I've never used oil paints before. Can you thin them down with water?

Question

I've never used oil paints before. Can you thin them down with water?

Answer 1

No you don't use water... Oil and water won't mix! You can either use linseed oil to volume the paint or use white spirit. Experiment with both... you will get the feel for it. Enjoy!

Answer 2

You cant use water. but why would you want to thin them? it will just make them smear all over! if you want to make it go on in a thinner coat get some on your brush, then wipe most of it off with a cloth. but specifics on what your doing would help!

Answer 3

No you have to use mineral spirits or a product made for mixing with oils. It is a totally different material than acrylics.

Make sure you work in a ventilated area.

http://painting.about.com/cs/oils/a/solvents.htm

Answer 4

No, one can't actually thin oil paints with water. Oils paints float in water

Answer 5

How To Dilute Oil Paint

Answer 6

The traditional mixture for oil paints is linseed oil and turpentine. They make special artist grade linseed oil which is much more expensive than the grade woodwoorkers use. Although, its fine to use the hardware store variety. Its just a little more yellow. You can change the ratio depending on your needs. Turpentine is not as strong as paint thinner. You can also use "turpenoid" which is a synthetic and has less fumes than natural turpentine. The more tupentine in the mix the faster it dries, and the linseed oil makes it spread better. Prime the carving first with white acrylic house paint. I don't know how it would be removed, but the linseed oil won't take it off.

Answer 7

you do have oil paints that can be mixed with water....latest and greatest.....you have to ask the art shop specifically for them

Answer 8

Oils are thinned down with linseed oil and cleaned off hands and brushes with turpentine. When you paint with the oil colors, add a small amount of linseed to each color. This creates a "wet-into wet" technique where the canvas or surface you are painting on stays wet all the time. Oil paints , even though they are a fairly good medium to work with takes a long time to dry, any where from 6 months to a year per painting.