Lime Paint and Plastering System for Interior Application, FAQ Friday

Building on last week’s FAQ Friday, the use of lime paints doesn’t have to stop with use on the exterior of a building. Lime paints are great for use on interior walls by themselves or used as a pre-hydrated and dispersed pigmenting agent that can be mixed with Ecologic^® Mortar, NHL or a combination of the two when formulating your own colored plasters.

There are many benefits of using lime paint on internal walls but there sometimes needs to be some preparation involved to make sure that the lime paint or plaster will adhere to the substrate. Often times I hear that someone will want a colored plaster finish on their interior walls but they do not know if lime paint will adhere. The simplest way to check is to spritz some water on the wall. If there is no absorption of the water, the wall is either too smooth or not porous enough. We need some suction. One way to achieve this is to apply a base coat of Takcoat™.

Takcoat™.  was discussed in detail in a previous FAQ Friday. So to keep it short I will just say that it is a VOC free, transitional lime and sand prepared plaster material that can be applied to smooth painted or unpainted surfaces. Once Takcoat™. is cured then adequate suction and mechanical key is provided for Lime Paint and lime plaster to adhere to the wall surface. There are ranges of different lime finishes that can be applied to the wall ranging from a rough open pore surface texture to an incredibly smooth polished Venetian or Tadelakt finishing style. The finish is dependent on the client’s wishes and the skill level of the craftsperson.

In my opinion, craft skill level is fundamentally dependent on the tools a craftsperson has at their disposal. One important tool to have when formulating different plasters is pigmentation. The lime paints we sell at LimeWorks.us come in a variety of colors that can be used as integral pigments mixed into plaster formulations or on their own as a decorating top coat. Having a good pigmentation methodology gives a craftsperson more options during the planning stages of a project. A good pigmentation methodology also makes reproduction of the mockups on to the entire application easier once a decision has been made on a certain color since the consistency of our products makes this a smooth process.

Lime paint comes as a dry powder consisting of a high calcium lime paint base and dispersed pigments if the paint is a colored one. Dilution of the lime paint with water to make a quart, gallon or 5-gallon unit will further breakdown the pigment and further slake the hi-cal lime. When a known volume of paint has been made it can be used in Ecologic^® Mortar formulations or gauged into lime plaster for color. Here are a few examples…

Sample 1- lime paint lp-347 over Takcoat™

Sample 2- 1/2 bag NHL 2, 4.3 gallons LP-347, 1.09 gallons water over Takcoat™

Sample 3- one bag Ecologic® Mortar Fine with 1gallon LP-347 over Takcoat™

Sample 4- one bag Ecologic® Mortar with 1quart LP-347 over Takcoat™

When a specific color is desired but not represented by our stock lime paint color options then we can provide custom colored blends for all sorts of various applications. Seen in the photos below Thuillier Plastering of New Hampshire used a custom Ecologic^® Mortar Fine that incorporated additional NHL 2 and pigments to achieve a Tadelakt finish. The authentic formulation was then polished with rubbing stones and the olive oil soap we sell, following an ancient Moroccan tradition.

So whether you know what style of plaster finish you want to achieve or you would rather let your imagination run wild and experiment, just contact us and we will be able to help you develop your plaster system to ensure a successful project.

-LimeWorks.us (Linked-in : Blog : Facebook : Twitter)

All About Lime Paint, FAQ Friday

Although they date back thousands of years, some of the best examples today of lime paint are those pictured in scenic postcards of gleaming white and pastel colored villages, so abundant throughout the Mediterranean. Many architects and designers currently seek a return to these methods and products of the past. Lime paint changes and evolves as it slowly ages, giving buildings an appealing, provincial look. Additional coats can be added as time goes on, enhancing the depth of colors. Modern paints often seal in humidity, which later leads to peeling and other exterior damage to a building’s surface. More like a stain than paint, lime paint is absorbed into the wall, penetrating the background. Once cured, the lime paint allows the surface to breathe, becoming a peel-free surface as it allows humidity to escape.

