This special paint has been the most common paint for the outer walls of Ostrobothnian farmhouses and outhouses. It is to this day a good alternative when the facade is getting painted. The paint is cheap to make and easy to renew. And it is sustainable, since it lasts up to 20 years and do not contaminate nature. And more to the point, the Nordic red ochre paint do not contain moisture in the timber, but lets it dry up after the rain. The traditional colour in Ostrobothnia, the Italic Red as Stundars uses in our own paint is lighter than the ordinary, darker red called “Faluröd” originating in Sweden.
50 litres of water
2 kilos of iron vitriol (iron sulphate or copperas)
4 kilograms of finely grounded rye flour
8 kilograms of colour pigment (Italian Red)
1 litre of flaxen seed oil
- Boil the water over an open fire.
- Mix in the iron vitriol and let it dissolve for half an hour.
- Beat down the rye flour in a smaller amount of fold water and slowly pour it into the boiling water and vitriol solution while stirring. Then let it simmer for another half hour.
- Add the colour pigment and let the paint simmer for at least another two hours. Stir now and then.
1 litre of paint covers 3-5 square meters depending on the roughness of the surface.
