Oil paint

In principle, any surface is suitable, provided it is prepared correctly. A porous preparation is a prerequisite for good adhesion. The oil penetrates the pores and after drying forms 'anchors' in the surface, with which the paint film adheres.

The most common surfaces are cotton, linen, synthetic fibre, (wooden) panels, cardboard and paper. The surfaces supplied by Talens are already prepared. There is a choice of cotton or linen stretched canvas, cotton, linen, cotton/rayon and polyester on rolls and canvas boards. Stretched canvas boards are available in many sizes, cotton, linen and mixed fibres on rolls in various qualities.

Get the right tools for constructing and conserving your paintings with oil paint auxiliaries. We offer auxiliaries to support you from start to finish. The collection includes primers, oils, solvents, painting mediums and varnishes to protect your work with.

Oil coming out of the tube is called 'binder separation' and is caused by contact of the paint with oxygen. The oil can simply be mixed with the paint on the palette, or sucked away with a tissue, for example. There's nothing wrong with the paint and you can use it as normal.

Depending on the layer thickness and type of pigment, the paint film is hand-dry in about one to six weeks. Fully drying the film takes about six months to one year, and even several years for very thick layers.

Oil paint dry under the influence of oxygen, heat and light. To promote drying, there should therefore be sufficient ventilation and light and the room should be at room temperature. Furthermore, drying can be accelerated by adding a siccative or quick-drying medium to the paint.

The so-called "wrinkling" of the paint can occur in thick layers with certain colours, especially cobalt, madder and earth colours. The cause lies in the type of pigment and the resulting composition of the paint. This wrinkling can be prevented by mixing the paint with Painting Paste (096), also called "painter's butter". A mixing ratio of 1:1 is sufficient. The colour and consistency of the paint remain the same, but oxygen now has easier access to the paint inside.

This cannot be avoided and is caused by a combination of the colour used, the type and amount of thinner added and the absorption of the substrate. During painting, "sunken-in" spots may appear: the paint dulls, the intensity of the colour diminishes. Gloss differences can be adjusted with retouching varnish.

Traditional oil colours and Cobra can be combined to a maximum ratio of 1/5 (i.e. up to 20% of traditional oil colours). Up to a ratio of 1/5: oil 1/Cobra 5.

Oil paint do not adhere well to a closed layer of acrylic paint. So you cannot paint an acrylic painting first and then paint over it with oil. However, there are some methods that can be followed to get an optimal result:

• Thin the acrylic paint with water and make a thin underpainting on a universally prepared support. There is now less acrylic resin per painted surface. Once the water has evaporated, the paint film is porous enough for the oil paint to adhere to the layer of acrylic paint.
• For the underpainting, use Gesso instead of white acrylic paint when mixing the colours. Each colour should be mixed with enough Gesso to allow adhesion of the oil paint.