How to Make your own oil paints

Learn how to make your own oil paints.

Making your own oil paints is a lot like growing your own vegetables – homemade is always better than store-bought.

You Will Need

* Pigments

* Linseed oil

* Rubber gloves

* A safety respirator or mask

* Safety glasses or goggles

* A sheet of glass or marble at least a quarter-inch thick

* A grinding slab

* A Muller

* A palette knife or spatula

* Cleaning solution

* Empty paint tubes

* Labels

* Marker

* A clock or one-hour timer

* Canvas-stretching pliers

* And airtight jars

WARNING: Making oil paints will put you in direct contact with fumes that may be harmful. Do the following with a mask and in a well-ventilated area.

Step 1. Put on safety gear

Step 2. Put pigment on grinding slab

Step 3. Add small amount of linseed oil

Step 4. Mix pigment and linseed oil

Step 5. Improve consistency

Step 6. Move the mixture to middle

Step 7. Note the time

Step 8. Pack the paint into tubes

Step 9. Seal the tubes with pliers

Step 10. Label each tube

Step 11. Clean grinding slab

Step 12. Store in airtight jars

Step 13. Use as needed

WARNING: A lot of pigments used in manufacturing paints are surprisingly poisonous. Raw pigment powder is very fine and easily inhaled by accident.

FACT: Commercially manufactured oil paints contain stabilizers, preservatives, and other substances that help extend the paints' shelf lives but can adversely affect the quality of the paint.