oil painting medium question

[Kribber2]

I'm just beginning to use oils. How is it that the oil painting mediums
I have purchased do not list thier ingredients on the bottle? In the
middle of a painting, I ran out of Daler-Rowney "Alkyd Flow Medium". I
recently purchased Bob Ross "Oil Painting Medium" (it was on sale). I
just am surprised that the ingredients are'nt listed. I don't know if
the two are compatible. I'm just using linseed oil. I'm just surprised
that these products can be sold without the ingredients as they are
dangerous (they list the cautions). Are they secret formulas?

[Charles Eicher]

Sometimes, they treat their formula like a major secret, but I suspect that
this is usually to conceal the fact that you could mix the stuff yourself
out of standard, easily available supplies, for about 5% of the price.
Also, sometimes they add driers and other chemicals that aren't really very
good, and most people would probably avoid these chemicals if they knew
they were present.
On the other hand, there are legitimate media like W&N Liquin, they are the
companies' trade secret. No big thing.

Try reading a reference book like "The Artist's Handbook" by Mayer, if you
want more info on media, either to mix your own, or to check out what is in
some common brands.

| Charles Eicher |
| -=- |
| cei...@inav.net |