Trying to make your own paint may seem like a DIY disaster waiting to happen. But that’s not always the case. Is it something doable? Absolutely. Different people from various parts of the world and traditions have been making their own paint for centuries, if not millennia.
Making your own paint isn’t that hard, and can actually be a rewarding process that proves store-bought isn’t the only option. The best part? You don’t necessarily need any fancy drill attachments or mixing tools, but feel free to use them if you want. All you need to pull it off is a little guidance to help you understand color, a paint stick, some patience, and some confidence, of course.
What’s even more interesting is that you get to use cheap ingredients like flour or corn syrup to make paint that’s safe for kids. Well, we can’t say the same for manufactured paints, can we? If you’re a more skilled artist looking for more control over color intensity, you could use a medium and raw pigment to make your own acrylic paint. But for a fun and cost-effective DIY wall-painting project, we’ll teach you how to make latex paint all on your own. Read on!
How to Do It
We’ve already established that making your DIY paint is possible. The process is nothing complicated, but rather a simplified version of the method used in paint factories. That said, you’re going to need three main ingredients: binder, pigment, and solvent.
- Paint binder: Flour is the most common, but not the only DIY paint binder you can use. Egg yolk, gelatin, gum Arabic, milk protein casein, PVA or white glue are all great binder options.
- Pigment: Visit any art supply store and buy dry, powdered paint pigments. You can choose to buy a set of pigments to mix yourself or pick a specific one.
- Solvent: Like paint binders, there are plenty of solvent options for DIY paint. Common ones include water, mineral spirits, denatured or rubbing alcohol, vinegar, and even cooking oil.
It’s important to experiment with several DIY paint recipes and ingredient proportions until you identify one that’s perfect for your wall-painting project. Now that we know the ingredients, here are the steps to take to make your paint.
Step 1: Mix the binder and the pigments into a paste in a glass jar.
Step 2: Gradually add the solvent as you stir with your paint stick.
Step 3: Apply a small sample of the paint on a surface, like a cardboard or a wall corner, to test color and consistency. If too thick, add a little more solvent. If too thin, try adding some extra binder first. If this drastically alters the paint’s color, you can proceed to add some more pigment.
Why or When It’s Worth It (And When It’s Not)
There are plenty of reasons why you might wish to create your own wall paint. Maybe you saw a color you like somewhere and would like to recreate it? Or perhaps you simply want a unique color for your home.
Making your own paint may also be a great way to save some bucks off your decorating budget. This would actually make a lot of sense if you’re the type who likes to repaint walls every couple of years or possibly more often. If that’s the case, you can’t even begin to imagine how much money you’d have spent buying store-bought paint over the years.
Even more impressive, there are no dirty or toxic chemicals used in making DIY paint; no soil-water-air pollutants that last forever. And you can also use your ordinary cooking equipment for this process. Provided you clean your equipment thoroughly after use, feel free to reassign that old stew pot back to cooking delicious beans.
So, is making your own wall paint worth it? Yes. Well-made DIY paint can help transform the inside of your home with a uniquely natural, earthy, rustic look, all while being far less expensive than manufactured paints and way safer, both for us and the planet. Even so, DIY paint cannot be used for outdoor painting projects, as its not formulated to withstand long-term exposure to dirt, rain, and other adverse weather elements, like industrial paint would.