Limewash and milk paint
David
experiences of using limewash or milk paint on exterior timbers. I am
using softwoods.
Anna Kettle
wrote:
>I am seeking another finish for outdoor furniture and would like any
>experiences of using limewash or milk paint on exterior timbers. I am
>using softwoods.
Limewash is great stuff sometimes put on old oak timber framed
buildings eg Lavenham Guildhall. It is built up in thin coats and the
colour intensifies as it sets.
Milk paint is called casein. No experience there
Anna
~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England
|""""| ~ Lime plaster repairs
/ ^^ \ // Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc
|____| www.kettlenet.co.uk 01359 230642
big...@meeow.co.uk
I dont have much experience, but have used lime paint on concrete, and
it worked very well. Made it meself, very easy. One coat gave a dense
finish, and its still in A1 condition so far. And its stooopidly cheap.
Also I gather linseed based paints make the very best wood preservers.
Period property forum discussed various paints.
NT
Grunff
> I dont have much experience, but have used lime paint on concrete, and
> it worked very well. Made it meself, very easy. One coat gave a dense
> finish, and its still in A1 condition so far. And its stooopidly cheap.
Recipe?
--
Grunff
big...@meeow.co.uk
Bag of ordinary hydrated lime, airtight bucket/lid. Mix lime with water
to a paste in the bucket, put lid on and store for weeks. Take lid off,
use. I put it on with a trowel, just smearing/wiping the finish flat as
I went. I reckoned it would be quicker than brushing, and it puts a
thick long lasting layer on. Lime ages by gradually shedding surface
lime, so the thicker, the longer it lasts.
I was a bit surprised it worked so well.
NT
Grunff
> Bag of ordinary hydrated lime, airtight bucket/lid. Mix lime with water
> to a paste in the bucket, put lid on and store for weeks. Take lid off,
> use. I put it on with a trowel, just smearing/wiping the finish flat as
> I went. I reckoned it would be quicker than brushing, and it puts a
> thick long lasting layer on. Lime ages by gradually shedding surface
> lime, so the thicker, the longer it lasts.
>
> I was a bit surprised it worked so well.
How long do you have to age it (if at all)?
Can you brush/sponge it to get a uniform finish?
--
Grunff
big...@meeow.co.uk
I'm told it should always be aged, I'm not sure but ISTR a couple of
months, or something in that ballpark. Anna would probably know a lot
more more about that aspect.
Brush, sponge, sure, thats the usual way, I just trowlled it on thick
because the wall is not flat :) Its effectively plaster as much as
paint.
g'luck
NT
Anna Kettle
>Grunff wrote:
>> big...@meeow.co.uk wrote:
>>
>>I put it on with a trowel, just smearing/wiping the finish flat as
>> > I went. I reckoned it would be quicker than brushing, and it puts a
>> > thick long lasting layer on
<pedant> if you can put it on with a trowel it is lime plaster, not
limewash </pedant> and as there is no aggregate in it will tend to
craze.
For long term durability it is better to make up a creamy consistency,
add pigment if you want, dampen the surface of the furniture with a
sprayer and then work the limewash into the surface with a brush in
several THIN coats, allowing one day between each coat for the
limewash to set. Thats set, not dry. It will look like you are wasting
your time by painting on dirty water, but the colour intensifies as it
sets
>> How long do you have to age it (if at all)?
Minimum one week. One month is better. Or buy a tub of lime putty
instead which is the same thing but already aged and available from
many Jewsons. Whichever you buy, it will be enough to limewash many
many many sets of garden furniture
>> Can you brush/sponge it to get a uniform finish?
Build up uniformity in several thin coats. Limewash becomes much more
intense in colour when it is wet and then returns to a pastel shade
when it dries again
>Brush, sponge, sure, thats the usual way, I just trowlled it on thick
>because the wall is not flat :) Its effectively plaster as much as
>paint.
