Trying linseed paint - £141.68 for 1 litre

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Jacob":k7aqzfii said:
Yep it is thin. If you put it on too thick it won't go off - it skins over and you have to sand off the soft bits. Quite easy to do though so it's nothing to worry about, but save the bother (and the paint) by brushing it out as thin as possible.
Thin coats means you can just keep topping up every few years indefinitely. No burning back or scraping. I've taken old joinery out which still has all it's paint still intact -20 layers or more from new 100 years ago or more.
The worst thing you can do to a bit of old joinery is to burn off the old paint and replace with new. You would instantly shorten its life to 5 to 10 years.
I'm confused now. So using this paint it'll only last 5-10 years ? I thought it was good for a decade or so before just needing a coat of linseed oil ?

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ColeyS1":2h3lcsdt said:
Jacob":2h3lcsdt said:
Yep it is thin. If you put it on too thick it won't go off - it skins over and you have to sand off the soft bits. Quite easy to do though so it's nothing to worry about, but save the bother (and the paint) by brushing it out as thin as possible.
Thin coats means you can just keep topping up every few years indefinitely. No burning back or scraping. I've taken old joinery out which still has all it's paint still intact -20 layers or more from new 100 years ago or more.
The worst thing you can do to a bit of old joinery is to burn off the old paint and replace with new. You would instantly shorten its life to 5 to 10 years.
I'm confused now. So using this paint it'll only last 5-10 years ? I thought it was good for a decade or so before just needing a coat of linseed oil ?

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No I meant modern paint only lasting 5 to 10 years on burned off wood. Even shorter if you use water based primers.
This was my first experience of window work when I was a youth; my sister said she pay me to paint her house, 50 ish year old joinery. I followed all the best instructions I could lay my hands on - including "The Readers Digest book of Painting and Decorating" :roll:
Three years later it was all peeling off. 5 years later they replaced them with plastic!

If you use linseed on old paint just wash down, scrape/brush off loose stuff, fill/repair, lightly sand, but otherwise leave undisturbed!
 
Phew, that's a relief.
It's still not dry [SMILING FACE WITH OPEN MOUTH]

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phil.p":1yjmttav said:
Just get a small tin from Fiddes or Osmo stuff they have similar products ...

No, they're not - they are totally different.


I'd agree about the Polyx type finishes that people mainly think of, but-

I'd be genuinely interested to hear comments about Osmo Country Colours alongside the linseed paints being tested in this thread.

It's veg oil based and coverage and pigment seems absolutely great on the few bits I've used it on.
 
I am a huge fan of linseed oil paints, have been using it quite a bit lately. I built a glasshouse 7 years ago, painted it with modern paints, primer, undercoat and then 3 top coats. Within 3 years, most of the paint had failed. I complained to the paint company, they claimed I had not prepared the surface correctly. Modern paints are useless in my opinion.

The linseed oil paint is expensive, I have literally just finished the rebuild of my glasshouse and it has taken 3 litres of linseed oil paint, this actually works out cheaper than buying modern paints as I have no primer or undercoat. Also, I will not be re-painting in 3 years time.
 
ColeyS1":ajlhivts said:
Phew, that's a relief.
It's still not dry [SMILING FACE WITH OPEN MOUTH]

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You need to use the paint in a heated workshop, it needs to be at least 15 degrees. Painting outside this time of year or in cold temperature just wont work.
 
I was kinda joking Gareth, it had only been a few hours. It's been 30 hours and it's kind of dryish. I can touch it with my finger and not much comes off. Wiping my finger against it cause it to transfer. Quite good really.- I can wipe off all the rubbish I picked up when my paint brush fell on the floor lol.

Here's a picture of it soaked into the end grain.

5fd164b04bc205c4f7483252f9d02856.jpg


The dark area is fairly dry.
ed98f90ed78e9c5d8909d1a5d8f3d13b.jpg

The light patchy bit is as wet as when first applied.

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garethharvey":3mmoj4fy said:
ColeyS1":3mmoj4fy said:
Phew, that's a relief.
It's still not dry [SMILING FACE WITH OPEN MOUTH]

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You need to use the paint in a heated workshop, it needs to be at least 15 degrees. Painting outside this time of year or in cold temperature just wont work.
Actually linseed will cure in lowish temperatures but just take a little longer. It doesn't "dry" it oxidises in fresh air. Hence long shelf life - it may skin over in the tin but that's it it won't get any worse for a very long time. There are no VOCs. I've painted outside at this time of year. It goes off faster in sunlight but it all goes off in the end
 
It's dry now. 50 hours so not that bad at all ! It's was pretty much there yesterday. I'll leave it a couple more days for good measure but it's good to know that for a rush job it might take 50hrs before applying the next coat.

