Frequently Asked Questions

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.

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

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One thought on “Lime Paint and Plastering System for Interior Application, FAQ Friday

  1. Thanks for having this article, it helps a lot. It’s a well-written blog and it is very informative. Keep on blogging, looking forward to see more of your posts!

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