clay paint and limewash (again)

[piper]

Many thanks for the replies to my earlier query about clay paint; we are using it in the new room and it looks great, though it does come expensive. In the bathroom we have used Earthborn's emulsion for a wipeable finish, and it's much nicer than bog-standard emulsion - which cost will probably force us to use for redecorating the kitchen (where the roof had to come off and the ceiling lowered, so there's a lot of making good)

The chimney breast in the new room has been lime plastered over modern blockwork, with a smoothish but "textured" finish - i.e a coarser sand rather than silver sand. The sides are fine, but parts of the front surface cracked and crazed quite badly. The plasterer (quite experienced in conservation work - did a lovely job with lime on the big "old" wall) came back while we were on holiday, filled cracks and re-did three square patches of the worst bits. Unfortunately this was just before the bank holiday weekend, so proper after-care the next day was not done, and there were more cracks. When we got back I sprayed and compacted the patching as much as I could, and improved it a lot. The upshot is that there are still quite a lot of fine cracks and some obvious patches of a coarser texture. A possibly OTT solution would be to demand they do it all again, however it's not too bad, so as the building is virtually finished, I'm keen to get rid of builders after five months, and we are to do the decoration ourselves, I'm thinking I'll go over it myself with a thick limewash, perhaps with a proportion of silver sand in it to thicken it more and make it more like plaster.

Should this do the job of filling the cracks, and then still be a good base for the clay paint which is already on all the other walls? Also, if limewash is the way to do it, should it have any linseed oil added? My gut feeling is no, as under clay paint it will really just be another fine coat of plaster.

 

[DaveBrigg]

I was told, by someone who had undertaken restoration at the Vatican, to fill fine cracks with normal plaster - like plaster of paris, not gypsum! I did that on our bedroom ceiling last year before applying claypaint, and the cracks cannot be seen.

 

[rebeccac]

I really cant understand why clay paint should be expensive?Is it not just a clay slip with earth pigments? I could probably make enough to paint an entire house for under a tenner! Limewah too is a silly price when vats of it can be made up for pounds.

Perhaps its just that I'm mean??

 

[Mark]

clay paints?

I spent today at a strawbale building course and one of the presenters described clay paints as being a con. He would sell them to me if I wanted them but described them as more marketing than breathable reality.

 

[FamilyWiggs]

Cracks are a bit of an occupational hazard with lime plaster, in my experience, and to a degree add a little bit of character.

Some of the more noticeable ones in my plaster I have filled with a little bit of lime putty I had spare. I suppose you good also try a little bit of linseed putty too, or indeed any modern filler or caulk provided it is carefully applied to the crack.

The finer ones don't seem to show through the clay paint anyway. A couple of good coats, with careful attention paid to the cracks, and I'll wager you won't notice them.

Robin