Cob RE: Earthen plasters & paint

[John Schinnerer]

Aloha,

-----Original Message-----
From:	Eric Hart [SMTP:erichart at mtn.org]
At 08:32 AM 12/22/97 +0000,  Craig Hull <chull at POBoxes.com> wrote:
>How do earthen plasters take paint? Aside from decorating
>considerations, this could negate the problem of clay stains
>on shirts.

I've seen one case (and heard of others) where "conventional" paints are a 
disaster on earthen walls and/or plasters.  One cob house I visited had had a 
portion of the wall painted with a typical hardware store latex paint, which 
was bubbling and peeling and generally looking awful.  The rest had been 
whitewashed and was doing just fine.  A general rule is to never cover earthen 
walls or plasters with low-breathability or non-breathable materials (such as 
most commercial paints).  Has anyone tried "milk paints" on earthen plasters?

John Schinnerer