Boiling Linseed oil?

[billd]

A simple question I couldn't find in the archives.  Does adding lead carbonate while boiling the oil do anything to the oil's color? Or is the lead simply a drying agent?

If I want to darken the oil slightly or add a redish tint to it what could I add?

Thanks,
Bil

[Acer Saccharum]

Windsor Newton oil paint is one way to tint the oil. Burnt Sienna is a nice reddish brown, and fairly translucent. Some pigments are opaque, and will cloud the finish.

Burnt Sienna is centuries, yea, millenniums old, and could not be considered a 'modern' pigment or dye.

[Joe S]

White lead will give the oil a “deep chestnut red” as Kettenburg describes it.  If you want more red, you might consider alkanet root or dragon’s blood.

[bigsky]

How much white lead is used per unit of volume?  I've heard some folks boil old oxidized lead balls or bullets in the oil but wonder if this adds enough white lead to the solution.

[Dphariss]

Lead will redden the oil.  The various iron pigments will also color the oil also. The oil will darken regardless when cooked. This is one reason boiled linseed oil (it does not really boil the way I cook it and really high temps are bad for the oil) produces better color in the wood than clear finishes do.
I am not the guy to answer questions as to how and what the old American gunsmiths did to make stock finish. At least not when away from my references.

Dan

[P.Bigham]

 I made some recently used about 8 oz of oil to a spoon full of white lead. It was my first attempt. turned out good. Darkened  to a good red brown color. I like using this. make sure you do it outside, sure smells up the shop.

[Acer Saccharum]

Dragon's blood is a resin from an Asian tree, lovely red, but it dissolves in alcohol, not oil, much like shellac. You might stain your wood first with dragon's blood(DB), THEN finish with the boiled linseed oil (BLO)

Or seal the wood with a mix of alcohol, shellac and DB. Soak the wood completely, 'til it will suck no more mix.

If DB is ground fine enough in oil, it might act as a pigment, but I have no experience with this.

I understand MArco Polo brought DB back from the Far East, so it's been available in Europe, but I cannot say for fact that it was used in finishing wood, or what gives the jaegers their reds. But it looks hot.

[NSBrown]

This string is interesting to me; I am experimenting with BLO and shellac mixtures as finishes.

Could someone give me a source for white lead and for Dragon's Blood?

Thanks.

[Acer Saccharum]

Sinopia or Kremer pigments,

http://www.kremerpigments.com/

http://www.sinopia.com/

[NSBrown]

Thanks Acer.

Is "white lead" discussed in this thread  what I would know as Lead White oil pigment?

[Acer Saccharum]

White lead, I am going out on a limb, is simply lead oxide, the white powdery stuff on old lead.

Kremer carries lead based dryer, I believe, called 'siccative', it's a liquid, and added to oils to make them dry.

NOBODY has white lead pigment, in this day and age of product safety. Oil paints are lead free, cadmium free, etc.

but Kremer carries a lot of nice yummy toxic stuff. Their shelves are lined with jars of brilliant heavy metal pigments. They ARE very safety conscious, but sometimes you need toxic to get the result you need. Just be careful.

[Joe S]

White lead is lead carbonate.  You can buy it, or it’s easy enough to make.  This stuff is toxic, so be careful with it.

I would encourage folks interested in this topic to take a look in the archives.  BLO, various historically correct stains, varnishes and shellacs have been discussed on a fairly regular basis, and there are some excellent threads with contributions from builders who are also professional chemists, so unless those folks chime in here, you’re likely to get more information from the archives than from this thread.

Kettenburg published a recipe for a BLO based varnish in  http://www.muzzleblasts.com/archives/vol5no2/articles/mbo52-1.shtml

You may also want to read Staining and Finishing for Muzzleloading Gun Builders, Methods and Materials from 1750-1850 by William Knight, and The First American Furniture Finishers Manual., edited by R. D. Mussey.

[Stophel]

Boiling and adding lead carbonate will turn the color of the oil to a deep red-brown.  This used to be called "red oil" or "black oil".

[Chuck Burrows]

NOBODY has white lead pigment, in this day and age of product safety

Oh yes they do.......
http://naturalpigments.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=475-11S
Williamsburg also sells lead based artists paint and the Windsor Newton white flake has lead..

FYI - for those who can't or won't boil their own linseed oil for whatever reason there is a commercial alternative
Tried and True Oil - they sell both the pure boiled oil and boiled oil with rosin already incorporated - you can then add the liquid lead dryer or heat and add white lead.
At 7,000ft above sea level I have a hard time getting the raw oil hot enough to polymerize so I have gone to using the T & T oil and then adding my own lead and rosin - I've used the commercially available but also use locally collected pinyon pine rosin which works beautifully and it gets me off my butt and out in the woods.
You can also make your own white lead - take some lead balls, soak in vinegar for a while, pour of the excess, and then put in a jar with a lid and put some vinegar in a small container with it . Just throw the balls in the mix after they get frosted with the carbonate.

You can also get aged turpentine from various art supplies as well as prepared linseed stand oil, but the T & T is cheaper.

I have made my own oil and varnish from scratch and used both versions of the T & T oil and can't tell the difference in the finished product........I've also added red ocher to the hot mix and like it a lot - it doesn't muddy the grain and gives a light red brown tint.....
This first one came out more brown........

this one bit more red - only difference was in the wood - both were sugar maple


Finish on both was linseed oil varnish over Aqua Fortis....the first one was homemade varnish starting from scratch the second starting with boiled T & T Oil, adding my own oil, and using prepared lead dryer from the art supply.......