Pochade box finish

[Jody Toland Holden]

Hello,
I am a custom picture framer - I work mostly with artists. One artist has asked me to see if I can fix her Pochade Box. A Pochade Box is a wooden box that carries paints and allows the painter to take his/her show outside - it will hold the canvas, there are various clips for brushes, water tins etc, AND... a place where the artist can mix paints similar to a palette. Typically the palette part is wiped with turpentine after use and a nice smooth pantina develops over time. This did not happen with hers (probably because she did not wipe it after each use).
I have sanded the piece and it is now free (mostly) of old oil paint. There are a few dings/craters that are filled with old paint .... She asked that I finish it with Linseed oil. I am wondering, in your experienced opinion, if there is a better finish to be a base for the mixing of oil paints, and being wiped down with turpentine.
I welcome any advice. And yes, it is unclear what the connection is between picture framer and fixing boxes but in this artists mind, if I can run a saw and paint a moulding then I can do anything with wood. I have told her this is not the case.... ;-P
Thanks in advance
Jody

[Jamie Buxton]

Here are some finishes you might consider....

Linseed oil (not boiled). Stays liquid almost forever. Dissolves in turpentine, and will get wiped off with repeated applcations. Won't provide much protection for the wood.

Boiled linseed oil. Cures to a solid over the course of days to weeks, depending on the manufacturer's process. Once cured, will not dissolve in turpentine.

Varnish. Cures to a solid in hours. Provides more protection to the wood.


A trade-off in varnish is that a thick layer of varnish provides more protection, but looks and feels like a layer of plastic on the surface of the wood. I try to use just enough varnish to do the job. For me, the best way to achieve that is to apply it with a wipe-on technique. I thin the varnish a lot -- like 50% -- and apply it with a little pad made from old tee-shirt material. If you don't want to do the thinning yourself, manufacturers like Minwax sell a pre-thinned varnish they generally call "Wipe-on".

[Jody Toland Holden]

Thank you so much for the great information.
I think I am going the Boiled Linseed Oil route. I think varnish is probably a better answer but her true wish is to build up the paint pigments and eventually get a rich patina.
Thanks again!
JTH