Can You Use Oil Paint After It Freezes?

You can use oil paint after it freezes as long as the temperature does no damage to its consistency. The first thing you do after your paint freezes is to let it thaw. Once it has thawed, use a paint stirrer to stir or shake it up until it’s thoroughly blended.

If your paint blends well, retaining the same texture and thickness as regular paint, it is safe to use. However, if you notice any irregularities in its texture, you should discard the paint and look for better options. With this said, I’ll walk you through all you need to know about your oil paint and the best way to keep them, and aim at answering the question Can You Use Oil Paint After It Freezes?

A Quick Intro

Oil paints are one of the most common paint types, especially among artists. Though majorly used on Canvas, you can use this on other surfaces like wood and metal. Many particularly love this paint type for its richness in color, flexibility, and ease of use. 

I am no artist, but I use oil paint to brighten the wooden surfaces in my apartment. After a long time of storage, I pulled out these paint tubes, and guess what, they had frozen? Considering it was winter, the condition was understandable; however, I needed to know if I could use oil paint after it had frozen.

What Are Oil Paints?

Oil paint is a unique type of paint consisting of three things – pigment, binder, and thinner. The pigment is responsible for the coloring of the paint. The binder serves as the oil or liquid carrier that holds the ground pigment. 

A thinner is the paint element that makes it easy for you to apply the paint with a brush. There are other additives that its producers include in its content to improve its appearance and drying ability.

Unlike most paint types that dry by evaporation, oil paints dry by oxidation. In other words, it reacts chemically with oxygen, taking a long time to turn from liquid to gel and to hard paint. As a result, oil paints take a longer time to dry.

Using oil paint comes with several advantages. For one, it is more flexible and easy to apply on different surfaces. This factor gives it a higher advantage over other paint types as artists have more time to experiment with it. 

Oil paints also allow artists to create several tonal transitions and color shades.

How Do I Store My Oil Paint to Prevent It From Freezing?

Oil paints can cost you a small fortune; therefore, you will want to keep them safe and in good condition. If you’re an artist, you might be caught up in situations where you have to leave your paintings overnight. 

Of course, leaving them out in the open could render them useless; thus, you have to find a way to preserve them. 

Using wraps and foils

The first, and probably the easiest is using plastic wraps. Instead of leaving your paint out in the open, use plastic wraps to cover them after you’re done. Though this will keep your paint from drying out, it is often messy as it can sag into your paint.

If you cannot get plastic wraps, you could opt for aluminum foil. It is very easy to get your paint inside an aluminum foil and wrap it up to prevent the paint from drying. The disadvantage of this is the mess it causes during the extraction process. 

Due to its nature, aluminum easily gets bumps and dents, which only makes it more difficult to take off. Another challenge you might face when using foils is tearing. Aluminum is quite soft and is prone to tearing when you apply light force.

Using liquids

Storing your paint beneath the water is another way to keep your paint from drying out. While wraps are considerable methods, they create a mess and make you waste paint when attempting to remove them. Water, on the other hand, saves you from that. 

Simply submerge your palette inside a bowl filled with enough water to completely cover your palette. This prevents oxygen from reacting with the paint and at the same time keeps your paint wet. But, using water is not efficient if you intend to preserve it without using it for a long time.

This is because slime starts to grow in the water after a week. Even worse, it has a long-term effect on the polymers of paint and can also damage a wooden palette.

Clove Oils are also suitable liquids to preserve the paint. If you put out a large pile of paint, you can add one or two drops on each or add the oil on an absorbent material and cover it in an airtight space with your palette.  The absorbent material will exude fumes which slow the drying process of paints.

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If Clove Oil is not available, Linseed oils are another option. Spray a little over the paint and cover loosely with plastic wrap to prevent drying. 

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Both oils are effective but over time, they affect the viscosity of the paint. This is not a problem if you prefer more oily and thinner paints, but it’s something to consider if you prefer your paints thicker.

Preserving your paint in a freezer

There are several methods to employ when preserving your oil paint. The most convenient of these is keeping your palette in the freezer. Though this might sound weird, keeping your paints in the freezer slows down the drying process. 

The cold temperature achieves this by reducing the rate of evaporation and oxidation. There are different ways to preserve your oil paint in the freezer. You can store this paint inside a glass plate or any non-absorbent surface. 

Another efficient way of keeping oil paint in the freezer is by using plastic wrap. Using plastic wrap inside your freezer is less messy than simply wrapping your paint.

