire in my studio- maybe misplaced paranoia.

        Help! :wink2:

        #1221532
        rltromble
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            I don’t know about walnut oil, but this should give you an idea.
            Video

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            #1221528
            Barbara WC
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                rltromble-

                That is a pretty frightening video!

                But I notice they have rags piled up in that video, and have ALOT of oil on the rags. That makes sense, as the oil oxidizes, heat is trapped and the pile gets hot enough to combust. My husband uses the method of putting the rags out in a single layer in the driveway with his Danish oil soaked rags.

                But what about a single rag used during an oil painting session with walnut oil that isn’t nearly as soaked as in the video? Do you oil painters put your single rag into a container every night when you are done with it? That is a lot of rags that one need to dispose of.

                I am wondering about a rag that might have several paint wipes and a few straight walnut oil wipes on it- is it safe to hang it up in the studio overnight or for a few days? Not waded up, but hung up so air can circulate in the cloth?

                Are paper towels safer because they are thinner and less absorbent than rags (therefore need to be disposed more often)?

                What do people do with their metal containers filled with rags in water? Do you throw them in the trash, or take them to hazardous waste?

                Does anyone wash rags after a session to reuse? This might be a safe alternative… get rid of the oil in the rag so it won’t have a chance to combust, then the rag can be reused too..

                #1221527
                cjorgensen
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                    For me, I don’t usually add much linseed oil. I barely use any. If paint is old and stiff out of the tube, I add a drop or two. Usually, I use Oderless mineral spirits. I keep a window open in the room and have a fan going on low to keep the air moving. I use napkins and paper towels.

                    #1221521
                    WFMartin
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                        I highly recommend M. Graham traditional, oil paints. They work very well for me.

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

                        #1221529
                        Barbara WC
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                            WFMartin-

                            I really enjoyed using the M. Graham oil paints ALOT- I was able to use them straight out of the tubes without any additions.. I haven’t used any other oil paint brands, except the oil solubles, so not sure what other brands are like, HOWEVER,

                            I have used M. Graham watercolor paints since about 2007 or 08, and my palette is mostly M. Graham watercolors- love the pigment load and the texture- the two things I ended up liking about the oil paints, and liked not having the linseed oil odor. I choose M.G. as my first traditional oil brand because I am familiar with their pigments in watercolor and have read great reviews about their oil paints…

                            One question- how do you deal with your walnut oil rags? The fires I keep reading about with linseed oil have me paranoid…

                            #1221539

                            I don’t think a paint rag will ignite just from the linseed in the paint. it has to be a uniform saturatiuon of the rag like you’d have from oiling furniture.
                            It needs a saturation so that the mass volume of oil is all going off at the same time. Accumulated smudges of linseed in paint over a period is not a problem. Just dont put a mopped up spill of turps/linseed(common medium) into a bin because it will be a definite fire hazard(Ive started a fire this way). Because walnut goes off much more slowly that linseed it’s unlikely to create enough heat to ignite. Walnut is expensive and used in pretty low volumes if others use it like I do which is quite traditional.

                            #1221545
                            mariemarie
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                                Does anyone wash rags after a session to reuse? This might be a safe alternative… get rid of the oil in the rag so it won’t have a chance to combust, then [B]the rag can be reused[/B] too..

                                Hello Barbara,

                                This is what I do since I like to work with clean material and a rag is not dirty enough after a session to dispose of it.

                                Any how, why don’t you just do what YOU feel 100% comfortable with?

                                Having a can with water for dirty rags in which you dispose of them seems to be very much the safest solution. It would also free you from your fear for good IMHO.

                                Happy painting!

                                Marie

                                #1221522
                                karenlee
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                                    Yes, I have washed small rags to re-use them. However, I find it is much more convenient (I am a bit lazy) to buy more brushes so I don’t have to wipe any while painting. Anyway, I find I don’t run out of rags so I don’t wash rags anymore unless there is so little oil on them that it’s really no trouble. OK so now you are probably saying, but you have to wash all those brushes out after painting! and yes, I do, but overall it’s worth it to have clean brushes while painting. I usually use about 7 brushes per session.
                                    Your question of how much oil and how much rag etc is safe and how much isn’t has never been answered, although I have been watching for it. What I have seen is reports of spontaneous combustion arising from the heat of oxidation. Here is one from a Wetcanvas artist:
                                    https://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=493727&highlight=flammable

                                    #1221542
                                    CMcLaughlin
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                                        I am wondering about a rag that might have several paint wipes and a few straight walnut oil wipes on it- is it safe to hang it up in the studio overnight or for a few days? Not waded up, but hung up so air can circulate in the cloth?

