Gamsol is the safest solvent that allows oil painters to create without compromise.
Primary Uses for Gamsol
- Thinning oil colors. A little goes a long way; stiff oil colors relax immediately when a little Gamsol is added. Be careful not to thin oil colors too much with solvent alone, this can compromise the ability of the paint to form a paint film. For thin washes or glazes with oil color, consider any of our contemporary fluid mediums.
- Modifying painting mediums. You can dilute any pure oil (refined linseed oil, safflower oil, stand oil etc.) with Gamsol to make a custom painting medium. Our Galkyd line of painting mediums are already formulated with Gamsol, so they* readily accept more Gamsol as a thinning agent.
- *Note: Gamsol should not be added to painting mediums made with natural resins (dammar, copal, mastic). This is because Gamsol is too weak to dissolve them. They require strong solvents such as turpentine.
- Studio clean-up. Brushes, palettes, palette knives, etc. (When you get color on your favorite sweater or the carpet of your studio floor)
Did you accidentally spill your Gamsol somewhere or on something?
Don’t worry!
Gamsol evaporates away completely, it does not leave behind a trace stain or residue.
Other uses for Gamsol
Cleaning painting surfaces and removing Gamvar
Blending colored pencil, crayons or other types of drawing media
You can experiment with the seal of your Gamsol to help control the flow of fluid when pouring. Using a knife, pen, or paintbrush handle, puncture a pour hole and an air hole to prevent glugging. This hack works for all sizes, and also works great for Galkyd and other mediums to keep your bottle threads clean.
Secondary Containers
Solvents should be stored out of reach of children. Avoid pouring solvents into Mason jars, coffee cups, water bottles, plastic “Solo cups” or any beverage container.
In our own studios, we have found that metal solvent containers with “clip-on” lids, as well as wide jars with screw-on lids work great. Both include basins to allow pigments to settle on the bottom for re-use of solvent and can’t be easily mistaken for water cups. Secure lids also help prevent spills and solvent evaporation.
Alternatively, you could decant Gamsol into a plastic bottle with a nozzle spout for easy dispensing.
Gamsol is such a mild solvent, it will not harm any type of plastic container.
We highly recommend labeling all containers that contain solvent. Click below to download free Gamsol labels to use in your studio. Secondary container label is designed to fit 2″x4″ Avery 5163 Shipping Labels
