Zest-it®

The Zest-it Clear Painting Medium is designed to facilitate the flow of oil paint, level out the brush strokes and for glazing. The Clear Painting Medium can be of assistance to both the Traditional oil painter and the Wet-on-wet artist. It is a mix of Zest-it and Linseed Stand Oil without added Varnish, it also makes the paint it is used with dry faster. For theTraditional oil painter. The Zest-it Clear Painting Medium is very useful for applying glazes to the painting. It dries clear and quite quickly, it will also lift any dull parts of a painting giving an overall balance to the surface finish. It does not contain any varnish, this keeps the dried glaze as a more flexible film and in keeping with the rest of the paintings structure. The last glaze can of course be worked into before it dries to completion. Oiling out.Often when a painting has been drying for sometime dull areas show up. Before starting work on the painting again the artist often wants the 'wet look' back, this is an aid to judging the colour with more accuracy. Using the Clear Painting medium for this gives back the 'wet look', can be painted into and keeps the integrity of the painting. Very useful and a little goes a long way. For theWet-on-Wet painter. The Zest-it Clear Painting Medium gives an ideal base for the start of a canvas painting, allowing the artists to mix and blend colours on the canvas and can be used throughout the painting. The Clear Painting Medium can also be coloured before starting a wet-on-wet painting, just add a small amount of oil paint to an amount of the medium and mix together before using to wet the background - only a very thin coat is needed. The medium will stay workable for about twelve hours. For theTole or One-stroke painter. The Zest-it Clear Painting Medium is excellent for blending colours together when double loading a brush for one-stroke painting, which of course is a wet-on-wet painting method when using oils. When double loading a brush, mix a small amount of ZCPM with each pile of paint, then load into each side of the brush and blend on the palette. The painting medium also makes blending the applied colour easy. The Clear Painting Medium can also be used to thin oil paint to an ink consistency for use with a dip pen nib, the oil written words will have a gloss and slightly raised profile.

Fine Grain Marble Dust is a product of the UK and is made from pure Marble rock. It is 100 mesh size and is technically known as Calcium Carbonate (CaCOâ‚‚). It can be mixed with Cold Wax, to give extra substance to the wax and allows Impasto marks to have greater volume and texture. It can also be added as a dry powder to the painting, this also gives texture to the work. It can be added to Gesso or PVA glue to give extra 'grittiness' for painting with wax. Makes an excellent surface for Pastel artists when applied to paper with either Gelatine, Gesso or PVA, gives a good surface with plenty of 'tooth'. It is basically an inert (chemically inactive) substance and has been in use for 100's of years. Used also when making traditional Gesso using rabbit skin glue. How much do you add? There are no fixed proportions because every wax/oil mixture will be different, you will need to make your own decision according to your own requirements for the piece. Add as necessary but keep the wax/oil workable, if too much is added the wax/oil will be dry and crumbly, not good for the longevity of the work. It is classed as a Non-Hazardous product, however, do be aware that it is a dusty material.

The Zest-it Cold Wax Painting Medium is a smooth, thick, firm paste and the reference to 'cold' is because it does not need or require heat. Mix with Oil paint to give texture and add more substance to the oil paint, makes impasto easier to achieve and speeds the drying time. Can be used with brush painting knife, shapers, rollers, wedges, silicon blades and tools of your choice. Add pigments, powdered metals, marble dust and other fine art materials to increase the visual depth and surface finish. Apply to canvas, paper, mdf, gesso'ed board or panel, birch ply panel, waxed raw canvas or other material of your choice.

The Zest-it Cold Wax Painting Medium is a smooth, thick, firm paste and the reference to 'cold' is because it does not need or require heat. Mix with Oil paint to give texture and add more substance to the oil paint, makes impasto easier to achieve and speeds the drying time. Can be used with brush painting knife, shapers, rollers, wedges, silicon blades and tools of your choice. Add pigments, powdered metals, marble dust and other fine art materials to increase the visual depth and surface finish. Apply to canvas, paper, mdf, gesso'ed board or panel, birch ply panel, waxed raw canvas or other material of your choice.

