Sinopia Milk Paint
Sinopia is a company based in California and was founded in 1995 as a
pigment supplier to both the artist and craft trades. The company’s
focus has always been about providing the highest quality materials to
fine art painters, decorative artists, and surface finishers. Through the
years Sinopia has also provided the materials for production of such
finishes as Venetian Plaster, Chalk Paint, Faux Finishes, and Milk
Paint. With the rising interest in eco-friendly paints, in 2010 Sinopia
started to develop a Milk Paint that is ready to use directly from the
container. By manufacturing the Milk Paint for the consumer, Sinopia
provides convenience without sacrificing the highest quality possible.
Very much like the organic trend in food, Sinopia sources natural
materials to offer paint that is both safe and sustainable. The paint
can be thinned and cleaned up with water and contains: Water, Casein
(Milk Protein), Salt, Flax Seed Oil, Saponified Olive Oil, Pine Resin,
Beeswax, Chalk (Calcium Carbonate), and natural pigments.
These attributes, however, do not detract from the paint’s performance.
An eco-friendly paint that is not practical is useless. Sinopia’s Milk
Paint does not require any measuring, weighing, mixing, and special
surface preparation. Sinopia Milk Paint allows the user to experience
the richness of natural pigment powders with the smoothness of the
brushable consistency. Sinopia offers its curated palette of Milk
Paint in a range of 30+ colors. Discover your favorite shade of paint today!
The term Milk Paint has gained a prominent name in recent years....
........but what exactly is Milk Paint? Milk Paint is based on the binder Casein, which is a protein extracted from milk. If used properly, casein can be a very powerful binder.
The history of casein goes back thousands of years to ancient Egypt, where Milk Paint was found in the pyramids. In recent centuries, casein was the most common binder in house paint and was a popular glue with woodworkers.
That all changed with the dawn of the acrylic polymer, which is a petroleum product. Now, all house paints, most adhesives and plastics are made from one form or another of acrylic. The industry exchanged the beauty of the casein binder for the convenience of the acrylic polymer, which could be manufactured in large volumes.
Casein is a labor intensive protein to produce. It takes multiple quarts of raw milk to create 1 ounce of pure casein powder. The casein powder has to then be activated with an alkali, in order to convert the protein into a glue. The whole process is akin to preparing powdered milk.
Recently, the term Milk Paint has become very popular. We understand that the wholesome label of Milk Paint can be very attractive. Much of what is being sold as Milk Paint either contains very little to no casein, is prepared with a lot of measuring and weighing and often yields an impractical paint, that can only be used in a limited range of applications.
We at Sinopia have gone back into the old manufacturing manuals and developed a true milk paint that is easy to use, is all natural and durable.
In selecting the Sinopia Milk Paint palette, Sinopia's owner Alex Warren spearheaded the process by focusing on color trends that he has seen emerge in his 25 years of selling pigments. Additionally, he has drawn inspiration from his travels and chosen colors that are characteristic of the regions Alex Warren has visited.
To learn more about the origin of our Milk Paint, watch this documentary on Alex Warren and the inspiration behind our Milk Paint
