# How fast does oil yellow



## jacob33 (Jun 2, 2009)

I have a job where we painted the base boards as they were dinged up some from moping. All the doors looked good so we are not painting them or the crown molding. We put a coat of the original stock white color on and it is whiter than the doors. Not by much but some as the doors have yellowed in 5 years since it was originally painted.

The question is do I match the yellowed paint or will that get even yellower with time than the original. Or just let the fresh paint in the original stock white catch up to the older yellowed paint and how long would that take.


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## MikeCalifornia (Aug 26, 2012)

Leave it be, it will yellow on its own. You start matching the yellowness and you will have some navajo white baseboards in a few months.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

Yeah, what Mike said. Trying to out think the yellowing process of oil based paints can drive you nuts and lead to even more appearance issues down the line. Just tell your customers it's the nature of the beast and allow time to do it's thing.


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## NACE (May 16, 2008)

Yellowing of alkyds can be accelerated by The evaporation and drying of late text based paints that contain ammonia. Most if not all late text paint's contain ammonia. Ammoniated cleaners will also contribute to the yellowing of oil based paint. Many of the lower VOC alkyds have softer and yellow resins that manifest yelling more quickly especially when natural light is limited. The Process can occur in a very short period of time if those latex paints are present or if there is a limited natural or man-made light source. When a natural light source is available the process of yellowing is extended. It is important to inform customers that oil base paint will Amber however the static appearance of oil is generally what the client wants. Ambering or yellowing of alkyd's is not under a painters control. The water reducible Alkyds have much better color and gloss retention however they will amber slightly over time.


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## PACman (Oct 24, 2014)

Anyone remember Promar Salon Alkyd? If you painted a room with it and there was any latex paint drying in it at the same time it would yellow to navajo white overnight! Pretty amazing stuff that! Also I have seen instances were the shelf life of an alkyd paint was exceeded before it was sold and it yellowed prematurely. The long term storage temperature of an alkyd paint can also cause premature yellowing. There are just to many variables for a painter to assume any liability in it.


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## radio11 (Aug 14, 2015)

I understand why the OP used oil in this instance (and do myself on occasion), but will go on record again stating, "I hate oil-based paints". Modern paints have come so far in the past 15 years or so--oil is so "last century". 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## jacob33 (Jun 2, 2009)

I can honestly say that even though modern waterbased paint has advanced a lot. still nothing brushes like an oil. Advanced is probably the closest but not there yet.


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## Wildbill7145 (Apr 30, 2014)

If we all just buy in to the latex, and forget about the advantages of the oil.... Life will eventually be much better and the comparisons will die.

I hate oil paint to the point that earlier in the spring I finally got rid of every bit of paint thinner I owned.


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## chrisn (Jul 15, 2007)

Wildbill7145 said:


> If we all just buy in to the latex, and forget about the advantages of the oil.... Life will eventually be much better and the comparisons will die.
> 
> I hate oil paint to the point that earlier in the spring I finally got rid of every bit of paint thinner I owned.


I am almost there, almost:thumbsup:


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## jacob33 (Jun 2, 2009)

Wildbill7145 said:


> If we all just buy in to the latex, and forget about the advantages of the oil.... Life will eventually be much better and the comparisons will die.
> 
> I hate oil paint to the point that earlier in the spring I finally got rid of every bit of paint thinner I owned.




I guess I just have not figured out one that brushes good and has good durability. We do a lot of brush work and have yet to find a acceptable alternative to oil. Advanced is close I guess but I have had issues with it not getting hard in darker colors.


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## jacob33 (Jun 2, 2009)

And maybe I need to jump to semigloss sheen in waterborne paints we always used satin in oil but maybe that would help.


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