Safe and effective varnish for oil paintings
Tony W.
toxicity and can be removed fairly easily?
I'm using Kamar Varnish Picture Spray. The can says it's flammable,
poisonous, explosive when the can is overheated, has harmful vapor and
it requires turpentine to remove from paintings when it's fresh and
xylene (which is even more toxic) when it's old).
Thanks.
Chris
resin in turpentine; when it's dried, it is removed with alcohol. If the
turpentine is a problem maybe some of the safer solvents would work as well.
Chris
"Tony W." <ton...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:3F144B01...@hotmail.com...
Tony W.
>
> Tony, have you tried making your own damar varnish? it's usually just damar
> resin in turpentine; when it's dried, it is removed with alcohol. If the
> turpentine is a problem maybe some of the safer solvents would work as well.
Thanks, Chris.
Where could I find more information about that procedure?
Tony
à-la-votre
says...
>
>Tony, have you tried making your own damar varnish? it's usually just damar
>resin in turpentine; when it's dried, it is removed with alcohol. If the
>turpentine is a problem maybe some of the safer solvents would work as well.
>
>Chris
I varnished a painting yesterday and was once
again reminded of why so many people find
using turpentine objectionable. I am not
allergic to it but it does 'irritate' me to
have to smell it. Luckily the turpentine
evaporates quickly as the varnish sets up.
Chris
Meyer has a recipe for making damar varnish; if you don't have access to the
book let me know and I can scan & e-mail the relevant pages. Unfortunately
the recipe is for making varnish by the gallon, you'd have to cut it down
some.
Or googling "making damar varnish" turned up some links:
http://www.artpapa.com/forum/DCForumID31/3.html
and
http://www.cad-red.com/mt/o_damar.html
Hope this helps, and if you do try a safer solvent (like the citrus ones)
let us know whether it works or not.
Cheers;
Chris
"Tony W." <ton...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:3F14C2F4...@hotmail.com...
à-la-votre
>
>Where could I find more information about that procedure?
>
>Tony
UTRECHT ART SUPPLY sells the damar crystals
in bags that come with instructions on how
to do it. Very simple, really. I use an old
nylon stocking as the 'sack' for suspending
the crystals in the container of turpentine
until the crystals have all dissolved. I forget
how much each 'bag' of crystals makes, but
I think it's about a liter.
Tony W.
>
> Tony, have you tried making your own damar varnish? it's usually just damar
> resin in turpentine; when it's dried, it is removed with alcohol. If the
> turpentine is a problem maybe some of the safer solvents would work as well.
>
> Chris
I was warned that damar varnish yellows after a while.
Tony
Gud Nabor
>I was warned that damar varnish yellows after a while.
>
>Tony
It's the 'traditionaly' accepted varnish
for oil paintings, regardless. And unless
you plan to lay it on in such thickness
that the yellowing would show, I don't think
it's ever going to be detectable to the eye
otherwise.
FWIW, I use 'acrylic' varnish for oil paintings
that I need to show/sell before they have the
recommended 6 mos. drying time for applying
damar varnish. I buy it in the ordinary paint
aerosol cans, sold oftentimes as 'clear' paint
or varnish. Or you can spend the extra money for
the very same thing sold as "artist's varnish"
by art supply outlets.
Chris
> Chris wrote:
> >
> > Tony, have you tried making your own damar varnish? it's usually just
damar
> > resin in turpentine; when it's dried, it is removed with alcohol. If the
> > turpentine is a problem maybe some of the safer solvents would work as
well.
> >
> > Chris
>
> I was warned that damar varnish yellows after a while.
>
That's true, but Mayer seems to indicate that the yellowing is due to
impurities in the damar, so that the higher the quality, the less yellowing
is likely. I've never had any significant problems with it, and I don't use
high-end stuff. So if it can last my lifetime, I'll let the conservators at
the Louvre and NGA and MoMA worry about renewing it at some later date :)
It's made to be removed periodically, without harming the paint film
underneath.
Chris
Tony W.
Thanks, Chris (and Gud).
How often is Damar varnish supposed to be replaced on the painting? If
it's only every 50 years or so, that might be okay.
Have you waited for a lifetime to test yellowing on your paintings? If
so, then I assume you painted your test paintings as a child and are now old.
I don't want my customers have to take my paintings every 10 or 20 years
to a gallery to have the varnish redone. That's impractical and
virtually no customers would go through that hassle.
I've been using Kamar Varnish Picture Spray I've been using. The can
says, "Stays clear. Non-yellowing." But it's an aerosol spray, which
harms the ozone layer, and it's flammable, has harmful vapors, is
poisonous and the can is explosive when overheated.
Tony
Tony_W
> Tony, have you tried making your own damar varnish? it's usually just damar
> resin in turpentine; when it's dried, it is removed with alcohol. If the
> turpentine is a problem maybe some of the safer solvents would work as well.
>
> Chris
Thanks, Chris.
> If the
> turpentine is a problem maybe some of the safer solvents would work as well.
I can't take a risk that 'maybe' the safer solvents would work as
well. I need to know
proven techniques.
I don't want to make my own varnish; I don't have time. (I've been
advised
by various people that I'm supposed to stretch my own canvasses, grind
my
own paint, hand-pull my own prints, buy four-by-eight-foot sheets of
plywood
from a lumberyard and sand them with a commercial sander, make my own
tear
sheets, distribute my own prints and paintings, etcetera.)
Tony
Seagull Manager
>
> But it's an aerosol spray, which
> harms the ozone layer
Doesn't that depend on what propellant is used? I thought they'd stopped
using CFCs in aerosols a while ago. Haven't they?
>, and it's flammable, has harmful vapors, is
> poisonous and the can is explosive when overheated.
Sounds a bit like turps, then.
Gud Nabor
>I've been using Kamar Varnish Picture Spray I've been using. The can
>says, "Stays clear. Non-yellowing." But it's an aerosol spray, which
>harms the ozone layer, and it's flammable, has harmful vapors, is
>poisonous and the can is explosive when overheated.
It shouldn't harm the ozone layer if it's
made in the USA since propellants were
changed long ago to ones that will not
cause harm to the atmosphere. As for the
other attributes, you can't be an artist
without taking risks! Minimizing the effects
to your person is one of the FIRST things
full-time artists should be aware of, just
as anyone working in any industry should
FIRST be made aware of safety precautions.
Tony W.
>
> "Tony W." <ton...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:3F1D4CBC...@hotmail.com...
> >
> > But it's an aerosol spray, which
> > harms the ozone layer
>
> Doesn't that depend on what propellant is used? I thought they'd stopped
> using CFCs in aerosols a while ago. Haven't they?
I don't know. I was charged a ten-cent environmental surcharge when I
bought a can the Krylon spray varnish, and the sales clerk said it the
surcharge is to pay for some sort of environmental fund by the government.
Tony
> >, and it's flammable, has harmful vapors, is
> > poisonous and the can is explosive when overheated.
>
> Sounds a bit like turps, then.
Yes.
Tony W.
That's why I'm looking for a safer alternative.
The can says, "Contains no fluorocarbons" and "Made in USA", but I was
charged a ten-cent environmental surcharge when I bought the product
here in Canada.
Tony