Are there any issues with what type of paint to use on walls and cabinets in a darkroom. in terms of outgassing and chemical problems with papers and processes?
It's an old house where I am using linseed oil paint….. any issues?
Indeed, what is the preferred wall treatment in a darkroom?
It's located in a cement wall basement. I want to cover the cement with paneling and paint. On a budget.
/gth
Old house? Any lead paint? That's Drew's territory.
If the walls are cement block, I wouldn't bother with paneling if I were on a budget, just a good washable paint to make the place sanitary.
Are you building your own cabinets, buying stock cabinetry, or repurposing cabinets from an old renovation?
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White
I've painted my darkrooms white since the 60's. I use a good latex paint. I wouldn't use oil based paint because of the out gassing and the lack of ventilation.
Mark Woods
Large Format B&W
Cinematography Mentor at the American Film Institute
Past President of the Pasadena Society of Artists
Director of Photography
Pasadena, CA
www.markwoods.com
The house was built in 1859, solid timber with standing siding, 1 1/2 inch by 8-10 inch planks. Rebuilt in the 60 's insulated and horizontal siding on top of old siding. So no lead paint problem.
Darkroom will be in 60's cellar/garage addition built with cement block walls with some kind of cement composite insulation, cement finish.
I might need additional insulation, vapour barrier and panelling inside to make it operational in winter at decent temperature without condensation etc.
Probably stick with open stainless shelves above work area as much as possible. Under counter cabinets I'll use standard kitchen gear where I can.
I am using traditional linseed oil paint in the house so i'd like to use that in the darkroom as well if there are no issues.
I used washable semi matte latex wall paints in mine, to make rare cleanups easier. I'm not quite getting why you're using oil based paints.
That sounds like a neat house!
"I would feel more optimistic about a bright future for man if he spent less time proving that he can outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness and respecting her seniority"---EB White
I would use some sort of water sealer on the cinder block before anything else.
Regards
Marty
Could be asbestos. Covering it / painting it would be a good solution to major alteration. If you need to mess with it, get a pro's opinion on what you're dealing with.Originally Posted by gth
Linseed oil would be fine; it's not a museum archive, and other chemicals and powder with be more of a risk to your negatives than the paint choice. If you are getting a ton of moisture in the basement, invest in drainage around the house rather than fighting the moisture inside if possible.
Fortunately it is not asbestos It is a tile composite of cement and wood shavings. And you are absolutely right about drainage around the house….Will be done.
/gth
I prefer true oil enamels in a darkroom because they don't develop a static charge like water-based paints, and also are more moisture resistant and scrub well. But
they do take a long time to outgas, sometimes months. Linseed oil varieties would hypothetically be the worst in this respect, but I was unaware of any paint still
being made with linseed long oil. The whole idea of that was to penetrate deep into bare wood fiber and dry slowly. Most linseed derivatives started being converted to alkyds long before most of us were even born. But we're talking ancient history here. True oil enamels are outright banned in our part of the world, and that will become inevitable nationwide in the near future, because paint manufacturers are going crazy trying to market so many different blends for specific air quality jurisdictions. That's why the toughest standard usually applies in the long-haul. So we're starting to see what are called dual-drying hybrid products, which clean up with water, but have an additional component related to oil-based things, but which typically outgasses in about a week. Finding a nice flat black has so far been a problem. And I can't use any of the last of my true old oil-base, cause it's a working cleanroom. So my touch-up spots look pretty inelegant at
the moment; but when the lights go out, who would know? So I'll probably end up repainting with basic acrylic, then trying a dual-drying fast-cure clear glaze over
it, to combat any static charge. But that kind of maintenance won't be needed for awhile. It's my film and color printing room - a true clean room where I'm fussy
about static and cleanliness. The processing room is less an issue, because it has independent ventilation, and no equipment or film or paper stored in there.
But as an aside, true linseed oil products are very prone to mildew unless there's a suitable mildewcide in them, or they are capped off with a different kind of paint. Asbestos board and old lead-based paint surfaces are better capped off with fresh paint than messed with. If you need to remove them, that's the kind of
gear I deal in all day long. Bring one or two thousand bucks with you just to start out.
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