Limewash and milk paint

[david]

Has anybody used a limewash or traditional milk paint for softwood outdoor furniture. Advice, experiences, recipes welcome.

[Art Lindquist]

Milk paint is not recommended for outdoor use.

[david]

Thank you Art for the advice. But from what i gather from another US forum the traditional 'barn red' for outbuildings was lime, milk and bulls blood. Anybody confirm or deny this ?

[TaskMule]

Shouldn't be a problem, just be sure you aren't wearing any good cloths when you sit on the furniture

[david]

Thank you for the positive. i thought to Danish oil the 'situpon' part. Looking for someone who has really tried this ? Come on you homesteaders. There must be a bench or shed out there somewhere.

[Bob Bowles]

[Andy Dingley]

Any and every possible mix has been used, some with more success than others. The one you describe isn't "milk paint" though, as the term is known from furniture.

Blood isn't a pigment. It's expensive (i.e. you need a lot to colour something) and the colour darkens to dark-brown in a season or two, certainly not barn red. What it does have though is protein to act as a binder for something else, especially in an alkaline mixture with lime.

Red ochre (iron oxide) is the pigment of choice here. Cheap, and it can be mined almost anywhere. Mix that into a simple limewash mixture and you have a coloured distemper that works fine, so long as it's a porous surface such as stone or wood. Adding other things, including blood or powdered milk, will improve the durability of the film for outdoor use.

Google should give recipes, or I've probably got some in old references (but no time just now)

PS - you're in the UK - we didn't have "barn red" in the USA sense. Our timber was generally only painted black or white.

[david]

Thank you Andy. I am gaining a bit of confidence now. Any other experiences out there ?