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Originally Posted by Terri Ficenec
. . . applying a layer of 50/50 Galkyd Lite and OMS to the surface of the finished painting. . . . Is this still considered a recommended practice?
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Hi Terri, I'm curious as to the provenance of the recommendation.
This much I know: alkyd resins were synthesized and applied in commercial paint coatings beginning in the 1930's. While paints so formulated (generically referred to as "enamels") provided a number of benefits and improvements over the linseed oil and natural resin / fossil resin coatings they replaced, my experience using a variety of such paints for over 35 years has proved that admixtures of linseed oil result in delamination between coats unless well-sanded between applications, and clear alkyd coatings are relatively prone to yellowing and clouding.
The addition of synthetics and petrochemicals to the already complex (and potentially controversial) armamentarium of the painter in oils adds an "X" factor to questions of permanence.
Insofar as oil painting as a technical methodology was perfected 500 years ago for all practical purposes, as the current condition of some of the earliest paintings attests, my question is, why deviate from the proven durability of materials so long in use ?
Perhaps in another 150-200 years, either the advantages or inadvisability of using alkyd compounds will begin to be proved, but that's a little late for us painting right now . . .
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