Painting with red can be frustrating. It may seem that no matter how many coats are applied, the color underneath is visible. The problem is that red paint is a tint; and the more tint added to the paint, the longer it takes to dry (more than one coat should be applied), also the main solid material in paint, Titanium Dioxide, exists in a much lower quantity per volume in red and deep base colors. Dark colors should be mixed in with a deep or clear base; if this doesn’t happen, the color will be tainted by other color pigment in the base.
In paint store aisles, there are gallon cans holding much less than a gallon of paint. These cans are “paint base,” in which the manufacturer has left room for tints or colorants to achieve dark colors such as red. These bases are typically tintable white, pastel, light, neutral, deep, accent, ultra-deep, and medium or mid-base. When you combine tints with the base, you get mixed results based on how much titanium dioxide is in the paint; since Titanium Dioxide is an off-white color this solid material needs to be replaced with a clear base or the result will be pink.
Titanium Dioxide has replaced white lead paint in the past 30 years; the yearly production is now around 4 million tons. The more titanium dioxide your paint has, the whiter the paint appears. Because light physically cannot go deeper than the titanium dioxide layer, the original color isn’t visible under the red tint.
Meanings of RED
The color red has had several meanings throughout history. It was supposedly the first color perceived by Man; people suffering from brain injuries (in particular temporary color-blindness) start to perceive red before they are able to discern any other colors.
Neolithic hunters considered red to be the most important color; to them, it was endowed with life-giving powers, so they placed red ochre into graves of their deceased, as evidenced by skeletons of the dead embedded in up to 10 kg of red powdered ochre. Neolithic cave painters attributed magic powers to red. “Magic” translates to “taufr” in Old Norse and is related to the Anglo-Saxon “teafor” meaning “red ochre.” It can be deduced that they painted animals in red ochre or iron oxide to conjure their fertility.
The meaning behind red paint varies by culture and time. The ancient Egyptians developed other paints from pigments in the soil (orange, yellow, and red). Cochineal red, discovered by the Aztecs, was made using the female cochineal beetle. For the Aztec Indians, red dye was considered more valuable than gold; “red lead” was discovered by accident in about 2500.
Painting with red requires a patience that other colors do not. But with knowledge, time, and an excitement for the work being performed, an invigorating boost to your home or business can be achieved using a powerful red.
Shearer Painting recommends Aura Paint for red walls.
aura-paint-benjamin moore
