Gamsol is For Cleaning

I recommend that unless you really know what you are doing, only use gamsol for cleaning, not as a paint medium.

[@manicangel7796]

I hit the like button at 47 seconds when she stated : "It Won't Spontaneously Combust In Your Trash Can" Sold. Because, well.. you know.. house fires in the middle of the night just really aren't my thing.

[@debrakeirceartjourney8434]

I know!!! I have had artist friends experience fires duele to this!

[@katpaints]

Very good! I stated out in the early 70s doing rosemaling - from a book. They had a recipe for the medium to use that was measured out and kept in a jar - turps, linseed oil and I think dammar varnish... at least those stuck in my mind. I ended up taking lessons a decade later - mostly for the fun of painting together, and there was no control of those jars of turps. My headaches were enormous. There eventually was a big shift to craft acrylics because teachers were getting sick from so much exposure to heavy metals. We put our hands in it! Plus, after cleaning the brushes thoroughly, including soap and water, we stuck our brushes in our mouths and shaped them with our tongues. THAT was a hard habit to break. I hated the craft acrylics and quit painting for 10 years, finally took up watercolor. Now I am really wanting to buy oils again and try to go as solvent-free as possible. There is something about it....

[@debrakeirceartjourney8434]

Yes, and you really don’t even need any solvents. I am studying the Ani Art Academy curriculum right now and they don’t use any medium or anything other than Dawn dishwashing liquid to clean their brushes. I think we are a lot smarter these days about toxins. They are even moving to non cadmium oil paints now that you can buy! And flake white replacement that is also not as toxic - so yay!

[@smalljungoo3795]

This was very helpful, as a beginner artist I’m trying to find as many helpful tips for cleaning the brushes and which paint to use I am currently experimenting on oil paints and I noticed it’s super hard to clean the brushes and I bought so gambol cause I saw it in a video and I was going to look into what else I can use it for.

[@nancypahl7755]

Word!! Painting with oil in layers/glazes using only Gamsol to thin your paint will result in layers that haven't stuck well to previous layers, even when you mix linseed or stand oil with the Gamsol.

[@ArtistInNewHampshire]

For washing brushes, I use baby oil, removing the color onto paper towel, then Dawn liquid to clean that off, rinsing well. Just resuming using Griffin alkyd oils, I plan on using Galkyd gel if I want a medium. Thanks for explaining about Gamsol. (I like CitraSolv for cleaning in general, too. )

[@debrakeirceartjourney8434]

That’s a great way to clean them!

[@rhettrenegar8360]

The only video that actually helped me. Thanks!

[@debrakeirceartjourney8434]

Oh you are most welcome

[@cinderblockstudios]

I'm primarily an acrylic painter but I do dabble in oils here and there. Gamsol has been on my radar for awhile, but not quite ready to jump over from my odorless spirits yet. I'm curious if you'd consider gamsol more of a painting medium or a cleaner? I think having both would be valuable but not sure to what degree for each.

[@debrakeirceartjourney8434]

Well, what’s the title of this video?

[@emmamariamakes]

I've been told to use the first thin layer of a painting with some mineral spirit or gambol, next layer with medium or a mix of spirit and linseed oil and the last layer with pure paint. What are your thought on this?

[@debrakeirceartjourney8434]

Well, look at the title of this video

[@elaniscott6397]

I used odorless mineral spirits as a paint thinner (before I knew about the negative effects) on a pretty major art piece. Do you have any advice on what to do now? I was hoping to sell it at some point but now I'm not so sure.

[@debrakeirceartjourney8434]

Lots of artists use gamsol or OMS in their medium formulas. It’s not the kids of death. It’s just not my personal preference. If you don’t see lots of sinking in or flattening out of pigment, and if you were careful to have the slowest drying layers of paint on the bottom, you should be fine. It’s just (in my opinion) not a good habit to get into because one day you will forget the fat over lean rule or you will want to have a dark red or black area but won’t be able to achieve or, or any number of aesthetic things that you could run into. But Elani, as long as you don’t have a lot of oil in those bottom paint layers relative to the top layers, the archival nature of your work should not be compromised.

[@AliHussain-ns8hr]

Great video! About the paint cracking or fading within 5 to 10 years. Does this problem still occur when the painting is brought up in various layers of paint over sessions?

[@debrakeirceartjourney8434]

You just need to be sure the faster drying layers are on the bottom and the slower drying ones are on top.

[@AliHussain-ns8hr]

@@debrakeirceartjourney8434 got it, that makes sense. Thank you

[@moonycorn4914]

THANK YOU. I’ve got a quick question though: could I still use the linseed oil? (On a very small scale though, of course) I just personally don’t like how thick oil paint is... hence, why I’ve used a LOT of gamsol 😬

[@debrakeirceartjourney8434]

Linseed oil is a wonderful choice for both thinning paint and for cleaning brushes. Be careful though! It has a low flash point. That means that if you leave linseed oil soaked towels in a trash can, there is a chance that a sunbeam or something else could heat that oil up to a temperature where it bursts into flame. Studios have burned down because artists didn’t adequately wet their linseed soaked rags!

[@anupamakonara4747]

May I know what is the painting on your right side wall? The person on the beach?

[@debrakeirceartjourney8434]

It is a painting by a friend of mine, Tessa Edwards. She passed away about ten years ago.

[@debrakeirceartjourney8434]

You bet!

[@moneybay]

how fast does it evaporate? does it evaporate completely?

[@debrakeirceartjourney8434]

How fast things evaporate depends on lots of factors like temperature and humidity. But while gamsol is a solvent, and it does evaporate, it is heavier than air, so in a closed space with no air movement it settles to the ground areas of the space. Also it has extremely low levels of VOC’s, volitale organic compounds. These are the chemicals that manufactures install equipment to remove, to meet EPA requirements. So of all the chemicals in your house, it is one of the less damaging. You can also call Gamblin and discuss any concerns you have with them.