Zest-it Linseed Stand Oil is sourced from renewable, managed resources, the Linseed plant offering many products for our use. The name 'Stand Oil' comes from the way it was made. Historically the oil was placed in glass tanks and allowed to 'stand' in sunlight, the UV action caused the oil to polymerise. The process could take years before the required viscosity was obtained, it then it needed filtering and a fining process to clarify the oil. Today the polymerisation is large hermetically sealed vats and is a controlled scientific process. There are many opinions about the speed of drying and yellowing of Stand Oil, I can only speak about our Stand Oil from the tests we have done with it and from our test results under various conditions. The acid value and amount of particulate in the Stand Oil has a bearing on the yellowing of the product in normal use. Our Stand Oil has a very low acid value and is highly filtered, this means it hardly yellows at all over time and is a more neutral product for use with oil paint and allied products. It is also faster drying then most Stand Oils and we don't add 'driers' as this can cause embrittlement of the oil film. Our Linseed Stand Oil has a viscous 'gloopy' consistency and is not usually used in oil painting at this viscosity. Linseed Stand Oil is best diluted with solvent to make a painting medium. It can be diluted with either Zest-it Oil Paint Diluted and Brush Cleaner or Zest-it Citrus Free Solvent, only up to 50% for best results. When diluted down and used as a medium with oil paint, it has a levelling effect on the brush marks, dries to a tough, flexible, glossy film and often stabilises the paint layers. In ambient conditions it is touch dry in 24 to 48 hours depending on the type of oil paint used. In the 'fat over lean' principal, Stand Oil is classed as a fat element and is therefore more in use towards the end of a traditional oil painting. Points to note:- Many oils used in painting can have a drying effect on the hands, best practice - apply a barrier cream before handling. There is a possibility of spontaneous combustion of rags or cloths used to clean up spills of Stand Oil, these should be washed in warm soapy water or placed in a close-able tin containing water.

Zest-it Linseed Stand Oil is sourced from renewable, managed resources, the Linseed plant offering many products for our use. The name 'Stand Oil' comes from the way it was made. Historically the oil was placed in glass tanks and allowed to 'stand' in sunlight, the UV action caused the oil to polymerise. The process could take years before the required viscosity was obtained, it then it needed filtering and a fining process to clarify the oil. Today the polymerisation is large hermetically sealed vats and is a controlled scientific process. There are many opinions about the speed of drying and yellowing of Stand Oil, I can only speak about our Stand Oil from the tests we have done with it and from our test results under various conditions. The acid value and amount of particulate in the Stand Oil has a bearing on the yellowing of the product in normal use. Our Stand Oil has a very low acid value and is highly filtered, this means it hardly yellows at all over time and is a more neutral product for use with oil paint and allied products. It is also faster drying then most Stand Oils and we don't add 'driers' as this can cause embrittlement of the oil film. Our Linseed Stand Oil has a viscous 'gloopy' consistency and is not usually used in oil painting at this viscosity. Linseed Stand Oil is best diluted with solvent to make a painting medium. It can be diluted with either Zest-it Oil Paint Diluted and Brush Cleaner or Zest-it Citrus Free Solvent, only up to 50% for best results. When diluted down and used as a medium with oil paint, it has a levelling effect on the brush marks, dries to a tough, flexible, glossy film and often stabilises the paint layers. In ambient conditions it is touch dry in 24 to 48 hours depending on the type of oil paint used. In the 'fat over lean' principal, Stand Oil is classed as a fat element and is therefore more in use towards the end of a traditional oil painting. Points to note:- Many oils used in painting can have a drying effect on the hands, best practice - apply a barrier cream before handling. There is a possibility of spontaneous combustion of rags or cloths used to clean up spills of Stand Oil, these should be washed in warm soapy water or placed in a close-able tin containing water.

Zest-it® Oil Paint Dilutant and Brush Cleaner Zest-it® Oil Paint Dilutant and Brush Cleaner is used for diluting oil paint and cleaning brushes, it is non-flammable, non-toxic and leaves no residue of itself in the painted work. The Zest-it Oil Paint Dilutant and Brush Cleaner is a much safer solvent for oil painters than Gum Turpentine and White Spirit, it has been an excellent replacement for many years. It does not contain any Aromatics or CFC's and it is non-flammable, non-toxic and biodegradable with low VOC's and is therefore kinder to the environment. It can travel by road, sea and air, therefore an excellent accompaniment if you are going on a painting holiday (depending on the airline). It is re-usable, which makes it economical and a little goes a long way. Use as a diluent to thin oil paint, oil based ink, oil pastels and wax pencils. Thin oil paint 'as thin as ink' for under-painting a canvas or colouring a surface. Excellent for blending oil pastel, oil bars and paint sticks, can be used to give a smooth finish, the same techniques can be used with wax based media. It is an excellent solvent for Gum Damar and other resin for making varnish. You may have read that only turpentine will dissolve these resins, this has not been the case for many years, so you can use it to make your own varnish if you wish. Zest-it Brush Cleaner can be used to make a standard "5 lb cut" varnish and dilute it down to your required strength. However we would advise using the same diluent for dilution as mixing solvents could cause your varnish to go cloudy. Use it to make a medium by mixing with Linseed Stand Oil and Cold Pressed Linseed Oil. Your painting medium will be easier to make-up if you add the Oil to the solvent and not the other way round. Linseed oils are very viscous and it takes a decent amount of 'agitation' for the two products to mix together thoroughly. Painting mediums can be a personal 'thing' and the ratio of the mix is not fixed. If you are unsure, as a suggestion, try a 50/50 mix and adjust the proportions from there. Use for cleaning oil paint, oil colour, oil bars, oil pastels, oil based ink, wax based products, Damar varnish and other oil based products from your brushes, palette, painting knives, rollers and equipment. The Zest-it Brush Cleaner has considerable active strength, meaning it is re-usable many times for brush washing. After use allow to settle and decant off the clear liquid, this saves on waste and makes it economical in use. If you need to dispose of unused Brush Cleaner, before throwing away ask your local art club if they could make use of it, you may do someone a good deed! Dispose of 'paint sludge' by putting onto damp sand or soil in a container.

