Oil Painting Surfaces - uneven or unwanted sheen and dry spots

I play with transparency in paint and try to hold to the rule of applying fat over lean paint, but sometimes if there is a wax in a medium or if I use OleoGel, I find my surface will dry with dull, repellent spots as seen in the upper portion of exhibit A and on palette in exhibit B.

If we try and apply painting medium to these patches, they bead up, the oil just sits on top and doesn’t soak in an allow us to continue working that area of the panel or canvas.

There are all sorts of solutions (including rubbing a cut, raw potato on those problem spots) but what works for me is a bit, the smallest bit possible to get the effect, of medium rubbed in with a lint-free cloth. The abrasion of the cloth and medium does the trick and saturates your surface!

No need to add retouch varnish or heavy oil (or potato). You’re welcome.

Toward the upper right corner, you can see an almost square section of dull paint that won’t accept medium.

You can see the oil beading up here on my palette, it won’t absorb.