Linseed oil paint an OK choice for textured drywall ceilings?

September 26, 2023 9:13 AM

The ceilings in my home are freshly skim coated and retextured. Now I need to paint them. I want to minimize off gassing and weird smells (several good options these days) while also not using a paint with plastic in it (not so easy these days).

I found a fancy all natural linseed oil based paint for interior use:

https://sagerestoration.com/collections/linus-wall-paint

This would be going right on the drywall mud, which was just normal, non-eco, non weird compound. My understanding is that drywall compound is quite porous, and normal paints would require at least one coat of primer. Here is that same company's shellac-based primer:

https://sagerestoration.com/products/allback-shellac-primer

It looks like their interior paint already includes some shellac in it, which may complicate the answer.

The ceilings are in rooms that may not get a lot of UV light on the ceilings. One room in particular has a single small window. I've read that linseed oil based paints can yellow if not exposed to UV light.

1. Primer needed?
2. Any persistent weird smells from using a linseed oil paint / this particular paint?
3. If I use it, should I take any active steps to expose the ceilings to UV light for a period of time?
4. Is this brand significantly better or more "natural" (in terms of long-term air quality and lack of plastic) than other linseed oil paint brands? Brouns & Co is the other brand that seems to come up early when searching.

posted by Number Used Once to Home & Garden (11 answers total)

I don't know these particular paints but ime, oil based paint and varnishes seem to be more offensive regarding off gassing/smells than water based versions, like latex and acrylics, etc. Which I think you're equating with plastic.

To further complicate things, any kind of common household paint can be considered plastic in some way.
posted by 2N2222 at 9:25 AM on September 26, 2023 [3 favorites]

Shellac based coatings are alcohol based and probably dry relatively quickly. You'd use alcohol as a solvent/thinner. They dry as the solvent evaporates. Oil based coatings use a distilled/petroleum based solvent/thinner. And water based coatings use water. Both oil and water based coatings cure more than dry. This might give you an idea how long and how smelly they'll be before they dry.
posted by 2N2222 at 9:39 AM on September 26, 2023 [2 favorites]

1 - yes, absolutely, otherwise you run the risk of an uneven finish and/or needing a lot more coats of paint.
2 - linseed oil definitely has a particular smell; how unpleasant/weird a smell is tends to be in the nose of the beholder, so to speak. how long the smell lingers will (like any other paint) depend primarily on air flow within the room.
3 - the company you're looking at recommends (page 16) that you add grey to paint that will be used in dark spaces to combat yellowing; that seems like it would be more effective than trying to maintain any sort of UV exposure over time. (It's not a one-time UV exposure, but ongoing exposure - or lack thereof - that will impact yellowing.)
posted by okayokayigive at 9:45 AM on September 26, 2023

One thing you need to be aware of with linseed oil is that the drying is a chemical reaction that releases heat - it's less a concern for the surface being painted, but it means that any rags or things you get soaked with the stuff need to be spread out to dry then thrown away separately in a fireproof (usually metal) container somewhere away from anything flammable.
posted by Zalzidrax at 9:46 AM on September 26, 2023 [6 favorites]

I use boiled linseed oil & turpentine as a wood finish. The boiled linseed oil has a strong aroma, not really unpleasant but probably not something I'd want in my bedroom.
posted by theora55 at 10:33 AM on September 26, 2023

I like the smell of linseed oil, which I've used to condition wood in a few places in my house. But the smell does linger, for sure. Not sure if it would linger quite as long when linseed oil is a component of a paint, but maybe?
posted by Dr. Wu at 11:10 AM on September 26, 2023 [1 favorite]

Linseed oil paint has a distinctive smell. I personally like it but i am not sure i would like it in every single room.
Perhaps just buy a very small amount before painting an entire ceiling.

Have you looked at lime wall paint? This is literally the first link that came up, so you may want to look at other suppliers as well.
Kreidezeit is a brand i actually used and was very happy with the result and quality of the product, but i live in Europe.
posted by 15L06 at 11:12 AM on September 26, 2023 [2 favorites]

Just go buy a small jar of linseed oil from your local hardware store and test the smell. I also like it. It's more like the smell of wood or grain or leather or something. It's just a natural plant product, it doesn't smell like nasty synthetics at all.
posted by SaltySalticid at 11:31 AM on September 26, 2023

Have you considered milk paint? It would be my first thought for a low-VOC / non-plastic paint.
posted by miscbuff at 11:34 AM on September 26, 2023 [5 favorites]

Linseed oil paint takes a very long time to dry, often in the order of weeks. That's probably something to consider.

then thrown away separately in a fireproof (usually metal) container somewhere away from anything flammable.

This is incorrect, once linseed oil has finished polymerising it is no more flammable than any other similar substance. You are getting two methods of treating wet oily rags conflated. One is to spread them out and let them cure as you've suggested, the other is to put them in a container and restrict access to oxygen. Both concern wet rags only.
posted by deadwax at 2:51 PM on September 26, 2023 [1 favorite]

Have you considered milk paint?

Casein paint is a little more expensive than your regular latex house paint, but does not have the same polymers and therefore VOCs. It has a very slight sour milk smell that goes away quickly, but it rolls on just like a thick latex, water clean up, and often needs fewer coats. Definitely worth pricing out for your needs!
posted by Pollomacho at 5:36 AM on September 27, 2023