The pedant retreats into her hole
Grunff
> Minimum one week. One month is better. Or buy a tub of lime putty
> instead which is the same thing but already aged and available from
> many Jewsons. Whichever you buy, it will be enough to limewash many
> many many sets of garden furniture
>
>
>>>Can you brush/sponge it to get a uniform finish?
>
>
> Build up uniformity in several thin coats. Limewash becomes much more
> intense in colour when it is wet and then returns to a pastel shade
> when it dries again
Thanks for all the useful info (both of you!). One thing - I'm thinking
of using this on a concrete block wall (external), not on furniture.
The idea is to close off the pores, make the wall smoother and prettier,
without applying half an inch of sand/cement render. Is this a good
idea/feasible/advisable? If so, same method as above? Different method?
--
Grunff
big...@meeow.co.uk
> Thanks for all the useful info (both of you!). One thing - I'm
thinking
> of using this on a concrete block wall (external), not on furniture.
>
> The idea is to close off the pores, make the wall smoother and
prettier,
> without applying half an inch of sand/cement render. Is this a good
> idea/feasible/advisable? If so, same method as above? Different
method?
>
>
> --
> Grunff
thats exactly what i was doing, and why I trowelled it. It filled the
surface holes, trowelling didnt give a perfect finish, but yes much
improved, and fairly quick. And I love the finish, much nicer than
brilliant white. Its more a soft snowy white.
If it crazed, I've never noticed it. Lime plaster is prone to it, and
is known for cracking and needing retrowelling, which can be done with
no problem. But whatever may have happened on the tiny scale level, it
looks much better anyway.
Lime is not entirely waterproof, but walls rendered with lime actually
survive water and frost damage better than cement renders. Its a bit
more complex than just keeping the rain off.
Some readers might not be aware the many uses of lime are attracting
steadily increasing popularity again. Its remarkable how many things
you can do with it, and how minimally priced it is. I estimated one
could make around a quarter of a ton of lime paint for under a tenner.
NT
Anna Kettle
>Thanks for all the useful info (both of you!). One thing - I'm thinking
>of using this on a concrete block wall (external), not on furniture.
>
>The idea is to close off the pores, make the wall smoother and prettier,
>without applying half an inch of sand/cement render. Is this a good
>idea/feasible/advisable? If so, same method as above? Different method?
Limewash is supposed not to stick too well to concrete [1] so to get
the limewash look with durability some PVA is added to the mix. A
creamy mix will take many coats to get the wall noticeably smoother so
maybe the first coat should be a thicker mix to bung up the holes a
bit. It will look prettier immediately though IMHO that is not
difficult with a concrete block wall
[1] bigcat seems to have achieved it so maybe you should be listening
to him/her
In my earlier instructions I forgot to say that you should regularly
use a stirring stick in your limewash tub as it tends to settle out
Grunff
> thats exactly what i was doing, and why I trowelled it. It filled the
> surface holes, trowelling didnt give a perfect finish, but yes much
> improved, and fairly quick. And I love the finish, much nicer than
> brilliant white. Its more a soft snowy white.
Great, thank you both once again. I'll give this a try this summer.
Should be fun.
--
Grunff
big...@meeow.co.uk
> On Fri, 18 Feb 2005 09:51:43 +0000, Grunff <gru...@ixxa.com> wrote:
>
> >Thanks for all the useful info (both of you!). One thing - I'm
thinking
> >of using this on a concrete block wall (external), not on furniture.
> >
> >The idea is to close off the pores, make the wall smoother and
prettier,
> >without applying half an inch of sand/cement render. Is this a good
> >idea/feasible/advisable? If so, same method as above? Different
method?
>
> Limewash is supposed not to stick too well to concrete [1] so to get
> the limewash look with durability some PVA is added to the mix. A
> creamy mix will take many coats to get the wall noticeably smoother
so
> maybe the first coat should be a thicker mix to bung up the holes a
> bit. It will look prettier immediately though IMHO that is not
> difficult with a concrete block wall
>
> [1] bigcat seems to have achieved it so maybe you should be listening
> to him/her
>
> In my earlier instructions I forgot to say that you should regularly
> use a stirring stick in your limewash tub as it tends to settle out
>
> Anna
What you say is true if you use it like a paint. I used the putty as
is, no thinning, no sand added. I didnt try it but you could probably
turn the bucket upside down, and if righted again quickly I expect
nothing wuold have fallen out. Like this it just takes one wipe with
the trowel, job complete. Its more gloop than paint.
