Today I have some old paintings I was never happy with or never finished up on the chopping block!

Is it Worth The Risk?

I’m not going to lie, there is some risk in painting over an old oil painting. The least concerning risk is that the original painting will show through. I believe this is the easiest to overcome with proper preparation.

The most concerning risk is that the old painting will suck all of the oil out of the new painting and cause it to crack. You have to ask yourself if the risk is worth saving a few bucks. I think this issue can be reduced or eliminated by choosing thinner paintings to paint over. A thick impasto painting is much riskier to paint over than a thin underpainting, for example.

Prepare The Old Surface

If the previous painting was varnished, remove the varnish following the directions on your varnish remover.

Lightly sand the surface with fine-grit sandpaper. This roughens up the surface and gets rid of any distracting brush strokes. Use precautions while doing this to avoid inhaling the dust as some pigments are toxic. Never assume the paint used is non-toxic. Sanding outside using proper eye and respiratory protection is an absolute must.

Clean with a damp cloth and allow to dry completely. Once dry, I like to use use a lint roller over the whole surface to remove any little bits of lint, dust, or hair that may have landed on the newly cleaned surface.

Apply New Ground

If you want to be sure that your oil painting won’t suck all of the oil out of the new painting, oiling out will reduce the risk. To do this, apply a very thin layer of oil medium or linseed oil with a lint-free rag. Let sit overnight in a dust-free area.

You are now ready to apply a fat layer of titanium white or oil ground.

Since these are oil paintings, oil ground must be used instead of acrylic gesso. Acrylic gesso is inappropriate since it won’t stick properly to the previous oil layers. I will be using an oil ground from Gamblin.

Following the directions on the Gamblin tin, I used a palette knife to scoop out some ground and spread it in a thin layer all over the canvas. I then used a bristle brush to smooth out the surface and get an even coating. Let sit overnight or until dry to the touch before applying a second coat. Let dry for a week before painting.

That’s it. It’s a relatively straightforward process. Let me know in the comments if you’ve done this before or why you are against the practice.