The surprising reason lead was in paint!

[@frankspage]

Well, what happened to lime? It was traditionally used over centuries in Europe, its non toxic, it’s a natural mold inhibitor, cheap, widely available and well, white.

[@theeverydayengineer1]

It had its time in the "lime light" so to speak, but with the advent of the industrial revolution, lead based paint rose to prominence.

[@williamforsyth6667]

I used lime to paint walls of our house several times. It is much harder to work with it than with modern white paints.

[@theeverydayengineer1]

@@williamforsyth6667 I am surprised such a thing could even be purchased this day and age.

[@williamforsyth6667]

@@theeverydayengineer1 In my 2nd world country (Eastern Europe) it is still used. You can buy lime based, ready to use professional paints from multiple manufacturer. However, when I used lime for painting with my father, I used lime sold for making mortar. (for laying bricks here we use mortar mixed at the building site from sand, lime and cement, so you can buy lime everywhere). That lime needs some preparations before you can paint with it. You also have to cover and pack everything because it is hard to work cleanly with that. Another difficulty was that you could not see how it covered the wall until it dried.

[@theeverydayengineer1]

I appreciate you telling me that lime "white wash" paint is still available in some parts of the world. I would have thought industrialization would have just about phased out its use except for the most undeveloped countries.