I’ve read all of the references here regarding Zinc White (PW4), and it seems that the current opinion is that it is best to avoid all applications of Zinc White (PW4) for oil painting due to durability issues, at least until further clarification from new research studies is available. Am I understanding correctly? Thank you for the clarification. Susan
Thank you, Kristin. I myself had a large (sold) painting on canvas with a first layer of a zinc white mix that started to delaminate in multiple places after five or six years. I was both relieved and distressed to read here on MITRA that zinc was most likely the cause as everything else under my control had been up to par. I am being very careful around the zinc issue now…!
Yes unfortunately that seems to be the case. If you search for the term “zinc” in our search field you should pull up older threads on the subject. Keep in mind that there are still many unanswered questions about zinc white….there are plenty of paintings with zinc paints and/or grounds that appear to be doing fine while others are clearly suffering from delamination, cracking, etc. (problems that have bene specifically linked to zinc as revealed by many types of analysis). I will forward your inquiry to the conservation community at large just to be sure there isn’t any “groundbreaking” research that I am unaware of.
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