Most guys "seal" the raw decoys way to much. You need you paint to actually soak into the wood so you have a mechanical as well as chemical bond.
Jode,
I'm sealing with 2 coats of deft.. Ronan base coat. Tube oils over that
Jode,
I'm sealing with 2 coats of deft.. Ronan base coat. Tube oils over that
That's not a bad system, I'd go one coat of deft thinned 50%, sand w 120. Then one coat Ronans also thinned . Then tubes over that. You will notice your tubes " soak" into the Ronans pretty noticeably. Once dry you shouldn't be able to scratch the paint off, even with pressure .
One other question, oil topcoat? How are you thinning if any? Straight turps will weaken the paints binder, often resulting in weak adhesions you mention . Many guts that start in oil after using acrylics paint " thin" and this does not work well in oil.
Mike Braun used Damar Varnish over bulk Ronan's and Parker's alkyd oils on some of his birds.
http://www.dickblick.com/products/eco-house-950-damar-resin/?clickTracking=true&wmcp=pla&wmcid=items&wmckw=01578-1025&gclid=CLaRzrexzNICFQm2wAod8xQMUQ
You will improve the longevity and durablility of your tube oils by adding 10-15% boiled linseed oil by volume to them if you thin with turpentine-my mom's formula.
Pat Gregory might know what Jim Schmiedlin used on his birds at the end of each season as a paint preservation medium. I know Pat was using a commercial paint preservative that probably went the way of Valspar's Val-oil when the HVOC standards changed. I've experimented with a mix of melted beeswax from out local food coop,with paint thinner and boiled linseed oil over Ronan's alkyds.
Now that Mr. Pruitt is in charge of the EPA and about to relax emission standards for cars and power generating facilities, maybe Val-oil will come back into production! Lawyers always make the best scientists! I suspect it is the extensive training they receive in government service...
Dug this up from my bookmarks:
http://www.trueart.info/?page_id=89
Jode,
I'm sealing with 2 coats of deft.. Ronan base coat. Tube oils over that
That's not a bad system, I'd go one coat of deft thinned 50%, sand w 120. Then one coat Ronans also thinned . Then tubes over that. You will notice your tubes " soak" into the Ronans pretty noticeably. Once dry you shouldn't be able to scratch the paint off, even with pressure .
One other question, oil topcoat? How are you thinning if any? Straight turps will weaken the paints binder, often resulting in weak adhesions you mention . Many guts that start in oil after using acrylics paint " thin" and this does not work well in oil.
Jode, can you thin oils with turps just enough to allow them to flow easily without causing the issues mentioned?