a useful concoction?

[pineywoods belle]

I use OMS to thin paint. I also use classic medium with damar/turp/linseed oil.

OMS does not dissolve damar and leaves a sticky residue in the brushes. I wonder if it would be sound to add a wee touch of turpentine to my OMS to thin the damar residue in my brushes as I paint.

It seems that the concoction would be less smelly/toxic than straight turpentine and more effective than OMS.

Or would my studio explode?

[AMIEN]

I use OMS to thin paint. I also use classic medium with damar/turp/linseed oil.

OMS does not dissolve damar and leaves a sticky residue in the brushes. I wonder if it would be sound to add a wee touch of turpentine to my OMS to thin the damar residue in my brushes as I paint.

It seems that the concoction would be less smelly/toxic than straight turpentine and more effective than OMS.

Or would my studio explode?

pineywoods belle,

You can try this, and have no fear that your studio will explode ... unless it's an unventilated cramped studio space and you have 50 candles burning for light.

A caveat to consider. Both OMS and gum turps are toxic, no matter what.

[AFLoewy]

Pineywoods,
I doubt your idea to sneak some turps
into your media'll work, but see whether
that'll cut it.
Although that medium is indeed classic;
in fact, that precise medium prescribed a
class I was in with a professor/painter, a
highly esteemed painter (and doubtless,
used that medium himself), I believe the
use of turpentine in US classrooms be
legally prohibited, thus, if your paintings be
executed in class, may not be done with
damar, there anyway.
Although the usage of damar's been a
staple of painting history for centuries,
for some reason, the Save-Em-All Polizie
made this their jihad du jour - Why
not simply instead assure that the studi-
os are simply well-ventilated?!
Which they legally must be anyway.
a

[AMIEN]

Pineywoods,
I doubt your idea to sneak some turps
into your media'll work, but see whether
that'll cut it.
Although that medium is indeed classic;
in fact, that precise medium prescribed a
class I was in with a professor/painter, a
highly esteemed painter (and doubtless,
used that medium himself), I believe the
use of turpentine in US classrooms be
legally prohibited, thus, if your paintings be
executed in class, may not be done with
damar, there anyway.
Although the usage of damar's been a
staple of painting history for centuries,
for some reason, the Save-Em-All Polizie
made this their jihad du jour - Why
not simply instead assure that the studi-
os are simply well-ventilated?!
Which they legally must be anyway.
a

AFLoewy,

Whether turps can be used in a studio classroom at a school is a local option. A school, or a state, may prohibit it, but the feds are not involved.

As for whether a studio is well-ventilated, have you looked into the cost of a first-class ventilation system lately? That is, one that will pull 6-10 air changes per hour and replace the exhausted air with fresh air from the outside. It's one thing to build this into a new construction, and 10 times as expensive to retrofit an older building.

No school can afford to do that without serious financial help, and we have yet to hear of a state making an unfunded mandate like that on a school. We have seen the feds fine schools for improper handling/disposal of hazardous waste, but have never encountered a requirement for improved ventilation.

[thokitts]

I use OMS to thin paint. I also use classic medium with damar/turp/linseed oil.

OMS does not dissolve damar and leaves a sticky residue in the brushes. I wonder if it would be sound to add a wee touch of turpentine to my OMS to thin the damar residue in my brushes as I paint.

It seems that the concoction would be less smelly/toxic than straight turpentine and more effective than OMS.

Or would my studio explode?

Since turpentine is so much more volatile than OMS the extra turp you add is likely to flash off while you are working with it. That is why your medium is gumming up, the turp is evaporating. (the damar you used out of the bottle already is dissolved in turp.)

And BTW, this medium is not a classic but a fairly modern substitute for copal and amber based cooked resins. As for toxicity, search on turp and damar to get all the info you need.

[AMIEN]

Since turpentine is so much more volatile than OMS the extra turp you add is likely to flash off while you are working with it. That is why your medium is gumming up, the turp is evaporating. (the damar you used out of the bottle already is dissolved in turp.)

And BTW, this medium is not a classic but a fairly modern substitute for copal and amber based cooked resins. As for toxicity, search on turp and damar to get all the info you need.

thokitts,

Very good, and thanks.