Limewash and testing colours - a silly question?

[Anonymous]

After struggling to strip off the many layers of paper/emulsion etc etc we now have some walls that can be painted. The plaster is mainly lime with some gypsum patches (which we will leave be for now). We have decided to limewash so first question - is it best to add casein (to help adhesion to the gypsum areas) and do we do this or can we order it mixed? Also, does casein help with the stuff rubbing off on clothes? Next problem - to obtain the 'right' colour is it possible to make a test on a small area - if so, and you make, say 4 coats on the test area, will this area then be noticeable under the final colour? Please excuse us if these questions sound stupid - we have goggled a lot for solutions to little or no avail!

 

[Anonymous]

Don't know about your other queries but yes, you will see the thicker area unless you put many many layers over it.

 

[Anonymous]

or sand it off so it isnt thicker perhaps....

If it's any help the old house store has a hand painted colour chart (which they charge for) which is basically strips of lining paper painted with limewash. Mike Wye sells wash with casein added but his colour chart is printed (and free) so you have to buy test pots to see the real thing.

 

[Anonymous]

Think about distemper... F and B does hand done coloured charts, at a price, or consider Rose of Jericho.

 

[Anonymous]

Casein does help with surface powdering, although it won't stop it completely - rub an elbow against the wall and you'll get some dusting onn your clothes! Traditional skimmed milk was used, and that does work - a pint in a 20-litre bucket of limewash seems to do the trick. You can also buy powdered casein from most places that sell lime - I know Ty mawr sells it in 1 kilo pots. It's easy enough to mix in with the limewash - just make sure you make up a paste with hot water before stirring it into the final mix.
The problem is colour matching - getting limewash to match an existing wash is an absolute nightmare, as there is such a difference between the wet stuff and the stuff when it's dried and carbonated. The only way to avoid patches would be to mix up enough wash to do the whole caboodle - including any existing limewash. That's not going to be expensive, however, as a bucket of lime putty will give you enough limewash to cover a huge area. It will also help mask the difference in thckiness between new and old wash.



Ty Mawr

 

[Anonymous]

Plse excuse typos - blooming chilly in the study today, and I've got a stinking snotfest of a cold.

 

[Anonymous]

Last year I went on a Lime Day at Woodchester Mansion run by Rory Young (what he doesn't know about limewash and lime plastering isn't worth knowing).
There are two considerations here. The first is that applying limewash (or distemper) over a mixed base of lime plaster and gypsum might give you a patchwork effect, since the two substances will have different absorbent qualities. It might be wise to think about applying a skim coat of smooth lime plaster before starting to decorate.
The other, as schoolmarm pointed out (I think) is that any test patch will indeed show up under your subsequent coats- especially if you decide you don't like the ones you tried out. The other problem is that until you have applied several coats (with lime wash you might need as many as 6 or 7 to get the colour you want) you won't know what its going to look like. One solution might be to paint a sample board or boards with the colours you like, and hang them on the walls in question. That way you can recycle the test boards around other rooms in the house as well. Just a suggestion!

 

[Anonymous]

Befor you go rushing at this I would whack a coat or two of white on the walls and just see whether it sticks. You could have all manner of things on those walls - unibond, stabilising solution etc. etc. Basically limewash sticks because of suction - no suction not much stick! Sure, you could put some casien, powdered skimmed milk or whatever in it. This will make it sticky but it will only help, that is all.
I have to say that I rather doubt that limewash was used quite as much as people seem to think. It is a pretty basic sort of finish and does not generally look good in formal rooms. You cannot make really deep tones with it so it's usage is limited. Distemper, on the other hand will stick to most things and you will not be limited to light tones. If you don't care if the finish is not washable you can knock up your own with animal glue and whiting (powdered chalk). I have yet to find out how to make washable distemper - anybody know? Mike.

 

[Anonymous]

I thought the idea with disemper is that you wash it off and then get the fun of re-applying!

 

[Anonymous]

I think Mike's got a point about where to use limewash. In our place (mid 19thC) it seems to have been used in the kitchen, pantry, box room (all with ochre or red oxide tint) and on most of the ceilings (white), but in the 'public' rooms - the sitting room, dining room and hallways - the walls are all distempered; in the case of the hallways, in a brilliant cobalt blue that you could never achieve with limewash.

 

[Anonymous]

Gervase - I even wonder whether it was used much on ceilings, except for perhaps very lowly dwellings. I have lots of evidence of very powdery paints on ceilings that I understand could just be just whiting and water - no glue. I suppose that, as long as you could'nt touch the ceiling, it did'nt matter much. Also limewash is a real fag to use. Umpteen coats to get a reasonable finish and it goes everywhere! With glue bound distemper it's one hit - job done! Mike.

 

[Anonymous]

Many thanks for all the wise words. So it looks like we will try some distemper in the living room, and take mikes advice of applying a couple of coats of white limewash first - just to see how it goes on.

 

[Anonymous]

Sorry to take so long to return to this thread. You can indeed achieve a wonderful bright blue with lime wash- but the colour 'goes off' really quickly once it's been mixed- within a few hours. I have seen photographs of the interior of Rory Young's house and he's used it there.
So, for anyone planning a bright blue exterior in lime wash- be brave! It's a fantastic colour- used internally on domes inside churches, and highlighted with gold leaf stars, it's just magical.