Are you looking to do a little paint refresh?
Do you want to do it in a healthy, environmentally friendly way?
Do you also want it to be cost-effective, maybe even cheap?
And definitely durable?
It is actually possible. It’s called Swedish paint or Flour paint.
This paint has actually been used for many years in Scandinavia for houses, fences, and other outdoor buildings.
The paint can actually be made in a really short time. With a little prep work, you can get painting in an afternoon.
The recipe will make 3 litre of flour paint;
300 grams of basic flour
3 litres of water
600 grams of pigment
300 millilitres of linseed oil
- Use an old pot. You are making paint, you won’t be making pasta in this pot again.
- Put the pot on the stove and heat with 300 g of flour.
- As it starts to warm, gradually add 3 l of water.
- Stirring as you add, again use a spoon you don’t want to use again, except to make more paint.
- Bring to a boil. Let it boil for 10 minutes. It will thicken.
- Add your pigment of choice and 300 ml linseed oil. Bring back to a boil. Let boil for 30 minutes.
- When time is up, let it cool.
- You now have paint.
You can add a little black soap for texture. You could even add iron sulphate if you are using it outdoors. It will add resistance against moss.
Don’t forget to properly prep your wood surface before applying.
This means removing existing paint or stain and sanding coarsely.
Apply paint liberally.
Once you are finished painting, it should be dry in about 1 hour if painting at 20 degrees c or 68 Fahrenheit.
Clean your brushes with water. No heavy cleansers are needed. No awful paint smell.
You can get pigments at DIY stores.
