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Why does linseed paint work | Brouns & Co

Why does linseed paint work | Brouns & Co

Published by Michiel Brouns on 11th Nov 2020

The use of Linseed Paint can be traced right back to the ancient Egyptians, and whilst it's almost impossible to say when it was first used, it's clearly been around for thousands of years.

Over the last century, new paint recipes were explored, driven by a consumer requirement for a cheaper product and faster drying times, and these petrochemical paints soon dominated the market, and as a result, by the end of the 1980s, Linseed Paint had almost completely disappeared.

Paint failure was almost unheard of historically, and it's only a phenomenon that's existed as a consequence of the use of these petrochemical paints. Since the introduction of these paints, reports of relatively new wooden windows, doors and facades rotting after only a few years of use have become commonplace. Such incidents do not occur when linseed oil paints are used and as a result, questions are now rightly being asked concerning the use of the newer, modern plastic paints.

Linseed oil paint allows any moisture in the wood to easily escape, which eliminates any chance of paint failure (paint flaking & peeling). Linseed paint preserves the wood very well and we can see proof of this in several hundred-year-old buildings in Europe and in the United States.

It's only recently that we've realised that we've needed to look back to this historic product to get the performance and results we really want.