No shine on Holkham's chocolate brown linseed paint

[Me!]

Am I doing something wrong? I’ve tried Holkham’s Linseed paint for the first time, and I’m having mixed results. On a mixture of old and new pine, but all sanded back to bare wood, I’ve painted it with a coat of Holkham’s linseed oil and then followed by several coats of their white or chocolate brown paint. I have left a week between each coat for it to dry, and the wood is in a warm sunny room to dry well between applications. After three coats of white, it is looking good with plenty of cover and a nice sheen. But, with the brown, after four coats of colour, there is plenty of opacity, but still an absolutely matt surface. Should I just keep applying more coats of brown until I get a shine? Or, as there is now plenty of colour on the wood, should I just put on some more coats of oil to try to give it a bit of a shine?

Or any other suggestions please?

Thank you.

 

[Nigel Watts]

How interesting. I have no idea why this might have happened. I have never used Holham paints but whenever I have used home-made linseed oil based glazes they have always dried with a high sheen. Are the two colours the same formulation? Whether they are or not I suggest you call the manufacturer.

 

[Andrew Bodenham]

I'd contact Holkham and ask their advice. It may be the nature of the beast though - I used some of their dark green on my garden gate a couple of years ago; although the finish was glossy to start with after a couple of months it soon weathered to a matt finish. Last summer I painted my boat with their buttermilk colour, and it has retained its gloss, so it could just be a function of the amount of pigment used in the darker shades.