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TECHNICAL INFORMATION ON BUILDING MATERIALS

FOR USE IN THE DESIGN OF LOW-COST HOUSING

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THE NATIONAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

WASHINGTON, D. C.

TIBM - 4p

April 6 , 1037

MISCELLANEOUS PAINT DRYING OILS AND PAINT DRIERS

This is chiefly a digest of sections of the following publications of

the Bonean of Standards dealing with Lung oil, Perilla oil, Menhaden oil,

Soy-bean oil, paint driers, and applicable Federal Specifications.^

Circular No. 69 , "Paint and Varnish", (November 1/, 1917)*^

Technologic Paper No. 66 , "Detection of Resin in Drier", (January lp,

1916),^ by E. N. Boughton.

Technologic Paper No. 274, "Use of United States Government Specification Paints and Paint Materials", (December 15, 1924), by P. H« Walker

and E. F. Hickson,

Tung Oil or Chinese Wood Oil

Source : Tung oil is imported from the Orient, where it is produced from

nuts of certain trees of the genus Aleurites.

Properties : This oil differs from linseed and other drying oils in that it

dries to a white opaque, wax-like film. It has a very characteristic odor,

Specifications adopted bj^ the Federal Specifications Executive Committee and approved by the Director of Procurement, Treasury Department,

for use of all departments and establishments of the Government. Copies

of all Federal Specifications mentioned in -this digest may be obtained from

Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C. (price 5 cents)

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Out of print and no longer available by purchase, but may be consulted

in Government depository libraries.

3'Available from Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C

.

(Price 5 cents)

4

Available from Superintendent of Documents, Washington, 3. C, (Price

10 cents)

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15.5°C)

and a very high specific gravity (not less than 0.939 at 15»5°C). Tung oil

is generally cooked with resins or drying agents such as compounds of lead,

manganese or cobalt, and then thinned with turpentine or mineral spirits.

The cooking process changes the oil so that it dries with a glossy rather

than a flat surface. However, in recent years, a special heat process has

“been invented; for example, TJ 0 S. Patent Ho. 1,903,686, April 11, 1933;

whereby the oil, free from any resins or other admixtures, dries to a glossy

finish.

Use : Tung oil is used in varnishes, some of which are of excellent quality.

Treated tung oil is used in some ready-mixed or pre-pared paint, although it

commands a higher price than linseed oil. It is also used in floor paint

and floor enamels, exterior paints for concrete, stucco, and brick, and in

interior washable wall paints.

Perilla Oil

Source

Perilla oil is obtained from the seeds of several species of

"perilla11

-'- grown in China, Japan, and India.

13. 3°C

Properties ; The oil has a specific gravity of 0.932 to 0.937 at 15*5°C, an iodine number of 190 to 206 , the highest of any known oil, and possesses the

ability to absorb considerable oxygen. It closely resembles linseed oil, to

which it is considered suuerior by the American Society for Testing Material

and the national Paint, Varnish and Lacquer Association, Inc,

Use: Perilla oil is used in enamels, varnishes, and paints.

Menhaden and Sardine Oils

Source : Menhaden and Sardine oils are obtained from fish, while most other

drying oils are of vegetable origin.

Properties : Samples of the oil vary greatly, especially in iodine number

which ranges from 139 to 193 , The specific gravity varies from 0,926 to

0.93 7 at 15.5°C . I5.3°c

Use : Some authorities state that when fish oil is used as an adulterant in

linseed oil, it is deleterious; while others recommend it for use in smokestack paints and zinc paints for seashore exposures. In recent years, very

pale, refined, fish oils have appeared on the market. Seme of these oils

are nearly water white in color, and have a very mild odor. They are being

used in enamels, to impart flexibility to the film. For certain uses, fish

oil is superior to linseed oil. It is in the interior paints that the largest increase in the use of fish oil has developed in the last five years.

The greatest strides have been made in the field of heat-bodied and blownfish oils.

1Perilla is a small genus of Asiatic Mint.

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Soy-Bean Oil

Source : Soy-bean oil is extracted from soy beans grown extensively in

Manchuria and Chosen (Korea). Soy beans have been grown successfully in

practically every State in the eastern half of the United States. The Soybean industry is a very important one in this country, and use of the oil

'in paint and synthetic resin enamels is increasing.

15.5°C

Properties : Specific gravity of this oil ranges from 0*922 to O.927 at 15,50c.

and the iodine number from 124 to lU3. The oil dries slowly, forming a soft

film. When properly treated, soy-bean oil possesses the valuable properties

cf imparting elasticity and flexibility to films, and. prevents yellowing in

interior paints and enamels.

Use

Generally speaking, soy-bean oil should not be used in the raw state

in the drying oil field. Refined soy-bean oil is mixed with perilla and

China wood oils in outside house paints, A mixture of 8 parts linseed oil,

4 parts soy-bean oil, and 1 part processed tung oil has been suggested.

Soy-bean oil is sometimes used to adulterate linseed oil because it is inexpensive, Certain colors ground in soy-bean oil have proven more satisfactory than when the same pigments were ground in linseed oil.

Paint Driers

Types and Composition : Paint driers-*- usually consist of solutions of lead

manganese and cobalt salts of the acids of linseed oil or resins or mixtures

cf such salts in volatile solvents, such as turpentine or light petroleum

oil. Commercial triers on analysis show from 2 to 10$ ash containing lead,

manganese, and cobalt and sometimes calcium; and from 60 to 95$ volatile

thinner usually consisting of turpentine, mineral spirits, or a mixture of

both.

Although certain pigments, such as red lead, act as driers, and seme driers are available in paste form, most so-called driers are in liquid

form, commonly called "driers", "oil driers", "Japan driers" ,2 or simply

"Japans", Strictly speaking, an "oil drier" should contain no varnish resin

and when used alone should not dry t^ 9- hard film, A "Japan drier" should

contain both resin and linseed oil, and when used alone it should dry to a hard film having considerable adherence. This distinction is not, however,

adhered to in the trade, and many manufacturers use the term so loosely

Drier is "a material containing metallic compounds added to paints

and paint materials for the purpose of accelerating drying": STANDARD

DEFINITIONS OF TERMS RELATING TO PAINT SPECIFICATIONS, American Society

for Testing Materials, A.S.T.M, Standards (1933), pp# 735-73 c^

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Japan driers should not be confused with "grinding Japans", which

are special kinds of hard-drying varnish used to grind fine colors to paste

form for coach painting; or with "baking Japans", which arc varnishes that

after partial or complete drying arc heated to a rather high temperature,

thus partially fusing the coating.

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that the name can not he taken as an indication of whether the material contains resin or not. Pesin is added to the drier to prevent precipitation of

metallic soaps after thinning and to decrease the tendency of the drier to

"curdle” with oil.

Use : Drier is added to promote the drying of oil in paints, and should he

used only in the smallest possihle amount to produce the desired result. It

should not he used in place of volatile thinner. The amount of drier used

in paints varies. Some pigments require more than others, and with paints

containing essentially the same pigments, more drier will he required for

dark colors than for light.

Federal Suec if ications : See 11-11-651, "Drier; Paint, Liquid" covering two

tyres of liquid paint driers; those for general use, containing lead; and

those for special lead-free paint, containing no lead. This suec ification

applies both to straight oil drier; that is, material free from resins or

"gums", and to Japan drier; that is, material containing resins or "gums".

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