Practice question · Estimate
An ordinary oil painting should not be varnished until the film is dry through. How many months is the usual minimum given for that?
Estimate on a scale from 0 months (0) to 24 months (24).
Hints
- It is far longer than touch-dry.
- The conventional figure is half a year.
Show the answer
6 (answers within ±2 count)
Why
Conventionally about six months, and longer for a thick film. The figure is a rule of thumb rather than a measurement: what actually matters is the thickness, the pigments and the room it dried in, so a heavily impasted picture can still be moving after a year while a thin one is stable in three months.
Practise Oil, Fat Media and the Rule of Fat Over Lean
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