Linseed Paint - sorry...

[JoeSheffer]

I know the subject of linseed oil paint has got us a little hot under the collar over the years. I am about to try some on a set of doors to be fitted to a workshop in a garden - and spoke to my grandfather who was a joiner back when things were done propah.

He was interested to hear about a renaissance in linseed oil based paint but asked whether i was worried about the paint bubbling in the sun. He said that in the summer months, people used to hang covers over their front doors to protect them from the sun as linseed based paints used to blister.

Has anyone experienced this issue, and what is the differnece between these paints and those from years gone by which had lead in them?

 

[Halo Jones]

Hi,

After our Dulux weathershield only last 3 or 4 years before it looked terrible we did all our doors and windows last year with linseed paint and haven't noticed any blistering. That said I am in Scotland and our house doesn't have any doors or windows facing due south. The only thing I have noticed is that when drying after rain there is a slight mottled appearance to the colour but that always disappears as soon as things dry out. I assume this is because linseed paint forms a more permable coat than modern paints and the mottled look is the wood drying out and the moisture not being trapped under the paint.

We tried to do a proper job too. Everything was stripped back to bare wood with a turps/linseed oil/linseed paint mix for undercoat followed by 2 coats of top coat. I'll have to wait 5 or so years before I can say I am truly happy with it but so far so good!

 

[Jacob]

I know the subject of linseed oil paint has got us a little hot under the collar over the years. I am about to try some on a set of doors to be fitted to a workshop in a garden - and spoke to my grandfather who was a joiner back when things were done propah.

He was interested to hear about a renaissance in linseed oil based paint but asked whether i was worried about the paint bubbling in the sun. He said that in the summer months, people used to hang covers over their front doors to protect them from the sun as linseed based paints used to blister.

Has anyone experienced this issue, and what is the differnece between these paints and those from years gone by which had lead in them?

Did it get us hot under the collar? Why on earth would it? Can't say I recall anything.
It doesn't bubble in the sun.
That's what turned me on to it in the first place - I'd painted a couple of south facing ledge/brace/batten doors following all the rules - ali primer and everything. Leyland or Dulux can't recall. It lasted about 3 years and bubbled/peeled.
I cleaned off the loose stuff and painted with Allback about 10 years ago. Stuck like the proverbial to a blanket.
It weathers on the surface but doesn't detach itself from the wood. Not a single spot of paint failure anywhere, though it does weather and fade slowly. Can be touched up with oil alone.
I've only used the Allback brand which is marketed by various people.
In use it is phenomenally cheap in spite of the high price per tin, and it's very easy to apply. I didn't strip right back as Halo describes above, but it seems to keep the old paint stuck well down too. Magic!

 

[JoeSheffer]

Just the man i was seeking a response from actually Jacob. Maybe it wasn't on this forum - i just remember people getting quite annoyed with various types of linseed oil, some using turps, some blaming poor finishes on white spirit etc etc. Maybe I imagined it.

 

[Jacob]

Just the man i was seeking a response from actually Jacob. Maybe it wasn't on this forum - i just remember people getting quite annoyed with various types of linseed oil, some using turps, some blaming poor finishes on white spirit etc etc. Maybe I imagined it.

It was a problem at first until I read the instructions - basically to brush it out very thin. Any runs or thick layers won't dry at all well. It's very different from applying modern paint and little skill required, but it does have to be brushed thin. No need for thinners other than oil itself.
Not as good colours or glossy finish like modern paints either - it looks matt, a bit rustic. Think of shutters on old french houses!

 

[JoeSheffer]

When painting outdoors (won't be doing until summer) do you have to guarentee a dry 72 hours or will it take rain after a few hours?

 

[Jacob]

Thread here Holkham Paints - Woodwork UK
Seems it's nearer 15 years since I first used it! Haven't changed my mind on it, use nothing else externally.
Yes rain resistant even before dry. I've painted in chilly October - just takes a bit longer to go off.

 

[JoeSheffer]

Super. Thanks Jacob. I suppose you have to be very careful not getting too much paint in joints, grooves, mouldings as it would never dry? This is traditionally the place i make a mess with gloss paints, so I will have to be careful!

 

[Jacob]

Super. Thanks Jacob. I suppose you have to be very careful not getting too much paint in joints, grooves, mouldings as it would never dry? This is traditionally the place i make a mess with gloss paints, so I will have to be careful!

Actually it's easy to brush it out but it feels as though you should be layering it on thicker - you just have to resist!

 

[Halo Jones]

When I did it the undercoat looked quite nice as it really soaked into the wood (my undercoat was diluted with raw turpentine and linseed). The first coat looked awful as you have to resist trying to get an even looking coverage - just go thin. The third coat looked really good when dry. Only largish knots needed a third coat touch-up.

Another bonus is that you can just plonk your brush in a small jar of linseed oil between coats. It took me most of the summer to refurbish and paint all the windows in the house and I never cleaned the brush once!

 

[TRITON]

Chap I used to work for runs this company.
http://www.linseedpaintcompany.co.uk/environmentallyfriendly.html
Lots of info, maybe it has that that you're looking for.

 

[Jacob]

Chap I used to work for runs this company.
http://www.linseedpaintcompany.co.uk/environmentallyfriendly.html
Lots of info, maybe it has that that you're looking for.

I've emailed them a couple of times and never got anything back. Assumed they'd packed it in. Might try them again.
I got my last lot from 1344ae24-8229-4f01-851a-7645ad9ce96a as far as I remember.
There are more suppliers than there were as it's slowly catching on.
Takes time for paint to fail, takes longer for it to prove it won't fail, that's why it's slow!

