Lime paint

What exactly is lime paint?

Stucco Naturale lime paint – a matt, slaked lime-based paint

Stucco Naturale lime paint is a matt lime-marble paint for suitable mineral substrates, both indoors and outdoors. It contains slaked lime, additives to aid application and selected oils. Slaked air lime [Ca(OH)₂] serves as the binder.

Properties of lime paint

• Matt, marble-white finish

• Mineral binder based on slaked lime

• Can be individually tinted with suitable colour pigments

• Applied with a lime brush

• For suitable mineral substrates indoors and outdoors

For which substrates is lime paint suitable?

Suitable substrates are sound mineral substrates, for example:

• Mineral plasters, such as smoothed creative plaster

• Lime plaster

• Clay plaster

The surface must be sufficiently dry, sound and free from separating substances such as oils. Fresh plaster must be sufficiently hardened before painting. Any loose or poorly adhering layers must be removed. If necessary, a suitable casein primer may be used to prepare the substrate. The suitability of the substrate and the paint system should be tested in advance on a test area.

Application

Before application, check the absorbency of the substrate and lightly pre-wet it if necessary. Adjust the lime paint with water to the desired consistency for application. Apply the first coat in a criss-cross pattern using a lime brush. Once sufficiently dry, apply the second coat in a criss-cross pattern using the lime brush or, alternatively, a suitable lime pump. If necessary, a third coat may be applied. Coloured coats should always be applied in a criss-cross pattern using the lime brush. Observe the drying times between coats, as well as the instructions in the technical data sheet and the safety instructions.

Can lime paint also be tinted in different colours?

Lime paint can be coloured using all our colour pigments, except for iron mica. A maximum of 10 per cent by weight may be mixed into the lime paint. This means that for 20 kg of paint, 2 kg of dry pigments can be added. The slaked lime cannot bind any more than this, and the paint would start to chalk. The pigments are mixed into a paint paste and then stirred into the lime paint. You can read the instructions for making the paint paste. Click here to access the instructions. Before applying the coloured coat, one or two coats of white should be applied, either with a lime brush or a roller. The coats of coloured lime paint are best applied with a lime brush. Surfaces with varying levels of absorbency can lead to patchy results. If this is not desired, the surface can be pre-treated with casein primer.

What is the expected coverage?

On smooth surfaces, the coverage for two coats totals approximately 0.2–0.3 kg/m². On rough surfaces, coverage may double to approximately 0.4–0.6 kg/m². The actual amount of material required also depends on the absorbency of the surface and the dilution. A suitable casein primer can even out the absorbency of the surface. It is best to determine the amount of material required by testing on a small area. The final coverage and colour tone can only be assessed once the paint has dried completely.