[TheForge] another 'traditional' paint for iron and steel and outdoors

[Dave Brown]

I know about milk paints and their durability on wood, but never connected 
it with a metal finish or with linseed oil until I found the following:
This recipe ... makes five gallons of paint. Mix two quarts of builder's 
lime with four gallons of skim milk. Stir thoroughly. Then stir in one 
gallon of linseed oil. Then stir in the dye. Strain through a piece of 
cheese cloth and be sure to use within two days of mixing. You can 
substitute three quarts of sifted, white, hardwood ashes for the lime.

I've run across some interesting things (at least they're interesting to 
me) this morning while looking for information on paints and traditional 
finishes.  I think that we've pushed the linseed/beeswax finish variations 
so much that we're forgetting that there were probably a whole lot of 
different finishes in use that are being forgotten about.  I think these 
things are worth considering before we narrow history down too far and too 
simplistic.

Dave Brown
still wandering and pondering

"It ain't what we know that causes all the confusion.  It's what we know 
but ain't so that does the damage." -unknown

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