 

[TRITON]

Naw its just Ross. He probably thinks you're a disgruntled customer trying to get a refund

 

[pgrbff]

I have recently used pure linseed oil paint from Germany on new sweet chestnut doors that get full sun in Italy. They sell the paints with and without dryers, I did not prime. The paint dried quicly all the same. You have to make sure it is extremely well brushed out, no thick streaks. It soaks in and does not form a film that might peel or bubble. Because sweet chestnut will always bleed tannin when wetted, there are some brown spots. This could have been avoided by letting the doors weather first. On softwood in the UK this would not be an issue. They are traditional paints, just oil and pigment.
search reine Leinölfarben, lots of info in English too

 

[Jacob]

Linseed paints gradually weather off from the paint surface. I've come across old woodwork where the wood is almost bare and not painted for 50 years or more, but still holding together. I think this is because the oil penetrates and is still there after the paint is nearly gone.
Compare/contrast a common modern joinery issue; cills completely waterlogged and rotten even though the paint is mostly shiny and still in situ, but detached enough to let water in behind it.
Hence the notion that "timber isn't what it was..etc" but it's more the paint's fault.
It may finish off a bit of 100 yr old joinery to strip off the old paint and replace with modern. Kiss of death; it will only survive a few more years!

 

[JoeSheffer]

Bloody 'eck it smells horrible this stuff. Having my first go at it this morning. Primed quickly with a thin coat of linseed oil and have started with a slightly dilute coat with balsam turps.

Can i also ask...am i meant to store my brushes in boiled linseed oil or the raw stuff? Does it really matter:

 

[woodieallen]

Linseed oil paint (LOP or sLOP as I prefer to call it) is the Spawn of Satan. It is ghastly stuff. Painting it on as thin as thin can be, it still takes forever to dry. If your final brush strokes leave any small 'tramlines' then these will skin over leaving raw paint underneath and so very easy to scrape thus freeing up that wet paint onto your hands and thence everywhere else. DAMHIKT.

Accidentally getting it on anything metal will guarantee that it transfers elsewhere. From that screwdriver handle to your hands and thence to the door handle to your workshop, from there onto your Lie Neilsen best plane.......

But, linseed oil paint saves the best 'til last. Or more specifically about six months later when you discover that mildew and mould take total delight in this free feeding ground that you've put down for them and will turn that pristine paint job black. The trick, as I subsequently discovered, is to throw out of the window all those green credentials that the sLOP manufacturers hype. You need to add loads of poisonous zinc oxide to stop them feeding.

Or better still, use proper paint in the first place.

 

[Jacob]

Linseed oil paint (LOP or sLOP as I prefer to call it) is the Spawn of Satan. It is ghastly stuff. Painting it on as thin as thin can be, it still takes forever to dry. If your final brush strokes leave any small 'tramlines' then these will skin over leaving raw paint underneath and so very easy to scrape thus freeing up that wet paint onto your hands and thence everywhere else. DAMHIKT.

Accidentally getting it on anything metal will guarantee that it transfers elsewhere. From that screwdriver handle to your hands and thence to the door handle to your workshop, from there onto your Lie Neilsen best plane.......

But, linseed oil paint saves the best 'til last. Or more specifically about six months later when you discover that mildew and mould take total delight in this free feeding ground that you've put down for them and will turn that pristine paint job black. The trick, as I subsequently discovered, is to throw out of the window all those green credentials that the sLOP manufacturers hype. You need to add loads of poisonous zinc oxide to stop them feeding.

Or better still, use proper paint in the first place.

You have to brush it out very thin to avoid skinning over. This is the first thing I found too. Yes it is slow to dry - 2 days at least.
You need added zinc for external use, to avoid mould.
Yes it does stick to metal - you don't even need a primer. In fact it seems to stick well to everything I've tried it on.
Takes a bit of getting used to but it's worth it.
It's worth using even without the green credentials - it has enormous covering power and lasts for years. Easy and unskilled to apply, no solvents required, no brush cleaning, washes off your hands with soap and water.... and so on.
The only draw backs are the low gloss and restrained colours - if you want something shiny and bright red that is.

 

[pgrbff]

Linseed oil paint (LOP or sLOP as I prefer to call it) is the Spawn of Satan. It is ghastly stuff. Painting it on as thin as thin can be, it still takes forever to dry. If your final brush strokes leave any small 'tramlines' then these will skin over leaving raw paint underneath and so very easy to scrape thus freeing up that wet paint onto your hands and thence everywhere else. DAMHIKT.

Accidentally getting it on anything metal will guarantee that it transfers elsewhere. From that screwdriver handle to your hands and thence to the door handle to your workshop, from there onto your Lie Neilsen best plane.......

But, linseed oil paint saves the best 'til last. Or more specifically about six months later when you discover that mildew and mould take total delight in this free feeding ground that you've put down for them and will turn that pristine paint job black. The trick, as I subsequently discovered, is to throw out of the window all those green credentials that the sLOP manufacturers hype. You need to add loads of poisonous zinc oxide to stop them feeding.

Or better still, use proper paint in the first place.

This is a door painted last year in one coat of Linseed oil paint. No primer, straight onto sweet chestnut. I always buy the one without driers as it seems to dry within a few hours anyway. It was painted in Spring, whilst I am in Italy I'm at 600m and it isn't always that hot. This gets full sun every afternoon, note how much the panels have moved, but has not cracked or faded or anything else. Thiss winter it had snow banked up against, but no mildew. I have painted for money all my life and I wouldn't swap it for any modern paint. It looks good in one coat, it goes on easily if a bit slowly because you have to brush it out well with a stiff brush, and I would think it's fairly green too. It is expensive however and not available in 1000's of shades.
I buy mine from Reine Leinofarben, I think it's Norwegian?