NT
Anna Kettle
>What you say is true if you use it like a paint. I used the putty as
>is, no thinning, no sand added. I didnt try it but you could probably
>turn the bucket upside down, and if righted again quickly I expect
>nothing wuold have fallen out. Like this it just takes one wipe with
>the trowel, job complete. Its more gloop than paint.
Just when I think I know all the ways to use lime, another one appears
out of the woodwork. That'll give me something to talk about at the
Plasterers Ball :)
big...@meeow.co.uk
> On 19 Feb 2005 06:13:54 -0800, big...@meeow.co.uk wrote:
>
> >What you say is true if you use it like a paint. I used the putty as
> >is, no thinning, no sand added. I didnt try it but you could
probably
> >turn the bucket upside down, and if righted again quickly I expect
> >nothing wuold have fallen out. Like this it just takes one wipe with
> >the trowel, job complete. Its more gloop than paint.
>
> Just when I think I know all the ways to use lime, another one
appears
> out of the woodwork. That'll give me something to talk about at the
> Plasterers Ball :)
>
> Anna
:) Sometimes I wonder if there's anything you cant do with lime. You
can use it with eggs as well, for culinary purposes. Heard of that one?
Note to anyone that doesnt know how: dont try it! Until you know what
'it' is. Incorrect uses of lime can be quite dangerous.
And it was used in laundry... it deserves its own thread really.
NT
Anna Kettle
>Note to anyone that doesnt know how: dont try it! Until you know what
>'it' is. Incorrect uses of lime can be quite dangerous.
Quicklime is certainly dangerous but it is actually quite a rare
beast. To get it you set fire to some limestone or chalk. I heard a
story once about some kids playing in the local limekiln who decided
to write their names on the wall of the kiln using the quicklime. They
didn't get beyond the first letter
>And it was used in laundry... it deserves its own thread really.
Whiter than white
big...@meeow.co.uk
> On 20 Feb 2005 05:10:11 -0800, big...@meeow.co.uk wrote:
> >Note to anyone that doesnt know how: dont try it! Until you know
what
> >'it' is. Incorrect uses of lime can be quite dangerous.
>
> Quicklime is certainly dangerous but it is actually quite a rare
> beast. To get it you set fire to some limestone or chalk. I heard a
> story once about some kids playing in the local limekiln who decided
> to write their names on the wall of the kiln using the quicklime.
They
> didn't get beyond the first letter
I gather lime putty is stil quite stongly alkaline, is that true?
NT
Anna Kettle
>I gather lime putty is stil quite stongly alkaline, is that true?
Yes I don't recommend sticking it in your eyes and I always keep
eyewash in a convenient place. Some people say that it attacks your
skin so wear gloves, goggles, protective clothing etc but I reckon
that for sensible adults this is H&S twaddle. Gloves or barrier cream
are sensible cos it dries the skin and cos if you mix it with sand
your hands will get sandpapered until they toughen up
big...@meeow.co.uk
> On 22 Feb 2005 03:33:06 -0800, big...@meeow.co.uk wrote:
>
> >I gather lime putty is stil quite stongly alkaline, is that true?
>
> Yes I don't recommend sticking it in your eyes and I always keep
> eyewash in a convenient place. Some people say that it attacks your
> skin so wear gloves, goggles, protective clothing etc but I reckon
> that for sensible adults this is H&S twaddle. Gloves or barrier cream
> are sensible cos it dries the skin and cos if you mix it with sand
> your hands will get sandpapered until they toughen up
>
> Anna
thanks for the perspective. I plan to do more liming some day, and
wasnt sure what to make of it, ie how cautiously to treat the putty.
NT