Preparing a wooden palette.

I had read on Hello Artsy that there were a couple of ways to prepare a wooden palette before using it. The first method is to simply give it a coat or two of lacquer; the second was to give it three coats of boiled linseed oil. It was said that the linseed treatment was by far much superior and so I gave that method a try.

Palette preparation.

My go-to palette is a glass one (well it was a shelf from an old fridge) and they are hard to beat, but I wanted to get a bit more expressive with my painting and felt that having the paints nearer hand might help. I had purchased a Loxley kidney-shaped palette from my local art store which came ready-to-use. It had been stained a dark rosewood colour and appeared to have been varnished or lacquered.

I didn't want to use the palette as-purchased, as I considered the stained colour to be too dark in value when trying to judge the paint colours against it. I sanded it by hand using 80 grit sandpaper and then 120 grit sandpaper. The natural wood colour looked a more mid-value colour which would be better to judge colour values against.

I bought a 1 litre can of Liberon boiled linseed oil from my local Screwfix branch, cut up an old white T-shirt to use as rags for applying the oil and I was ready to go.

Applying the Linseed Oil.

I applied the linseed oil initially by putting a little on the rag and trying to rub it into the palette. As this was the first coat, the wood sucked in the oil and it didn't cover much area. I ended up pouring little bits of the oil directly onto the palette, all over it, and then rubbing over it with the rag. This first coat takes more than the subsequent coats. After letting it dry for an hour or two, I removed any excess oil still on the surface with a clean rag and let it dry for 24 hours.

I did this indoors and you can smell the linseed oil, even with an open window to aid drying, but it's not unpleasant, although the Health & Safety instructions do say:

Use only outdoors or in a well-ventilated area.

I applied a further three coats of boiled linseed oil, using the same technique and I didn't sand between coats as I considered the palette to be smooth enough.

After the fourth and last coat, I allowed it to dry for three days.

It was said, in the original article, that the finish was 'amazing' - I'm not so convinced, I have to say. The finish is nice but matt - I was expecting more of a glossy finish (my thinking here was that the surface needs to be sealed to prevent any paint from sinking in) and even after three days drying, it still feels very slightly tacky to the touch, so I'll leave it another week before actually trying it out with paint.

Thoughts along the way.

At one point, I think after the third coat, I thought I should perhaps apply the linseed oil using a soft brush, instead of a rag and allow a bit of excess oil to lay on the palette surface, hoping that this would help it form a nice glossy, sealed surface.

Consulting the instructions on the can, it said:

Rub well into the wood using a lint-free cotton cloth. After about 20 minutes, wipe off the excess with a clean lint-free cloth. Failure to do so will prevent penetration of future coats and leave a sticky surface.

And this is exactly what happened to a small area on the back of the palette (the oil can get trapped on the back of the palette, especially if it slides about the surface you are working on.)

Tip: Place the palette on newspapers or a piece of old wallpaper when you start applying the oil.