How Do You Make Navy Blue Paint?
When it comes to interior and exterior painting projects, navy blue is a versatile and popular color that adds depth and sophistication to any room or building. If you’re looking to get creative and make your own navy blue paint, there are a few different routes you can take. From simple DIY recipes to advanced professional techniques, we’ll dive into the world of pigment production and show you exactly how to make navy blue paint.
Traditional Methods:
Before jumping into modern techniques, it’s essential to understand traditional methods of paint production, as they laid the foundation for our current processes. Naval officers, artists, and even chemists have attempted to create their own formulations throughout history.
Hand Mixing:
In the age before commercial paints, creating a navy blue hue usually involved mixing pigments of other colors. Here are a few traditional ingredients used to create an early version of navy blue paint:
• Slightly blueish-white: Chalk, limestone, or calcium carbonate
• Deep blue: Copper or Prussian blue, synthetic or natural
• Red: Iron oxide (rust) or mercury sulfide
• White: Zinc oxide
• Liquid: Distilled water, or oils like linseed (vegetable oil) for binding and smoothness.
Hand-mixing proportions vary depending on the painter, but here’s an approximate recipe: mix 2 parts calcium carbonate, 1 part Prussian blue, 0.5 parts rust (iron oxide), 1 part zinc oxide. You can adjust the blue tint by adding more copper or Prussian blue. Apply as is or with a combination of water and vinegar (acetic acid) to achieve a smooth surface.
Commercial Sources:
As commercial painting began to take shape in the 18th century, paint manufacturers started synthesizing pigments. Before this, most paints, including navy blue, depended on natural pigments collected from minerals, plants, or insects.
Early 20th Century Compounds:
By 1910, the commercial industry began developing proprietary compounds to approximate blue shades. Chrome aluminates, for example, offered a range of bluish hues. With more precise chemical control over composition, navy blue painting could become more accessible and, at times, more versatile.