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Rubbed it down yesterday
66c8b09f55788c70d589ad3837f5d7f0.jpg

No different to rubbing down oil based paint. Put the second coat on at about 3pm yesterday.
Had a look this morning and it looks wet
2a611c049d3788b86cb321be4047bfde.jpg

3b59174bcf187aae126e6e91ce301750.jpg

It's the patches that concern me but guess it could be the paint drying quicker in certain spots.
The long drying time has its benefits. You can keep going back over with lighter brush strokes even after 40 minutes and it doesn't affect the surrounding paint.
So far I'm pleased. The end grain sucked up a lot less this time. I need to check to see how many coats are recommended.

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This is an interesting thread. I almost never have cause to paint outdoor woodwork, but it's always good to have that knowledge should I need it.
 
40 hours and the second coat is completely dry. More worryingly the blotchy patches are still there.
d54d4cdd969ce594c4f4382d1e00c827.jpg

The drying time isn't an issue but I wouldn't be happy having a blotchy finish. Hopefully they dissappear over the next few days or with a final coat........


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3rd coat on
c59a732b44cc97851775a0b08c7f29a2.jpg

I've got a hunch that Jacobs recommended first coat of just linseed oil may have helped stop the blotchyness. By letting the wood absorb the oil first I think coats of paint would be absorbed less, giving a more even colour. I'm waiting to hear back from the allback guy but in my head that theory works. It's had 3 coats now and I can still see wood pores....

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My first attempts weren't too good and I had shiny patches which just wouldn't go off. Seems they were where the paint was too thick and skinning over. Had to sand it off - which worked fine even thought the paint was sticky. Since then I've really got into brushing it out thin. Stiff fitch brushes - no skill required just brush it out.
It's very different from normal paint and you won't get a high gloss finish. It won't look as good but it'll last a lot longer.
 
Jacob":3j9q6k4p said:
It's very different from normal paint and you won't get a high gloss finish. It won't look as good but it'll last a lot longer.
How long ago did you first use it?

BugBear
 
bugbear":3avug5rr said:
Jacob":3avug5rr said:
It's very different from normal paint and you won't get a high gloss finish. It won't look as good but it'll last a lot longer.
How long ago did you first use it?

BugBear
Must be getting on for 10 years? I posted it up somewhere but can't find it, it's on here or woodworkuk somewhere.
The point is - not a flake of it has dropped off in that time and there is zero sign of water ingress. As compared to many previous efforts with modern paint much shorter lived and rot setting in.
It's weathered and some of it looks scruffy and could do with a second or third coat but it goes on very easily with very little preparation - a wash down and light sanding.
Or to put it another way - I'm fairly confident that the woodwork I've applied it to will see me out even if no-one does proper maintenance.
Whereas I've had some embarrassing disasters with modern paints!
My mate Brian ('modernist' ex of this parish) tells me that his high tech high spec Sikkens dogs borllox is failing all over his 5 to 10 year old hardwood external joinery. They've stopped making this particular variety - presumably because they've realised it's cr&p, too. I'm fairly sure linseed oil would have been better, cheaper and easier to apply.
Seems to be an oft repeated story

PS erewego - 10years almost to the day! http://www.woodworkuk.co.uk/forum/viewt ... seed+paint
 
Did you ever have any issues of it looking blotchy Jacob? After 3 coats I wasn't expecting to be able to still see the pores. Is still seeing the wood pores normal or does it suggest it still needs more coats ? Don't suppose you've got any pictures of how it could look ?

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Just read your thread on woodworkuk. Seems like you had your fair share of issues. I'm not sure if this is gonna be suitable for paying customers though. Drying time and price is completely fine. It's the not knowing how it'll look on the finished item that concerns me- a lot.
I'll try and do few samples of linseed vs modern aluminium primer followed by a few different top coats and see how they fair outside.
Perhaps when i have a look tomorrow it'll all be a consistent colour.

Edit. Just remembered I made a new front door many years ago and supplied it with just a couple coats of aluminium primer. Kept looking back to see if it ever had the next coats but it never did- not until they wanted to sell the house some 4-5 years later. The only thing that changed in that time was it lost its proper aluminium colour and went grey. I wonder if your bad experience with modern paints is due to acrylic primer being at fault ? For outside joinery it's always been ally primer since I was an apprentice. Its only recently I've been trying different things like bedecs waterbased finishes, which I'm so far very impressed with.
I need to do some samples and find somewhere to put them outside.
 
Me ditto with ali primer - externally always used it (after early disasters with acrylic) and left painting for the painter - then he gets the blame!
On my own stuff I've painted linseed on top of ali primer on panel door and it works beautifully. But ali plus modern paint failed on an old ledge/brace /batten door - paint lifting off from around the board joints after 3 years. Remedied by washing, rubbing down with wire brush and sanding, followed with linseed oil as primer and linseed paint on top. Problem solved. Paint has stuck for 10 years including the old paint underneath. Has had one extra coat in the meantime but very easy to apply on washed down paintwork. I've also tried oil alone as reviver on faded paint (south facing door) and that works well.
 

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