Oil Paint Drying Time

[salty]

Hi everyone,

An other beginner question if I may. I’ve painted a small plastic board with an abteilung oil paint to imitate a wooden texture for my Fokker D VII build. I placed a small amount on a paper towel and left it there sitting for an hour before applying it.

it was at least a week ago and it is still not dry. For now I’ve put it out to the balcony in a transparent plastic box hoping the sunlight will help speed things up.
Do you happen to have any other suggestions on how I could speed the drying time up a bit?

thanks!

 

[Archetype]

From my art school days, the fact that oils dry slowly, if at all, is what makes them popular for painting. It affords the artist plenty of time to work with them.

For modelling, I understood they were used for weathering realistic oil based effects. I wouldn't have thought they'd be useful for anything else.

As far as drying them out, I would keep them aerated and warm. Drying time will be dependent on the oils but I wouldn't expect them to be dry anytime soon.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Not really. Got a question though. Did you use the paint neat?
Oils do take ages to dry if they are used neat. There are a couple of ways to help this. One is to soak off the excess oil by dispensing the paint onto a scrap of cardboard and leaving it to stand for a while. Another is to dilute them with solvent or something like liquin flow improver before use. They will then dry more quickly.
Another thing to take into account is that oils will probably dry glossy and will not be able to be over painted with acrylics. If you need to eliminate either then simply varnish them after they have dried and carry on painting.

 

[Tim Marlow]

From my art school days, the fact that oils dry slowly, if at all, is what makes them popular for painting. It affords the artist plenty of time to work with them.

For modelling, I understood they were used for weathering realistic oil based effects. I wouldn't have thought they'd be useful for anything else.

As far as drying them out, I would keep them aerated and warm. Drying time will be dependent on the oils but I wouldn't expect them to be dry anytime soon.

Hi Chris
There are actually quite a few figure painters that use oils. There are also ways of speeding drying as I’ve mentioned above. If you want to know more, there are several good painters on YouTube that demonstrate figure painting with oils.

 

[salty]

Thanks Guys!
Yes I used it neat but I did placed the paint on a paper towel for an hour before using it to try to get some of the oil out from it.

Basically I was applying a technique as described here: https://www.scalemodellingnow.com/tbpainting-wood-grain-effects-and-how-to-paint-them

I will see if it changes in the next 1-2 days but I might end up removing the paint and find an other way to achieve a similar effect :/

 

[Tim Marlow]

Interesting....I assumed you had painted the whole piece, but if you’ve followed that SBS and used a light smear to create graining they should dry? I’ve grained wood with oils before like this and they have dried in a day or two. Try leaving it in the warm (such as an airing cupboard) for a couple of days...you’ll need to cover it though, wet oil paint attracts fluff like nothing on earth....

 

[stona]

... wet oil paint attracts fluff like nothing on earth....

Apart from gloss varnish

 

[Jim R]

Hi Gyorgy
Oils do take a while to dry and this drying can be slow, especially if used neat or put on thickly. This slow drying is actually a big benefit when it comes to weathering and blending. One thing you can do is to make yourself a light box. Mine is a plastic box and a low wattage bulb. The holes are for ventilation. This does speed up drying quite a lot.






I put the bulb off centre so that I can place the model to adjust how much warmth and light falls on it. The black tape is only there 'cause there was a crack in the lid - bought it cheap

Jim

 

[Steve Jones]

The thickness of your oil paint will dictate how long it takes to dry. I thin mine down like a wash and it is dry within few minutes to touch. However if you then apply another thinned down coat onto the original layer it will effect it. You can use a hairy dryer to dry out the oil but that is high risk as it can melt glue and plastic if you are not careful. Using a quality oil will improve the drying time also

 

[Dave Ward]

Georgy,
you don't have to use oils to give a wood grain effect. I tried with oils, couldn't get it right & the smell of white spirits hung around! I used acrylics, using a yellowish base coat, then applying thin layers of darker streaks ( using gloss varnish + paint to make it look opaque ). It takes a bit of experiment, but works well, and once you've got the technique right, very fast - no hanging around waiting for paint to dry!
I hope you don't mind me posting a picture in your thread, but this is the fuselage of the Eduard 1/48 Albatros D.III I did in Autumn last year..................

I drew in the panel lines with a pencil, before sealing it all in with a satin varnish.
Dave

 

[Steve Jones]

There are a few woodgrain stencils in the marketplace now Dave. Yet to see how effective they are.

 

[Tim Marlow]

If we’re looking at alternatives, Uschi van der Rosten do wood grain transfers I think.

 

[salty]

Thanks guys, I’ve put it next to the boiler, which in our flat is the next best thing to a purpose built light box

thanks Dave for the hint, I will try it out next time!