Making an oil cloth and have a question

[rebelscout]

I'm working on a new oil cloth ground blanket/poncho and need to know what side, painted or unpainted, receives the mix of boiled linseed oil, mineral spirits and Japan drier. The instructions I have say the sized side but I put sizing on both sides to stop the bleed through of black paint. Any assistance you can provide is greatly appreciated.

Respectfully yours,

Robert Capps

[lukegilly13]

Re: Making an oil cloth and have a question

What kind of material are you using? Depending on the fabric it may not matter as some cotton fabrics do not have a "right" side.

[rebelscout]

Re: Making an oil cloth and have a question

I'm using cotton drill so the side I paint should not matter. However, I'm not sure whether to put the mixture over the paint or on the side without the paint. Will the boiled linseed oil, mineral spirit and Japan drier cause issues on the painted side?

Respectfully,

Robert Capps

[J.H.Berger]

Re: Making an oil cloth and have a question

Actually you only work on one side. It makes no sendse to put starch etc. on the off side because if the paint bleeds through it won't stop it anyway.
The trick is to treat the fabric properly to prevent the bleeding through. That will cost you some time in experimenting.

[itz3r1k]

Re: Making an oil cloth and have a question

Rebelscout,
First i see that you live in missouri. I will tell you this right now. It will take month's for the oil cloth to dry.I know i only live in a state below you in arkansas and i have used that recipe to test it and i did it over a year ago and is still not dry. And before you say anything i used the said amount of japan Dryer. Here is my suggestion to you and i did this. Go to home depot, And get behr ultra premium oil based paint in mickey mouse ear black. Yes micky mouse ear black :) It looks exactly like originals once it is dry. If you are interested send me a PM and i will give ya further instructions k? And on the subject of it bleedin through. You just put a light coat on each time.

Your most humble and obedient servant,
Erik William Creekmore.

[Stonewall_Greyfox]

Re: Making an oil cloth and have a question

Have to agree with Mr. Berger...just work from one side. Cotton is perhaps one of the worst materials for 'painted cloth' because it has a tendency to absorb (think of other things cotton is used for...). Linen/Hemp was preffered in the period...but cotton is not wrong. When using cotton, more starch required. When I used to make these regularly, I would stretch on racks, size, let dry, size again, then paint. For sizing I've used everything from cornstarch to egg emulsifiers. Even then - if using cotton; muslin, duck, drill, ticking - I got varying levels of bleedthrough (but so did originals).

Be careful thining the paint too much with using mineral spirits, you will want the paint to be a slurry (not too fluid, as the fluidity will have a tendency to penetrate your cloth before it sets). Since you're not using Litharge (period white-lead based drying agent), use liberal amounts of japan dryer. I also prefer using turpentine as a thinnner over mineral spirits, as it has a tendency to 'gum' with age whereas mineral spirits does not.

Perhaps others who have experience making this stuff will chime in - gosh I have the itch now, I haven't made one of these things in like 3 yrs...sigh.

Paul B.

[GrumpyDave]

Re: Making an oil cloth and have a question

I hope you're not doing your painting anywhere inside, especially if your married.

[Mike Ventura]

Re: Making an oil cloth and have a question

Not only will the linseed take ages to dry, the smell will drive you out of your home. You MUST do this outside. I made several of these 8-10 years ago, and vowed to never do it again. There are obviously "tricks of the trade" that have been lost to antiquity.

This topic has been discussed on this forum for over a dozen years. The problem with "original" recipes is that they contain a high amount of (toxic) lead, so the actual period ingredients are not available today. We often end up with a "kind of" formula that just doesn't work.

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: Making an oil cloth and have a question

Hallo!

"Japan Dryer" takes the place of the Period use of "litharge' (ex: Litharge of Gold, a red lead oxide) in paint formulae.