                                        Barbara,

                                        I am also fairly new to oil painting. I am also painting solvent free with traditional oils (mostly M Graham, Rembrandt, and Lukas). I sometimes use linseed oil to clean my brushes and wipe them on a paper towel. Then I just lay out the paper towel to dry. If previous ones aren’t dry, then I put them next to each other, not on top.

                                        Everything I’ve read says that either spreading them out in a single layer or putting them in water is a safe option. The risk of fire if you follow either of these practices is very, very low. And as you’ve said, we often throw out vegetable oil-soaked paper towels in the trash can without thinking about it.

                                        Carey

                                        #1221526
                                        Ben Sones
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                                            To be honest, the whole oily rag issue and fire risk is one reason I’m “trying” to make myself like watersoluble oils. I have a few tubes of Daniel Smith, Winsor Newton Artisan, Cobra watersoluble paints. All of those are a little stiff and sort of tacky out of the tube. They spread okay after the addition of either water or Winsor Newton Fast dry medium, or even M. Graham walnut alkyd. But the M. Graham paints are useable right out of the tube without any medium, and I find the texture much more pleasant than the watersolubles even with medium added. The experience of using the M. Graham was much more sensual to me.

                                            I know the oily rag issue is serious, and proper disposal needs to be done,but I just wonder if I’m taking this to the extreme and overblowing the risk to myself?

                                            The risk is real, but the precautions needed to eliminate the risk are trivially simple, so there’s no reason to switch paints if you don’t want to. Laying rags out to dry is a perfectly acceptable option, if you have the space to do it. You could also go to a hardware store or a Home Depot-type store and buy some empty gallon paint cans. Put some water in one, and throw your rags in there. Seal the top when you are done painting for the day. Another option–put your rags in gallon ziplock bags. At the end of the day, pour some water in the bag, squeeze out as much air as you can, and then seal it up and toss it.

                                            If you are using a safe method to dispose of your rags, then there’s no reason to worry about it.

                                            #1221535
                                            Crystal1
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                                                See “The Secret to Oil Painting Without Solvents” on line. It looks like using Walnut Oil with M. Graham Oil paints may be the answer for you. Good luck and happy painting.

                                                #1221530
                                                Barbara WC
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                                                    I don’t read about many people washing their rags. That’s what I’ve been doing the past couple of nights after each session. I’ve been using one old sock during a session.

                                                    When I need to clean the brush, I just wipe several times on the sock, and then “rinse” the brush in the safflower oil jar which has a screen in the bottom. Before dipping into new paint, I use the sock to get the oil out as much as I can. I’ll probably move to artist grade walnut oil soon so I won’t have to try getting the oil out of the brush before using.

                                                    The oily socks wash up pretty easily in hot water with Dawn dishsoap.

                                                    My oil jar is starting to get quite a sludge of pigment in the bottom, most likely from the earth pigments. I have no idea how to dispose of that- guess I’ll just collect it in an old house paint can and take it to hazardous waste at some point, although it’s quite a drive to get to the hazardous waste and we need an appointment. At the rate I’m painting and collecting sediment in the oil, I won’t have to go to the hazardous waste for a year or two.

                                                    I got a couple of more brushes yesterday so I won’t have to keep rinsing brushes in the oil as often…

                                                    #1221533
                                                    rltromble
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                                                        That is exactly how it works, as oil oxidizes it produces a small amount of heat. If the oil is insulated, as being in a pile of rags, the temperature can increase and eventually reach an ignition point. In normal use of wiping brushes this isn’t an issue. There are times when rags might get soaked in oil such as seasoning a pallet, oiling out, or removing excess medium. Just be aware that it can happen, but this is more of a worst-case scenario then anything else. As oil painters we don’t typically have piles of rags soaked in oil the same way a woodworker might.

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                                                        #1221543
                                                        danthrplgst
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                                                            My oil jar is starting to get quite a sludge of pigment in the bottom, most likely from the earth pigments. I have no idea how to dispose of that- guess I’ll just collect it in an old house paint can and take it to hazardous waste at some point,

                                                            Barbara, if you toss those pigments I will personally come and take away your paints and slap your hand :-)

                                                            There is no need to toss the pigments that collect at the bottom of your can. What you do is drain off your clean oil or OMS into another jar than scoop those pigments out of the bottom onto a piece of newspaper or kraft paper. Spread the pigment mass out and leave them to dry for a few days, since you’re using oil you can probably get another piece of paper to press on top of the pigments to get as much oil out as you can.

                                                            Once the pigments are dried gather them up into a pile on your palette and add a very small amount of oil to them and mix and mash them together with a palette knife, add another small amount of oil and mix again. Keep adding little bits of oil and mixing and eventually you’ll have a beautiful, custom made neutral gray. You can either take your paint and tube it or put it into a little jar.

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