Fully refined linseed oil and waste fat/mucilage.

Finished with 720ml of linseed oil and 270ml of fat/mucilage. (About 50ml lost due to spillage.) About 10ml of dubious quality linseed oil is floating on top of the waste jar, which I will discard rather than trying to salvage it. #DIYLinseedOil 🧵14/

Screenshot of an oil separator cup.

And thinking outside the box: While a turkey baster / decanting method does work, I'm thinking that with my next batch I will try using an oil/fat separator cup device because I'm guessing that it likely would work more easily. #DIYLinseedOil 🧵13/

Fully refined linseed oil

After six washes the linseed oil is separated from the fat/mucilage. Using a turkey baster and decanting between containers it's possible to isolate the pure linseed oil. I've marked the lines in color, green is pure linseed oil, fuchsia is fat/mucilage. #DIYLinseedOil 🧵12/

Flax Oil bottle, with spoon of oil.

You really want 'fresh' Flax Seed Oil. Check the date on the bottle. The store should be storing their Flax Seed Oil in the refrigerator. It should taste fresh. Bitter sweet, tasting like freshly cut grass. Not rancid. #DIYLinseedOil 🧵10/

It is fascinating to see the sand and saltwater sorting out the fat/mucilage from the linseed oil. #DIYLinseedOil 🧵9/

Use a turkey baster to suck out the fat and mucilage

It's a little tedious (and there might be a better way to do it which I haven't figured out yet), but it now becomes possible to suck out the fat and mucilage which is hanging out below the clean linseed oil. Next: Repeat until no more fat and mucilage remain. #DIYLinseedOil 🧵 8/

The sand and saltwater grabs on to the fat and mucilage and falls out, leaving the linseed oil more pure. #DIYLinseedOil 🧵7/

Emulsified flax oil, sand and saltwater.

Vigorously shake for about a minute to emulsify. Then let it settle overnight.
#DIYLinseedOil 🧵 6/

3 liter glass jar with a tight lid. Mix together 100g salt in 1 quart and 1 quart flax seed oil with some clean sand.

Put it all in a jar. Shake it hard.
Let it settle down overnight.
#DIYLinseedOil a thread 🧵 5/

Closer look at bottle label "unrefined"

The unrefined flax oil needs to be refined.
Flax Seed Oil contains: Oil, fat and gunk.
The 'fat' is Omega-3 fatty acids, healthy to eat but bad for paint.
The 'gunk' is called mucilage.
The linseed 'oil' needs to be refined to be made clean.
#DIYLinseedOil a thread 4/

Dirty sand makes muddy water. I rinsed the sand in fresh water until ran clear.

All I had available was some dirty sand (which I had saved in an old bucket in my studio supplies). This photo shows the silt/mud in the dirty sand. I just rinsed it in fresh water about ten times until the rinse water was clear. #DIYLinseedOil a thread 2/

A 3 liter rubber gasket canning jar.

I have refined #linseed oil from flax oil several times before. One problem I had before was when the sand would get stuck in the screw threads of the jar lid. So this time I am going to use a rubber gasket top jar. #DIYLinseedOil thread 1/

A half gallon jar with a water tight lid. One quart highest quality cold pressed flax seed oil, as fresh as possible. One quart of clean water. 100 grams of table salt. About a cup of clean sand.

The binder in #oilpaint is simple #linseed oil, when exposed to air, turns into a tough polymer film that binds pigment onto things. I'm going to make a fresh batch now. The process takes a few days, so follow this thread and I will explain my technique. #DIYLinseedOil #traditionalart #blueskyart