For oil paints, the drying time is a painful topic. It would be best if you waited for the bottom layer to dry before applying the second layer or finishing layer.
I have tried a lot of methods to quicken the drying time of my oil paintings. Even I have talked to a few artists to know the ways for drying oil paint quickly.
So, let us find out a way, how to dry oil paintings very quickly. These dry out very slowly, and you must be patient. Thick paint can take months to dry completely. Here is a list of some of the ways we can try to speed up the drying time of oil paintings.
1. Dry the painting in an open place or under a fan. The paint dries slowly in a cool place. So, choose a warm room. Please do not choose a room with extreme heat as it may make your work worse.
2. Make a thin layer so that it dries. Dense layers will not dry out quickly. Whenever it dries, it does not dry completely. It should be left to dry appropriately until your painting is arid.
3. First, paint with acrylic paint. Acrylic dries very quickly. When the acrylic paint dries, then you can apply oil paint to it. This process is very successful. Acrylic paint is not very expensive, so it is a very affordable process.
4. Some pigments are responsible for drying the paint quickly. In a way, there are some pigments that further delay the drying time of your color. For example, red or orange is too slow to dry. So you can avoid these colors to get the painting done quickly.
5. There are several ways you can get the paint to dry faster, such as liquid, turpentine. Before using, you need to know which is more efficient and low-cost for you.
Artists use to bake painting to dry quickly, but this may cause cracking. So, you should avoid baking. If you like to use oil paint for your project or exhibition, you must consider that a longer drying time is essential for this process.
Steps To Dry Oil Paint Faster
We also can dry oil paint faster by applying the following steps:
Use Fast Drying Mediums
Oil paints can take days, weeks, or months to dry perfectly. However, if you use a drying medium, you can dry quickly. However, using a drying medium alone cannot do this.
Some drying mediums are safe to use, but the use of too much can harm your health. Be sure that you’re using safe and toxic-free. If you use good quality dry medium, then it will not take too much in quantity. But if it is a low quality and cheap quality dry medium, you have to use more than the average amount.
Use Thin Layers
It is an effortless and most effective way to quicken the drying procedure. Some professionals may prefer to use dense brush strokes. But it will not speed up the drying procedure at all.
Hence, the best solution is to use a light stroke and a thin layer. By making layer after layer, you can dry fast your paintings easily.
Work Environment
The temperature of your location will determine the drying time of your painting. Warm climates make drying faster. Again the humid environment will slow down the drying of your artwork. It is true that we have no control over the environment. Knowing the type of climate of your location, you can control the drying time of your painting by using artificial temperature.
Paint on a Flat Surface
During painting on an unsmooth back, you can observe that some areas take much time to dry. But when you are using a smooth surface, you can dry your painting fast. And this makes the oil hard quickly. Moreover, a flat surface is more suitable for layer-based painting. You will find various painting styles for the oil painting to dry quickly, but I would advise you to choose a flat surface.
Coat Background with Acrylic Paint
You may be surprised that we suggest you use acrylic instead of oil paint. It is such water-based paint, so you can dry your painting quickly through the process of evaporation.
However, oil paints cannot be dried through the evaporation process. Oil drying requires contact with air or oxygen to dry. This process is called the oxidation process. This process requires more time to dry the paint.
So you can first coat the background with acrylic paint. When the acrylic paint dries, it will leave the surface stiff and porous. Therefore, it will lessen the time of drying.
Types of Paints
You will find a variety of colors to use. Some oils contain ingredients that allow the pigments to dry quickly. These types of paints usually include iron oxide, which speeds up the drying of the paint. So, look for iron oxide paints to quicken the drying process.
I’ve made a list of specific colors that dry faster than other shades due to the ingredients in them:
- Dark Blue
- Natural Brown or Umber
- Winsor Green
- Winsor Blue
- Blue Pigment
- yellowish-brown
- Manganese [silvery-grey]
You should ensure the standard of the paint. Search a set of standard colors. Remember that, expensive paint does not always guarantee high quality. So you can select any color with qualities competent for your project. Artists use to apply different methods like heat drying, blow drying to quicken the paint dry. But these types of methods are not standard for oil paints. Because the original color or shade may change.
Hence my suggestion is, to follow the above methods. They will make sure safety to your paint. You can also implement them quickly and effectively.
You should know how to ensure a good result of your work. I advise you to reread my article to ensure your desired outcome. Best of luck to you.
