Is it reasonable to think that a painting done with artist’s oils ( on an mdo properly primed board) will withstand the weather and sun exposure with several, 5, coats of uv protection, archival spray varnish? Is there another better product? The project I am working on will be installed outdoors 6 months of the year, hopefully to last several years. Thanks so much!
Thank you, Kristin. Yes, the board is prepared on both sides.Yes, to be dispayed on a 6 month rotational schedule, and I would hope it could last several years, more than 1 or 2! The spray varnish I have now is Krylon, uv archival.
There are other media than artists’ oils that I’m considering- 1shot enamels ( another recent posted question regarding oneshot is mine). I can’t face acrylics, I tried golden open and it doesn’t go the distance or blend or move enough for me, so I prefer those enamels, so far. Perhaps alkyd outdoor house paint but I have yet to buy a palette of quarts…. It would be a relief to just use what I’m used to, artist’s oils, the trade-off being durability. Will the Krylon stand up to weather? as well as uv. Or another product?
By the way, I don’t know what to mix into enamels, or outdoor Alkyd, as a medium or an additional colour in a tube (that isn’t oils). As far as I know it is prohibitive to mix 1shot with oils. What about the new alkyd artists’ colours? would they mix into enamels or house paint? The point being to have a better blending and a thicker-bodied paint as well as having small amounts of other colours for the mix.
The painting will be a more or less traditional landscape, underpainting and wet in wet application, with perhaps a touch a few days later. I can wait 6 months if I do it in oils before using the varnish, the installation is next April.
Thanks again, your advice is valued!
I believe testing has already been done on mdo board (to assess its appropriateness for outdoor use) and it has been determined to be fine. It should be painted both on the front and back (meaning both primed and painted….obviously the back can just be a single color). As to your question related to coatings, 5 coats sounds like a bit much, however it would be helpful to know more about the possible brands you are considering as we may be able to reach out to our industry contacts to find out more. Also is this to be displayed 6 months on and off on a rotational schedule? If so this should be considered more like a sign painting and should probably be treated as such.
