From the Heart of Africa to the Modern-Day Oil Patch, Paints Have Come a Long Way
Archeologists claim paint ingredients were found in Africa that date back 350,000 to 400,000 years ago. It is thought the Chinese were lacquering away some 7,000 years ago. Later, the Druids invented a durable ox blood and lime mixture, and the Egyptians applied waterproof coating to their wooden boats made from pitch and balsam 3,000 years.
Much of the original incentives for coating, daubing really, were for wall, face and arm decorations, but as Man became more sophisticated the need for durability became paramount particularly in such activities as seafaring where you did not want your boat sinking beneath you or becoming waterlogged.