You can only keep your paint long enough in the freezer before it dries out. The rate at which your paint lasts inside the freezer depends on the brand and pigment used. Some paint colors tend to dry faster than others, while others can stay on for a long time. 

The biggest advantage of storing paint inside the freezer is that it remains fresh during the duration.

Storing paint in tubes

Oil paints that come in tubes can still give problems when you don’t store it properly. The wrong storage pattern could cause the separation of the oil and the pigment, with the oil going against gravity. 

In other words, if you leave your paint tubes facing heads up, you’ll get oil when you squeeze it out. The pigment, on the other hand, will be too dry because there’s no oil left in the tube.

Whether opened or unopened, the best way to store your paint tubes is upside down. You can easily do this by attaching the bottom end to a clip and hanging them on nails. If you decide to use other means to store them, it’s still acceptable provided the tubes are facing downward.

How Do You Store Paint in Cold Weather?

When winter is approaching and you still have a lot to do with oil paints, you’ll have to know how to properly store paints during the cold weather.

Store your paints at room temperature. It is even better to store them in dry, dark places that are neither too hot nor too cold. With this, your paint can retain its original properties without having to dry out.

You can store your paint in places like the basement, or inside the part of the house where you know the cold will not affect it. This usually appeals to large buckets of paint. Do not leave your paints out in the cold.

The right temperature for preserving paint is from 60-80 Fahrenheit, which is the average temperature of your home on a regular day.

What Do I Do After My Oil Paint Has Frozen?

Unlike latex paints and other paint types; Oil paints take a long time to freeze. This is because it uses oil as the solvent, which freezes at a lower temperature than other solvents. 

However, these extreme temperatures can damage the paint structure, giving it a different consistency. Frozen paint that thaws out could also become clumpy, ropey or stringy.

When you notice that your paint is frozen, allow it to thaw out completely. The best way to do this is to put it under room temperature and wait for a while. Note that the process has to be gradual, hence, don’t attempt to facilitate the process with any heating substance. 

The thawing process might take a long while, but this is your only chance if you intend to salvage your oil paint.

After it has thawed, take it to a paint store for an expert to shake and stir it for you. The first step to knowing the state of the paint is through a visual check. An expert looks out for clumps in the paint and watches out for a ropey or stringy texture. 

If there’s none of these, you check for graininess. When the paint seems alright, you can proceed to test the paint. Grab a paintbrush and try out a few strokes on a piece of paper or a wooden surface. 

As you do this, watch out for any inconsistencies that wouldn’t be in regular paint. If everything goes smoothly, your paint is ready for use again; if this isn’t the case, discard the paint.

Simple Ways To Preserve Your Oil Paint

Irrespective of the weather conditions, there are basic things you should know about keeping oil paint in good condition

First, don’t throw old paint away, especially when they’re still in good shape. You can use old paints for simple retouching or other minor projects that involve painting.

Some people store paint beneath a shed. It may have no effect during warm periods, but it will freeze out during harsh winter seasons. 

Extreme cold weather can affect your paint, but the same applies to hotter climates. Exposing oil paint to direct sunlight could affect its formula and consistency, rendering it useless.

Before storing paint for a long time, place a thin layer of plastic wrap on the opening, then seal it with the lid. Ensure the lead is properly placed before shutting it completely. Doing this will keep the paint in the same perfect condition as it was when you first used it.

If your paint eventually ruins or doesn’t return to its former state before freezing, discard it. But, remember that paint is a dangerous chemical that could have a long-term effect on health if ingested. Thus, discard your paint properly. For oil paints, it is advisable to drop it off at recycling facilities or waste stations.

Final Words

The benefit of using oil paint is that it is easy to store as long as you know the right methods to do so. For smaller portions of paint, you could use plastic wrap or aluminum foil if you dont mind the mess they make. 

You could also use water if you’re preserving small portions for a short period. Another effective method is using oils which could thin your paint out.

Placing your paints in the freezer is one of the most effective ways to store your small paint portions. Though you might ponder that it might freeze, it wouldn’t do so for a long time. This is because you don’t set most home freezers to a temperature that could freeze them out. 

Maintaining your oil paint is best at room temperature. However, in any eventuality where it freezes out, you let it thaw and follow the process I explained in this text.

Despite the thawing process, oil paint most times is permanently damaged and impossible to use. Sometimes, you might be lucky enough to have usable paint after it has thawed out. However, it is best to avoid this occurrence by storing your oil paint in the right conditions.

Sources

• Oil paint – Wikipedia
• 5 Oil Painting Tips for Beginners 
• Painter and Model | The Art Institute of Chicago