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Can I paint on denim clothing with
oil paints?
> I have been trying to get information on painting with oil paints on
> fabric, espically denim.
Oil painting on fabric is, in fact, the usual use of oil paints. The
result takes weeks to dry in some cases, and can be extremely stiff,
but the artistic advantages are obvious, and, if the material is not
flexed excessively, the paint is quite durable. I would not
machine-wash a garment that had been oil-painted because of the
flexing problem.
You may wish to stretch the garment, or fabric to used for sewing, on
oil-painting stretchers temporarily, for painting. I often use the
same type sold for oil painting for painting silk garments.
Traditionally one paints canvas with a white housepaint or gesso
or rabbit skin glue, it doesn't matter which, before using oil paints,
to give a smooth white background. I would guess that you'd prefer to
skip this step; however, there might be a danger of some slow
deterioration, due to some chemical interaction between the paint and
the cloth. I doubt it would show up in the first few years, if there
is any such effect at all, anyway.
Fabric Painting
It is generally considered best to use paints that are
specifically formulated for fabric painting. These will feel
much more pleasant as a rule, being softer than typical
rough artists' paints. The very best fabric paints, such as
Lumiere and Setacolour, change the feel of the fabric almost
not at all. See the Sources for Dye Supplies
page for contact information for the best sources of fabric
paints.
Dye Painting
For the softest fabric, with no change in its soft texture
at all, avoid paint altogether, and paint with dye. Fiber
reactive dyes react directly with the molecules of the
fabric itself to form a permanent bond that changes the
color of the fabric itself. Paints will wear off or flake
off, but high quality fiber reactive dye will last forever
unless bleached or left too long in bright light. To turn
fiber reactive dye into an excellent paint, follow the
instructions on the How to
Dye page, with one exception: just add a special
thickener, such as sodium alginate, to the dye mixtures, to
bring it to the consistency you like best for
painting. WIthout the thickener, the dye will spread on
fabric like ink on wet paper (unless you pretreat the fabric
with a product such as Flow Stop); the thickener allows the
dye to act exactly like paint, but without the disadvantages
of paint. Dye is better than paint.
see more answers to FAQs about dyes and dyeing
Home Page
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