Examples:

Lime Paint base, (Natural), has no color added. It can be used to whitewash an old masonry building with only two coats and turn a dingy structure into a “museum-like” historic landmark. This is the Gambrel Roof House in Historic Fallsington, PA.

Before

After

A home in Lambertville, NJ originally had a shelter coat of lime wash put on the soft under-fired brick. #345 St. Astier Lime Paint was used to refresh the building, protect the brick and maintain good breathability for the coating so as not to trap moisture in the wall.

Before

After

A home in Stirling, Scotland which has had the facade restored using colored limewash over a lime/sand render. The home is located along the way up to Stirling Castle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Coastal Heritage Society Preservation Team members of Savannah Georgia whitewashed the retaining wall at the Roundhouse Railroad Museum using St. Astier lime paint.

Before

During

After

A home in Massachusetts originally had a harled finish coat of lime stucco. The St. Astier Lime Paint #429 was used to refresh the building’s exterior look while protecting the soft lime stucco with a “like to like” compatible coating that will wear down over time rather than flake and peel off. The work was accomplished by Florentine Masonry Restoration.

-LimeWorks.us (Linked-in : Blog : Facebook : Twitter)

Use of Traditional Lime Paints (FAQ Friday with Randy Ruth)

This has been a crazy week here in the Northeast. First and earthquake then Steve Jobs and now hurricane Irene is coming for us. But Randy has another frequently asked question to answer today about the use of traditional lime paints.

Q: Isn’t lime paint an old technique for buildings? Aren’t there more modern options that will look better and last longer? 

A: Lime paint or as it is traditionally called whitewash is indeed an old technique for use on buildings, for both interior and exterior use. Lime Paint is made from slaked high calcium quicklime with a greater addition of water than what would be used to make lime putty. The resulting product has a consistency of thin milk.

Lime Paint is used on the exterior of buildings as a sacrificial breathable protective coating over lime render, brick, concrete, adobe, stone and earthen structures. By applying multiple thin coats of Lime Paint, each coat reacts with carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to convert back to calcium  carbonate, also known as limestone. This technology has been around since before the construction of the great pyramids in Egypt, where lime was used in mortar formulations. 

There are some limitations to using Lime Paint in modern times, most likely because of the expectations people have from today’s common latex paints. Although, Lime Paints do wear away, can sometimes chalk when rubbed and cannot always achieve the same brilliance of modern paints , they do have some wonderful properties that make their use appropriate for modern applications.

Lime in of itself reflects light in a such a special way that we get the term “limelight” from its use in early stage lighting techniques. The colors that can be achieved with Lime Paint are more of an earth tone and give off a warm glow that modern latex cannot provide. Since Lime Paint is mineral based it does not peel or flake, it simply wears down.

When a “breathing” wall needs to be protected or decorated with a paint or stain, Lime Paints provide the breathability suitable for the wall. However when a tougher more durable coating is required silicate paints and stains can be used.

Silicate paints are mineral paints made from either sodium silicate or potassium silicate and chemically bond to a masonry substrate, through the chemical act of petrifaction. This allows a paint that can also not peel or flake due to the laws of chemistry, similarly to Lime Paints. Silicate paints were originally made during the mid 19^th century in Europe and have since been refined to become some of the best paint for use with masonry. They can reach a wider range of colors when compared to Lime Paint. Although silicate paints may last longer with less maintenance it does not particularly make them better than Lime Paints.

Someone who wants an “aged” look or even the more natural feel of lime would think Lime Paint is a better choice over silicate. For a muralist who does not want to be bound by a limited color range and needs the durability of silicate in a city environment, then silicate paints are a no brainer. At the end of the day, when choosing a breathable, historically proven paint for a building, one must weigh the pros and cons of each paint when compared to the demands of the project at hand .

 

-LimeWorks.us (Linked-in : Blog : Facebook : Twitter)