Recipe for Old Fashioned White Wash

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I would like to know how to make White Wash, the kind they used to paint barns with. Thank you.

-- Phyl Ronzani (Phylronz@aol.com), February 12, 2002

Answers

Found this on google, Hope it helps you out.

Whitewash Recipe from the Homestead Mailing List

Quick Lime can be used. When lime is added to moisture it heats up. Really heats up. Do not use plastic buckets or utensils. They will melt.

Whitewash is really only lime and water. Other ingredients added for durability. We use one cup salt (table salt - sodium chloride), 2 cups lime, 2 cups calcium chloride to a gallon of water. The consistency should be like milk. For larger amounts - a stiff paste can be made of 38 lbs quicklime to 8 gallons of water or 50 lbs hydrated lime to 6 gallons of water, then thinned with additional water to the milk consistency.

Other names of the limes used are chemical hydrate, ag spray hydrate, finishing lime, pressure hydrated lime. The more refined the lime the smoother the paint, especially important if you plan to spray the paint.

One old timer I know of uses Kerosene in the mixture. She likes the oil base for painting. Given the quality of lime mentioned above, I am reluctant - of course when I look "aghast" I get laughed at - after all she's still around.

Another Regarding whitewash - Prepare whitewash in well ventilated areas - we always do this outside! Hydrated Lime or option is casein, which makes the solution oil-based also. In the days when they had an abundance of milk, it was used as the liquid - this gives the whitewash a latex-like quality. Anyway the calcium chloride added keeps the paint from being so chalky and adds to the durability, nice if used where temperature get very cold. White glue or white Portland cement can also be added to get a heavy cream consistency if you want a thicker paint.

As you can see there is an abundance of options. That's why I settled for the simpler method. It worked, it lasts. Oh, mix only what you think you can use each time - it doesn't keep well. Happy Painting

-- Bob in WI (bjwick@hotmail.com), February 12, 2002.


In addition, there are about a dozen threads on whitewash under the Construction category - didn't know where else to put them.

Ken

-- Ken S. in WC TN (scharabo@aol.com), February 12, 2002.


Check Fiasco Farms. They have a white wash recipe. Do a search for it.... GL

-- Gailann Schrader (gtschrader@aol.com), February 13, 2002.

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