PB74 Cobalt Blue Deep (zinc silicate)
Cobalt zinc silicate.
7 tubes from 7 of 24 paint lines contain PB74. 7 are made from PB74 alone, which is the closest match when you're switching brands.
- Toxicity
- Handle with care Contains cobalt. Avoid breathing in the dust or getting the paint in your mouth, and don't sand or spray it.
- Drying
- Fast Cobalt speeds drying.
- Opacity
- Single-pigment tubes are mostly semi-opaque.
About PB74
History
A modern cobalt blue made with zinc silicate, used by a few makers for a deep cobalt.
In mixes
A deep cobalt blue with similar handling to PB28: clean tints, moderate strength.
Genuine or hue?
Cobalt pigments are costly, mix to clean, slightly cool tints and shouldn't be breathed in as dust. Hues cost much less and usually tint more strongly, but their mixes rarely look quite the same.
Drying speed is typical for linseed oil; tubes ground in safflower or poppy oil, or with driers added, will differ. These are general notes on the pigment, not on any one brand.
Purest PB74, by brand
The best single-pigment PB74 tube from each line, ranked: artists' grade first, then lightfastness, then how firmly the pigment listing is confirmed. Ties are listed alphabetically.
- Art Spectrum Cobalt Blue DeepSeries 4 · LF I · Semi-transparent
- Old Holland Cobalt Blue DeepSeries E · LF I
- Rembrandt Cobalt Blue DeepSeries 5 · LF I · Semi-opaque
- Schmincke Mussini Cobalt Blue DeepLF I · Semi-opaque
- W&N Artists' Cobalt Blue DeepSeries 5 · LF I · Semi-transparent
- Blockx Cobalt Blue DarkSeries 6 · LF I · Semi-opaque
- Maimeri Puro Cobalt Blue DeepLF not rated
Not sold here by: Holbein, Grumbacher, Williamsburg, M. Graham, Gamblin, Michael Harding, W&N Winton, Georgian, Da Vinci, Van Gogh, Cobra, Art Creation, Lukas 1862, W&N Griffin, Langridge, Vasari, W&N Artisan.
Made from PB74 alone
Brands: Art Spectrum, Blockx, Maimeri Puro, Schmincke Mussini, Old Holland, Rembrandt, W&N Artists'.