Falu red or falun red ( ; sv, falu rödfärg, ) is a permeable red paint commonly used on wooden

cottage A cottage, during Feudalism in England, England's feudal period, was the holding by a cottager (known as a cotter or ''bordar'') of a small house with enough garden to feed a family and in return for the cottage, the cottager had to provide ...

s and

barn A barn is an agricultural building usually on farms and used for various purposes. In North America, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain.Alle ...

s in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...

, and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

History

Following hundreds of years of mining in

Falun Falun () is a city and the seat of Falun Municipality in Dalarna County, Sweden, with 37,291 inhabitants in 2010. It is also the capital of Dalarna County. Falun forms, together with Borlänge, a metropolitan area with just over 100,000 inhabitan ...

, large piles of residual product were deposited above ground in the vicinity of the mines. By the 16th Century,

mineralization Mineralization may refer to: * Mineralization (biology), when an inorganic substance precipitates in an organic matrix ** Biomineralization, a form of mineralization ** Mineralization of bone, an example of mineralization ** Mineralized tissues ar ...

of the mine's tailings and

slag Slag is a by-product of smelting ( pyrometallurgical) ores and used metals. Broadly, it can be classified as ferrous (by-products of processing iron and steel), ferroalloy (by-product of ferroalloy production) or non-ferrous/base metals (by-p ...

added by smelters began to produce a red-coloured

sludge Sludge is a semi-solid slurry that can be produced from a range of industrial processes, from water treatment, wastewater treatment or on-site sanitation systems. For example, it can be produced as a settled suspension obtained from conventional ...

rich in

copper Copper is a chemical element with the symbol Cu (from la, cuprum) and atomic number 29. It is a soft, malleable, and ductile metal with very high thermal and electrical conductivity. A freshly exposed surface of pure copper has a pink ...

limonite Limonite () is an iron ore consisting of a mixture of hydrated iron(III) oxide-hydroxides in varying composition. The generic formula is frequently written as FeO(OH)·H2O, although this is not entirely accurate as the ratio of oxide to hydroxide ...

, silicic acid, and

zinc Zinc is a chemical element with the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. Zinc is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodi ...

. When the sludge was heated for a few hours and then mixed with linseed oil and rye flour, it was found to form an excellent anti-weathering paint. During the 17th century, falu red began to be daubed onto wooden buildings to mimic the red-brick façades built by the upper classes. In Sweden's built-up areas, wooden buildings were often painted with falu red until the early 19th century, until authorities began to oppose use of the paint.

Resurgence

Falu red saw a resurgence in popularity in the Swedish countryside during the 19th century, when poorer

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer m ...

s and crofters began to paint their houses. Falu red is still widely used in the countryside. The Finnish expression ''punainen tupa ja perunamaa'', "a red cottage and a potato patch", referring to idyllic home and life, is a direct allusion to a country house painted in falu red. Falu rödfärg

Composition

The paint consists of water, rye

flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many cul ...

linseed oil Linseed oil, also known as flaxseed oil or flax oil (in its edible form), is a colourless to yellowish oil obtained from the dried, ripened seeds of the flax plant (''Linum usitatissimum''). The oil is obtained by pressing, sometimes followed by ...

, silicates,

iron oxides Iron oxides are chemical compounds composed of iron and oxygen. Several iron oxides are recognized. All are black magnetic solids. Often they are non-stoichiometric. Oxyhydroxides are a related class of compounds, perhaps the best known of w ...

, copper compounds, and zinc. As falu red ages the binder deteriorates, leaving the color granules loose, but restoration is easy since simply brushing the surface is sufficient before repainting. The actual color may be different depending on the degree to which the oxide is burnt, ranging from almost black to a bright, light red. Different tones of red have been popular at different times.

References

External links

Mould resistance tests in Sweden (falu on page 5, in Swedish)
{{shades of red Dalarna Shades of brown Shades of red