ZEST OIL DILUTANT-RANGE
Zest-it® Oil Paint Dilutant and Brush Cleaner is used for diluting oil paint and cleaning brushes, it is non-flammable, non-toxic and leaves no residue of itself in the painted work. The Zest-it Oil Paint Dilutant and Brush Cleaner is a much safer solvent for oil painters than Gum Turpentine and White Spirit, it has been an excellent replacement for many years. It does not contain any Aromatics or CFC's and it is non-flammable, non-toxic and biodegradable with low VOC's and is therefore kinder to the environment. It can travel by road, sea and air, therefore an excellent accompaniment if you are going on a painting holiday (depending on the airline). It is re-usable, which makes it economical and a little goes a long way.
Use as a diluent to thin oil paint, oil based ink, oil pastels and wax pencils. Thin oil paint 'as thin as ink' for under-painting a canvas or colouring a surface. Excellent for blending oil pastel, oil bars and paint sticks, can be used to give a smooth finish, the same techniques can be used with wax based media. It is an excellent solvent for Gum Damar and other resin for making varnish. You may have read that only turpentine will dissolve these resins, this has not been the case for many years, so you can use it to make your own varnish if you wish. Zest-it Brush Cleaner can be used to make a standard "5 lb cut" varnish and dilute it down to your required strength. However we would advise using the same diluent for dilution as mixing solvents could cause your varnish to go cloudy.
Use it to make a medium by mixing with Linseed Stand Oil and Cold Pressed Linseed Oil. Your painting medium will be easier to make-up if you add the Oil to the solvent and not the other way round. Linseed oils are very viscous and it takes a decent amount of 'agitation' for the two products to mix together thoroughly. Painting mediums can be a personal 'thing' and the ratio of the mix is not fixed. If you are unsure, as a suggestion, try a 50/50 mix and adjust the proportions from there.
Use for cleaning oil paint, oil colour, oil bars, oil pastels, oil based ink, wax based products, Damar varnish and other oil based products from your brushes, palette, painting knives, rollers and equipment. The Zest-it Brush Cleaner has considerable active strength, meaning it is re-usable many times for brush washing. After use allow to settle and decant off the clear liquid, this saves on waste and makes it economical in use. If you need to dispose of unused Brush Cleaner, before throwing away ask your local art club if they could make use of it, you may do someone a good deed! Dispose of 'paint sludge' by putting onto damp sand or soil in a container.