Liquin on other medium

tamasgodanyi

I know the golden advice of not mixing different mediums in one painting. However I am thinking about using liquin as a glazing medium, or also in the final layers. I am always working with solvent+regular linseed oil (in different ratios) and I'm planning to use stand oil with some sort of turpentine in the future.

Does anyone have experience with a similar working method, or just experience with liquin in general? Does this violate the fat over lean rule? Could liquin be usable on top of a fat linseed oil layer?

Also, can you use solvent + liquin like you would normally with linseed oil?

Thank you in advance!

KingstonFineArt

Liquin is an alkyd during medium. 

Stand oil and linseed are not. 

There are several thickness of liquin. 

DMP medium works well. 

broker12

I can't say much about the chemistry involved in these various layers of mediums, but I can say I did not and do not like the effect of Liquin as a final layer. I used it that way a couple of times and was sorry both times.  To my eye, it gave the paintings an odd, hard, too-glossy look.  Not like a final layer of picture varnish, which leaves your colors looking (to my eye) rich and juicy.  I finally quit using Liquin altogether.  When I need a dryer, I add about 4 yo 6 drops of cobalt to my medium.  Another thing . . . Liquin is permanent.  In other words, if you have to remove it to do further work on your painting, you'll have a dickens of a time doing it.

KingstonFineArt

Liquin is a glazing medium to assist in dying time. Not a top coat. Not a varnish. Not really for mixing with other mediums. Gamblin has similar products Galkyd. Every maker has some quick dry medium. Meant to glaze with pigment and dry quickly.

tamasgodanyi

It's not a varnish, but it's not only a glazing medium as well. It can be used throughout the painting as a medium. As you've said, there are multiple versions of liquin.

I agree @broker12 that it's not a great idea to use it as a final layer (before varnish i mean), but I'm getting that you could glaze on top of a touch dry linseed oil layer, right @KingstonFineArt ?

dencal

Folks

Liquin is a modified soy oil. It retains the same elasticity as other drying oils and won’t mess up fat over lean arrangements that would otherwise lead to wrinkling or cracking.


Denis

NotACat

And just because it exists does not mean you need to use it to glaze. You can glaze perfectly fine with just paint. That's it. Why complicate things for no reason whatsoever.

dencal

NotACat

Welcome to you.

If you have used glazing to maximise the benefits then multiple coats are required. About a dozen.
With Liquin it is a day between coats, using paint alone it takes a week to ten days between coats.

Denis

tamasgodanyi

Thank you all for the feedbacks! They are really useful!

MichaelD

I am not a fan of Liquin, made of petroleum distillates.

Much prefer Graham's fully non-toxic Walnut Alkyd Medium.

Each to their own.

Desertsky

tamasgodanyi – I have used Liquin Original for about 30 years. Liquin contains a drier, so it is dry to the touch much faster than linseed oil. It also contains mineral spirits. Like linseed oil, it can be used to glaze or just apply a non-glazing layer. It is completely compatible with linseed oil depending on your painting technique. Note: using fast-drying Liquin is opposite of Mr. Carder’s slow dry technique.

I paint very thin, not lean. This means that my paint layer depth is much less than 1 millimeter. I wait until a paint layer is dry to the touch before putting on another layer. Liquin to tubed paint ratio: I add less than 10-15% Liquin to the paint nut. I paint with the same amount of medium in each and every layer. (No fat over lean. It’s a nuisance to keep track of and not necessary as long as a thin layer is dry before adding another thin layer on top. Let the storm begin  .)

I have, over the years, put on layers made with Liquin over layers made only with linseed oil. I have put on linseed oil layers over Liquin layers. No problems as long as one paints thin and waits until a layer is dry before putting on another layer. However, I almost always use the same simple medium throughout all the layers in a painting.

 I don’t know what #broker12 means about removing a Liquin layer in order to continue working on a painting. Assuming this means that the surface is closed chemically to a new layer, after a period of a few years for example, then there are ways to deal with this. Scuff up the surface a very little bit with a kitchen scrubby, clean off, and paint. The mechanical adhesion of the new paint layer to the cured underlayer will be enough, as long as you don’t paint too lean with solvent leading to an underbound layer. Da Vinci spent over 12 years painting the Mona Lisa, using walnut oil, so dried-to-the-touch surfaces certainly can be painted on.

#broker12, how is a layer of Liquin more permanent than a layer of linseed oil?

For me, I keep things as simple as possible, and so have never understood the attraction of different kinds and ratios of oil, solvents, stand oil, etc. 

tamasgodanyi

Thank you @Desertsky for the detailed reply. 

I understand what all of the comments have said and I really appreciate the feedbacks. It was rather just a casual question about liquin as I like to experiment with a lot of things and Im sure i will try liquin just to see whether I like it or not.
I know I can glaze without it, I've just done it on my recent painting and even though linseed oil and some solvent make a perfect combination for oil painting, I will also try standoil plus terpentine in different ratios as well next time.