Zest-it® Citrus Free Solvent Zest-it® Citrus Free Solvent is ideal for those oil painters who wish a little more 'bite' to their solvent, prefer a non-citrus smell and a slightly stronger action than the original Zest-it Oil Paint Dilutant and Brush Cleaner. Just like the original Zest-it Oil Paint Dilutant and Brush Cleaner, it leaves no residue of itself in your work, however, it has a slightly faster drying time because it is without the citrus element. Use it as a solvent, a diluent, a medium and for brush cleaning. The Zest-it Citrus Free Solvent is a much safer solvent for oil painters than Gum Turpentine and makes an excellent replacement because it is non-toxic and non-flammable. The solvent is just as easy to use as the original Zest-it Brush Cleaner and can be used in just the same way. The Aliphatic Hydrocarbon has a slight solvent odour because it contains no Aromatics or CFC's, has low VOC's and is kinder to the environment. It can travel by road, sea and air, therefore an excellent accompaniment if you are going on a painting holiday. It is re-usable, which makes it economical and a little goes a long way. It is an excellent solvent for Gum Damar and Mastic resin for making varnish. You may have read that only turpentine will dissolve these resins, that is not the case anymore, so you can use it to make your own varnish, for your own use, if you wish. Please note: it will not dissolve synthetic Damar Resin With Zest-it Citrus Free Solvent can make a standard "5 lb cut" varnish and dilute it down to your required strength. However we would advise using Zest-it Citrus Free Solvent for dilution as mixing solvents could cause your varnish to go cloudy. Use it as a medium for mixing with Linseed Stand Oil and Cold Pressed Linseed Oil to make your own painting mediums. Your painting medium will be easier to make-up if you add the Linseed Oil to the Zest-it Citrus Free Solvent and not the other way round. Linseed oils are very viscous and it takes a decent amount of 'agitation' for the two products to mix together thoroughly. Painting mediums can be a personal 'thing' and the ratio of the mix is not fixed. If you are unsure, as a suggestion, try a 50/50 mix and adjust the proportions from there. It is a diluent for oil paint, oil bars, oil based ink, oil pastels, wax pencils and wax based media. You can use Zest-it Citrus Free Solvent to thin oil paint as 'thin as ink', ideal for colouring a canvas and/or under-painting. With oil bars try 'dampening' the canvas before working, gives a different look and finished result. Excellent for blending oil pastel and can be used to give a smooth finish, the same techniques can be used with wax based media. Use for cleaning oil paint, oil colour, oil bars, oil pastels, oil based ink, wax based products, Damar varnish and other oil based products from your brushes, palette, painting knives, rollers and equipment. The Zest-it Citrus Free Solvent has considerable active strength, meaning it is re-usable many times for brush washing. After use allow to settle (dispose of the paint sediment responsibly; place onto dry soil or sand) and decant off the clear liquid, this saves on waste and makes it economical in use.

Zest-it® Citrus Free Solvent is ideal for those oil painters who wish a little more 'bite' to their solvent, prefer a non-citrus smell and a slightly stronger action than the original Zest-it Oil Paint Dilutant and Brush Cleaner.

Just like the original Zest-it Oil Paint Dilutant and Brush Cleaner, it leaves no residue of itself in your work, however, it has a slightly faster drying time because it is without the citrus element. Use it as a solvent, a diluent, a medium and for brush cleaning.

The Zest-it Citrus Free Solvent is a much safer solvent for oil painters than Gum Turpentine and makes an excellent replacement because it is non-toxic and non-flammable. The solvent is just as easy to use as the original Zest-it Brush Cleaner and can be used in just the same way. The Aliphatic Hydrocarbon has a slight solvent odour because it contains no Aromatics or CFC's, has low VOC's and is kinder to the environment. It can travel by road, sea and air, therefore an excellent accompaniment if you are going on a painting holiday. It is re-usable, which makes it economical and a little goes a long way.