Every room in my home is painted with this natural clay paint that's easy to make, economical, and gives my home a beautiful, soft, adobe-like look. I get compliments from all my guests!
Ingredients:
- Flour
- Borax
- Earth & Mineral Pigments
- Fine Sand (optional)
Materials:
- Drill with paint mixer attachment
- Bucket
Step 1: Make flour paste: Mix 2 cups of cold water with 1 cup of flour, then add that mixture to 6 cups of boiling water. Stir until thick.
Step 2: In a bucket mix 1 part flour paste: 1 part clay or Earth & Mineral Pigment with 1 part fine sand.
Notes:
- Adding sand gives your wall more of an adobe look that's coarse to the touch. You can also leave this out and it is smooth to the touch.
- The paint will dry much lighter than what the color looks like in the bucket so it's best to paint a color swatch on the wall and let it dry to make sure you like the color before you paint the whole room.
- Use paint mixer attachment in a drill to mix.
Step 3: Add water to achieve your desired consistency.
Step 4: Add Borax to prevent molding, about 2-3 tbsp per gallon.
Step 5: Paint on the wall! We’ve found that if you have sand in the mixture, to need to use a brush- paint rollers don’t work well. We like to apply the strokes in a random assortment of directions. This technique gives your wall more of a mottled, earthen-wall look that we enjoy.
Natural Clay House Paint FAQ
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How much pigment do I need to add?
The amount you should add is completely different per color. Every pigment has completely different properties, different covering powers or transparency, absorb liquid differently, totally different compositions. In the recipe we say to start with 1 part flour paste:1 part pigment:1 part sand - but it could be drastically different than that per color. Just add the pigments bit by bit until the desired color is achieved - not exceeding a ratio of 20% by volume. The paint will dry much lighter than what the color looks like in the bucket so it's best to paint a color swatch on the wall and let it dry to make sure you like the color before you paint the whole room.
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How much does the recipe on your website make?
If you follow the recipe on our website, you can kind-of see how much paint it makes in the photos - maybe around a gallon. But it handles differently than regular latex paint so it's not the same coverage calculations as latex.
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Is it waterproof?
It will rub off if scrubbed with a wet rag - It's not waterproof.
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Is there something I can seal it with?
You can use our Natural Acrylik Medium or our Natural Varnish. For the varnish, the number of coats is really up to you. One coat gives it protection but doesn't make it glossy (so no sanding needed). More coats make it more glossy and more of a barrier protection layer. For sanding, you can use super fine sandpaper and it will come out smooth.
Interested in more recipes featuring Natural Earth Paint products? Visit our Recipes page!
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