Those of us who like to paint on panels eventually get to the point where you have a lot of used panels stacked up and wondering what to do with them. The easy answer is paint over them.
I don’t know about you but when I think about it, it always comes to mind “what if this painting is sold and I painted it on a previously used panel and it falls apart.” For me if something of mine is sold or heavens, ends up in a museum am I really going to worry about hundreds of years from now? Nonetheless, every artist should have that moment.
Many say to just paint over it with a coat of white or whatever color you like your panels to be and move on. I personally don’t like doing that because (1) you need to paint it fat (2) because you painted it fat, it’s going to take a long time to dry (3) are you sure your paint is going to adhere to the surface, even of you oil it out. I’ve started doing something else.
I prefer painting on a smooth surface which is why I typically paint on panels that have a gesso surface. My favorite is an oil ground surface. I generally use Gamblin Oil Ground. If it is a panel that I’ve cut from Birch or hardboard, it gets a sealer on all sides and a couple of coats of the oil ground. I sometimes will also apply it to a panel that I bought with gesso. It will adhere to all of them.
What about applying it to a panel with oil paint already on it? I contacted Gamblin’s technical department and asked. They responded that you can. They suggested that you lightly sand the surface before applying their product. The only caution is as in sanding anything you want to protect yourself from dust born chemicals. In other words, where a dust mask. for those of you who are unfamiliar with working with chemicals or wood dusts, your fake mask will not work. Use a mask with changeable filters. You can buy these at most wood working or industrial supply houses. I don’t shop Amazon so I won’t tell you to go there.
The next round of panels I prepare I plan n doing a how to with pictures. For now I’ll just explain it a little.
After lightly sanding the panels I lay them out on a table that is protected with plastic on runners (wood strips) so they are not laying on the table or plastic surface. Update (2/15/21) I found that I can easily prepare the panels on my studio easel and frankly it is quite a bit faster and less messy. You can view me applying the oil ground on my Instagram feed @billfargo.art
If you follow Gamblin’s instructions for applying ground, you want to add Gamsol to it to make it the consistency of a heavy whipping cream or I say sour cream. I usually do this in a used yogurt tub.
Using a taping knife (bought from your local hardware) I apply the ground. Note, I remove the handle so I can just grab the blade. I want the knife to be wider than the panel. In other words for an 8×10 panel, use a 10″ blade.
Using a pallet knife I lay some down the center of the panel in a bead or row. The using the taping knife I drag it towards the sides to cover the panel in a very thin coat of the ground. You will find that holding the blade just slightly less that straight up will give you the smoothest and consistent surface. Don’t put any real pressure on it. You want the blade to float. Don’t worry if there is a little panel color showing through, you can always second coat it.
For a smooth finish just make sure the blade is running from edge to edge. If you prefer a more textured finish you can use a soft paint brush or a small fine roller on the panel. Watch the Gamblin channel and video on using oil ground. You can also apply a little different surface. Sometimes I will finish them more like a plaster finish. In other words have a little bit of troweled finish. Something like a Venetian finish or in modern days it’s called an imperfect smooth finish.
It will take several days between coats and curing them for use. This is dependent on your room temperature and air movement. I wouldn’t put them under a fan or in front of a heater to try and speed up the process.
Have fun.