From "The Painter and Varnisher's Guide" by Pierre F. Tingry, 1804, page 346:

"When painters which to obtain a common colour of the orchrey kind, and have no boiled oil by them, they may paint with linseed oil, not freed from its greasy particles, by mixing with the colour about two or three parts of litharge, ground on a piece of porphyry with water, dried and reduced to fine powder, for sixteen parts of oil. The colour has a great deal of body, and dries as speedily as if drying oil had been used."

(Also remember that linseed oil dries NOT by evaporation as do other types of oil, but rather by polymerization...)

Curt

[GrumpyDave]

Re: Making an oil cloth and have a question

polymerization...)

Ergo, big stink.

[Clsinclair]

Re: Making an oil cloth and have a question

There's nothing wrong regarding the color bleeding through the cloth. If you put too much starch (sizing) the color will simply peel off in the near future. Other words some bleeding will almost guarantee that the mixture will stay on the material longer. If you are using drill or canvas you want to use a lighter weight and you have to use two pieces sewed together because drill and canvas was around 28.5" and 33.5" wide during this period. I have had the linseed oil dry within 30 hours using the right mixture of Japan Dryer. I have made between 300 - 500 painted oil cloths during the past 10 years. I have made some bad ones and some good ones. It does take practice to get it right.

[rebelscout]

Re: Making an oil cloth and have a question

Below are photos of my sample fabric. Input is greatly appreciated before I start applying the finish on the real oil cloth.





Respectfully,

Robert Capps

[poilu1917]

Re: Making an oil cloth and have a question

Robert,
Which method/recipe did you go with for the sample you posted images of? From what I can tell, it looks good.

[rebelscout]

Re: Making an oil cloth and have a question

I used the one from Jack Cox. Not sure where I found it but had it printed out.

1) Cotton utility fabric from Jo-Ann's
2) Zinsser Shieldz ready-to-use acryclic clear wall size in 1 gallon from Lowes
3) Lincoln Cottage Black signature interior matte paint and primer in 1 pint from Lowes
4) Created 1 pint 1 oz of the mixture with the following:
- 2 oz Klean-Strip Japan Drier from Home Depot
- 10 oz Klean-Strip Mineral Spirit paint thinner from Lowes
- 5 oz Klean-Strip Boiled Linseed Oil from Wal-Mart

First I painted both sides of the cotton utility fabric with Zinsser Shieldz ready-to-use acryclic clear wall size waiting three hours between each side. After two days I painted one side of the cotton utility fabric with Lincoln Cottage Black. Waited two days and added a coat of mixture to the painted side. Waited three days added another coat of mixture. Waited another three days added another coat of mixture. This is a total of three coats of mixture.

After the weekend I'll see how the sample piece deflects moisture.

Respectfully,

Robert Capps

[Stonewall_Greyfox]

Re: Making an oil cloth and have a question

I used the one from Jack Cox. Not sure where I found it but had it printed out.

1) Cotton utility fabric from Jo-Ann's
2) Zinsser Shieldz ready-to-use acryclic clear wall size in 1 gallon from Lowes
3) Lincoln Cottage Black signature interior matte paint and primer in 1 pint from Lowes
4) Created 1 pint 1 oz of the mixture with the following:
- 2 oz Klean-Strip Japan Drier from Home Depot
- 10 oz Klean-Strip Mineral Spirit paint thinner from Lowes
- 5 oz Klean-Strip Boiled Linseed Oil from Wal-Mart

First I painted both sides of the cotton utility fabric with Zinsser Shieldz ready-to-use acryclic clear wall size waiting three hours between each side. After two days I painted one side of the cotton utility fabric with Lincoln Cottage Black. Waited two days and added a coat of mixture to the painted side. Waited three days added another coat of mixture. Waited another three days added another coat of mixture. This is a total of three coats of mixture.

After the weekend I'll see how the sample piece deflects moisture.

Respectfully,

Robert Capps

Authentic Campaigner?

Paul B.