Linseed oil paint is forgiving to apply, but like any finish it lasts longest on a surface that has been prepared properly. Allbäck sums it up in one line: scrape to a solid surface, clean, oil, and finish painting. Here is what each of those steps involves.
Timber should be dry — no more than 14% moisture content — and the air at least 14 °C when you paint. After rain, give exterior timber a few dry days. Indoors, run a dehumidifier if the air is damp. Painting over wet timber traps moisture and slows drying.
Scrape off flaking and blistered paint until you reach paint that is firmly bonded, or bare timber. You do not have to strip everything: sound old oil-based paint is a good base. Feather the edges so the old layers do not show through.
On houses built before 1970, assume there is lead in the older layers. Do not dry-sand, grind or burn it off. Read removing old paint safely and how to strip paint from timber before you start.
Dirt, grease, pollen and mould all stop new paint from bonding. Wash with Allbäck linseed soap — about 100 ml in a bucket of water — scrub, rinse with clean water and let the timber dry completely. Where there is mildew, as is common on shaded or coastal walls in Australia, use Linseed Soap Extra and give it time to soak in before scrubbing. Avoid high-pH cleaners and high-pressure washers; both can damage timber and affect how the paint behaves.
Bare, weathered exterior timber is thirsty. Before painting, brush on raw linseed oil and let it soak in fully — warm oil, or timber warmed by the sun, penetrates faster. Wipe off anything that has not been absorbed. This stops the first coat being drawn into the wood and helps it dry evenly. On previously painted timber, use boiled linseed oil instead. More detail in raw vs boiled linseed oil.
Resin in knots can bleed through light colours. Brush pure shellac over knots before painting. On windows, shellac also goes into the glazing rebates to protect the putty.
Never use acrylic primers, petroleum products or solvents under or in linseed oil paint — they are not compatible.
A stiff natural-bristle brush lets you work the paint into the timber and out into thin coats. Have a look at our brushes and tools. Then you are ready to paint — work out quantities with how much linseed oil paint do I need?
Not normally. If a coat has wrinkled from being too thick, wet-sand it with Allbäck Primer before the next one.
Let it dry out until the moisture content is below 14%, wash off any surface residue, and paint a test patch first.
Ask us — tell us what the timber is and what was on it before.
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