Utrecht's Flake White is comprised of Lead Carbonate and Safflower Oil.
Learn what white lead oil paints are available to artists, as well as the alternatives to paints using lead.
In 1977 the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) banned lead paint for use in residential and public buildings in the United States. The federal regulation not only affected painting contractors, but it also resulted in changes in sign paint formulations.
Many
old timers lamented the loss of lead in their paint for good reason. Lead paint dried faster. It covered better.
It was more durable. Above all, lead paint flowed and leveled out better than
the replacement paints. The benefit was that lead paint did not show brush
strokes.
The
good news for fine artists is that you can still buy white lead oil paint. Lead based white paint, which uses lead
carbonate as its pigment, is often labeled as “Flake White” or “Cremnitz White”.
Sometimes these labels can be misleading
because not all products are the same. Because
formulations vary, do not be surprised if the appearance and handling characteristics of one
brand of lead white paints varies from another.
 |
| Not all Flake Whites are the same. Before you buy a product, read the label. Some Flake Whites utilize only Lead Carbonate pigment. Others are mixtures of Lead Carbonate and Zinc Oxide. |
One reason for the difference is the oil used. Oils
used as the binder include linseed oil, safflower oil, poppy oil and walnut oil.
Each oil has its own physical properties. Linseed oil,
for example, tends to impart a yellowish cast to the white.
Other reasons for variation include differences in the
milling process of the lead carbonate pigment. More importantly, some but not
all Flake Whites, such as Old Holland Flake White, are actually mixtures of
lead carbonate and zinc oxide pigments. Old Holland does make a lead white comprised of 100% lead carbonate pigment, which the company markets as their
Cremnitz White. As I noted, labels can be misleading. Utrecht Flake White, by
comparison, also consists of 100% lead carbonate pigment and safflower oil, which is
a light colored, flexible oil.
Lead white and lead
based colors are only available as oil paints. The reason is that the oil
preserves the lead carbonate pigment, preventing it from darkening. Of the
various white pigments, lead carbonate is the most durable. Cremnitz White,
which utilizes pure lead carbonate pigment, was a favorite of the famous
British portrait painter, Lucian Freud. When Parliament threatened to ban the
sale of lead white paints, Freud enlisted the support of an MP to lobby against
the ban. He was so fearful that Parliament would enact the ban, that he bought
the entire supply of any Cremnitz White that he could.
 |
| British portrait artist, Lucian Freud, used Cremnitz White extensively in his nude paintings. The picture above was painted on Synaps synthetic paper. |
Alternatives to Paints Using Lead.
Because of concerns about the toxicity of lead, some have opted to use alternatives to lead white, such as Titanium White and Zinc White. There are differences from one white to another. Compared to lead white, Titanium White is cooler, chalkier and more opaque.
If
you do not want to special order lead white, you can warm up Titanium White and approximate the desired color by
adding just a touch of Yellow Ochre. Easy does it, though, because just a
slight amount will significantly change the temperature and hue of the white.
Zinc White, another alternative, is noticeably different
too. Zinc
White is more transparent that either Titanium White or Flake White. Some artists
like Zinc White for creating tints. Others decry its performance properties,
arguing that the paint is less flexible and consequently more prone to
cracking, as well as drying more slowly.
Test, Don't Guess. The best way for you to
understand the differences among paints is to evaluate the products side by side. Once you find something that works for a particular application, continue to use it. If you are not satisfied with the performance of a product, try something else.
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About Jim Hingst: After fourteen years as Business Development Manager at RTape, Jim Hingst retired. He was involved in many facets of the company’s business, including marketing, sales, product development and technical service.
Hingst began his career 42 years ago in the graphic arts field creating and producing advertising and promotional materials for a large test equipment manufacturer. Working for offset printers, large format screen printers, vinyl film manufacturers, and application tape companies, his experience included estimating, production planning, purchasing and production art, as well as sales and marketing. In his capacity as a salesman, Hingst was recognized with numerous sales achievement awards.
Drawing on his experience in production and as graphics installation subcontractor, Hingst provided the industry with practical advice, publishing more than 150 articles for publications, such as Signs Canada, SignCraft, Signs of the Times, Screen Printing, Sign and Digital Graphics and Sign Builder Illustrated. He also posted more than 325 stories on his blog (hingstssignpost.blogspot.com). In 2007 Hingst’s book, Vinyl Sign Techniques, was published.
© 2015 Jim Hingst
Thank you. This is nice info. See this - lead carbonate uses
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