an alternative to white spirit/ turps/ brush cleaner

[pondwhelk]

this may interest those who use oil paints:  the diluent called 'ZEST-IT'.  details here:

http://www.zest-it.com/zest-it.htm

- supplied locally and online at:

http://www.lawrence.co.uk/acatalog/Zest-it.html

- what it is:

"Zest-it can be used as either a brush cleaner or oil paint dilutant. It has a pleasant citrus smell and is non-irritating to eyes and skin. It is non-toxic and non-flammable with a neutral PH value.  For brush cleaning, Zest-it helps to maintain the oil content of the brush rather than removing it, which helps to keep the hairs supple. It also works well on brushes with dried oil paint.  Zest-it can also be used to thin oil paint whilst sometimes slightly increasing the drying time and can be mixed with linseed or stand oil for the 'fat overlean' principle. There is no detrimental effect to paint quality or stability. "

[williamscharlotte]

thanks for that.. iv heard about it but always been intrigued.
might have to try it.. only thing is you cant beat the smell of turps in the studio..
does anyone know of a good quality turpentine that we can get hold of down here, that i can use with linseed oil? i find cheaper turps gives a yellowy taint to some of my paintings.. i know you can get  good turps in atlantis, but that is a bit far away...

[pondwhelk]

i used to love the smell of turps, but i swear it's changed...  it now has an acrid taint to it.  i don't think it's me - i think they add other chemicals to it that they didn't, years ago.   

[williamscharlotte]

yeh.. what happened to the good old days!
its definately worth spending a but more on good quality liseed oil and turps..
any you can recommend..
i really want to invest in good materials for my final year..
you only get a hit at it once, so why not go for it full speed!

[pondwhelk]

..........good quality liseed oil and turps..any you can recommend..

i use Windsor and Newton linseed oil, bought in half litre bottles which last at least a year.  turps - can't find proper old-fashioned unadulterated turps.    mostly i use oil as a diluent, and forget about turps. 

i use ordinary white spirit to clean brushes, recycling it again and again by means of lots of jam-jars: let the used white spirit stand a week or two until it separates from the gunge at the bottom of the jar, pour off clear spirit into new jar: keep doing this indefinitely (you need to have several jars on the go).  you have to dispose of the jam jars with the gunge, but there's usually only a thin skin of it on the bottom of the jar - and there's no alternative to disposing of it.  plastic based paints have other environment problems, both in their manufacture and their disposal.  if you want to be totally eco-friendly, use earth pigments and bind them with gum or size.  i think there are pigments available - can't remember the website - which are totally harmless to the environment, but you'd have to do a search for that.

at least in forty years of using white spirit to clean brushes, i've never thrown any of it away.  i just keep re-using it till it's all evaporated.  you have to buy new bottles occasionally, but not often.  tip:  always wash brushes in warm water and washing-up liquid - or even shampoo! - after cleaning: keeps them in good order, and brushes are very expensive!   

[williamscharlotte]

thanks for the advice.. i find i go through white spirit like water!!!!
i agree its worth spending time cleaning brushes!
will try just linseed oil.. so do you just use less oil as the layers build up on the canvas? cos i have been using turps and linseed and using more oil to turps as the layer build up.. i want to try satnd oil as well, instead of linseed oil...
will try the jar white spirit thing.. worth it if it saves me money.. being a student !

[pondwhelk]

it depends on the finish/effect you want.  if you want something to have a bit of a shine, then step up the oil-to-paint ratio.  if not, don't use any oil, or very little.  it depends, too, how much surface you're covering.  sometimes it's worth using more oil to spin the paint out (also to lessen its opacity) to begin with, and then, as you begin to complete areas of the painting, use no oil - unless you want a gloss finish.  and, of course, it also depends on the absorbency of the base you're using (i tend to use white emulsion paint, but this appals those who prefer something less.... plebian  )

it's a whole different technique to working with acrylics, but i like the forgiving nature of oil paints - necessary to my way of working - which is to get everything wrong until something comes right...   

[williamscharlotte]

yeh i think i would like to think alot more about surface and start getting alot more experimentative with oils.. i have been using oils properly for the past year and feel i can maybe try out the possibilities.. i want my paintings to have more meaning.. maybe thats just what it needs...
i will have to look at your work properly now and see what effect your techniques show..

charlotte