It is recommended to size and/or prime a wood panel (eg. birch plywood) adequately to prevent oil penetration. What exacly would happen to the panel if a substantial amount of oil was absorbed into it due to inadequate or no panel preparation (bare wood). Would the acid in the oil damage the wood?
Sizing reduces panel absorbency, preventing excess uptake of the paint/oil primer vehicle while providing a uniform surface for adhesion with the ground. Our recommendation at Utrecht has always been to size hardboard prior to oil priming, originally with RSG, currently with Acrylic Sizing or a similar synthetic product. Although wood doesn’t suffer the same destructive effects as canvas when oil paint is applied directly, that type of support does tend to wick away the paint vehicle, leaving a weak, underbound layer. We believe it’s better to isolate the board to preserve the full strength of the paint and oil primer.
One reason some artists prefer not to size wood and hardboard before oil priming is because wet acrylic size swells the fibers and raises what some feel is an undesirable texture. I have heard some artists “seal” panels with alkyd painting medium prior to alkyd-priming, which sounds reasonable. I would not, however, advise using alkyd under our Oil Priming White.
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