Colour Chart

Flake White No.1

PW1& PW4. Average Drying. Slightly Transparent. Lightfastness Excellent. Very Low Oil Content. Average Tint power, TOXIC.

This is a blend, in Linseed oil binder, of 67% Lead Carbonate with 33% Zinc Oxide, which is added to increase the brilliance of the Lead White, as well as to mop up the surface oil which, on its own, it tends to exude on drying. The fine handling qualities of Lead White are also supplemented by the way in which the Zinc White constituent retains the brightness of a colour with which Flake White is mixed, preventing the hue from appearing excessively chalky. Since French colourmen began to add Zinc White to Lead in the later 19th century, this has become the most widely used of the Lead Whites today, whose strong paint film makes it suitable for use throughout a painting, in varying thicknesses, and in dilutions with turpentine.

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