One of my students asked me about Flake White Replacent. She said, "I came across this Gamblin flake white replacement. Have you used this? If so, how does it compare to traditional lead white?"

Great question!!

Here are my thoughts and answer:

If you look at the technical notes that many online art stores and suppliers have on their sites, you will see  3 major things that will tip you off it’s not a “replacement“:

1) The most important is the pigment number. It says PW6. That’s the pigment for titanium white. Lead white is PW1. 

2) The Series number is Series 1. That’s the least expensive group of colors. Lead will usually be a series 4 or 6 

3) The tube will be quite light in weight. Lead white is heavy and dense.

 4) The price (see#2 above), and the word replacement. It’s similar to Blicks cadmium replacement colors. They are not replacements but colors that appear to look like a color they are replicating without the advantages of the color. If you are going to trade something out then you should know what you are getting instead.

Let’s go over each of my responses in a bit more depth.

How to Read a Paint Tube: Most, if not all, professional paint tubes have a series of numbers and codes on them. Some are easier to spot than others, but they are there. The most important markings for this discussion are usually on the back of the tube. This is where the pigment number and how transparent or not the paint is. It also lists its permanence attribute. I’m just going to talk about the Pigment section of the tube. 

Paint is listed by a standardized pigment letter and number.  P stands for pigment. The next next letter or letters give the color family number. W=White; BL=Black; B=Blue; Y=Yellow; G=Green; V=Violet; R=Red; BR=Brown. M=Metal.

Following the Pigment/Color family is the pigment number. For example, Cadmium Red, whether it’s cad red light, medium, or dark, is all PR108. The reason the number is the same but the color is lighter or deeper is due to how it’s processed. I think of it like bread. Put it in the toaster for 1 minute and it’s a light golden. Put it in longer and it’s going to get darker in color. Regardless of how long or short you put it in the toaster, it’s still bread.

For white paint there are 20+ different pigments and to see them go to Natural Pigments.  But for most of us the following are used the most. 

PW6 is Titanium White and the most common white. It is one of the least expensive as well. It has excellent covering power but that comes with the disadvantage that it can make colors appear chalky. This is especially true when painting portraits and figure. 

PW 4 is Zinc White. It’s not as opaque as titanium but it has a tendency to crack over time. It is often mixed with titanium and you will see both these numbers on the back of some paint tubes: PW4, PW6. Most professional painters won’t use zinc because of the cracking issue. It’s most likely to happen if you work in thickly.

PW1 is Lead White. It has a very different consistency than the titanium or zinc and can take a bit of time to get used to, but its qualities make the effort worthwhile. It’s warmer in color than titanium and allows a purer hue to come forth when mixed with other colors.  It’s also not as opaque as titanium. The paints itself can be stiff and/or ‘ropey’ but that can be mitigated with an oil or medium. Lead white is expensive and dense in the tube. It’s usually a series 4, 5, or 6. These are the more expensive pigments. Titanium and Zinc are usually a series 1, which is the least expensive series.

The Cad Red (PW 108) on the top is mixed with Titanium White PW6. The Cad Red on the bottom is mixed with Lead White PW1.

White the values are the same, notice how much warmer the red is when mixed with PW1.

PW 1 – Lead White is a warm, yellow-white. It is also called Cremnitz White and Flake White.

PW 2 - Flemish White, slightly warmer than Lead White and not as opaque. If you are looking to replace PW1, then PW2 might be a good alternative.

PW 4 - Zinc White is a cool white with a blue undertone.

PW 5 - Lithopone is a bright white that is soft and stringy. Its smooth consistency makes it easy to blend colors, and slow drying provides greater open times for working with colors. It is an excellent alternative to zinc white.

PW 6 - Titanium White - is neither warm nor cool placing it somewhere between lead white and zinc white. It is less prone to cracking and yellowing than lead white, but still yellows easily. It has the highest tinting strength and dries to a velvety finish which is why it can look ‘chalky’ in portraiture.

In addition to their color/mass tone properties, all the whites have different drying times. Titanium is the slowest drying, then zinc white, then lead white which dries the fastest.

If you want more information on the different whites and their properties I would go to Natural Pigments/Rublev Paints. While you will get lots of technical information, you can ask questions on their Facebook page. There are many professional paint companies that sell Lead White in the US. It may be a bit harder to find in Europe as their rules are different, but if you are curious it might be worth trying to find it.