Fine Lime Paste or Marmorino, Plaster and Limewash for Walls or Ceilings

Limewash is a decorative wall finish, made from lime and water with a few additives, used to colour walls and create graphic effects.

Before applying limewash, you must first ensure the quality of the substrate. A friable, porous, water-repellent or damaged substrate should not be limewashed. The substrate must be smooth and even.

If the substrate is a plaster coating, plasterboard or drywall, a coat of bonding primer must first be applied. As its name suggests, this allows the limewash to block the substrate and adhere to the surface. Then leave to dry and remove any dust.

Next, the substrate is first dampened, then the limewash is applied coat by coat with a wide brush, sponge or spalter brush, alternating horizontal and vertical coats.

Aesthetic effects can be created, such as tone-on-tone shades, cloudy effects or marbled effects, by applying a lighter coat after a darker coat, or vice versa.

To limewash a wall, aerial or hydraulic lime can be used, either in powder or paste form.

Aerial lime, based on calcium oxide and calcium hydroxide, differs from hydraulic lime, which is based on aluminates, silicates and calcium hydroxide.

Aerial lime dries slowly on contact with air and undergoes a carbonation process, whereas hydraulic lime sets quickly.

To limewash a wall, aerial or hydraulic lime can be used, either in powder or paste form.

Aerial lime, based on calcium oxide and calcium hydroxide, differs from hydraulic lime, which is based on aluminates, silicates and calcium hydroxide.

Aerial lime dries slowly on contact with air and undergoes a carbonation process, whereas hydraulic lime sets quickly.

Lime milk

Lime milk is made up of 1 volume of lime for 10 volumes of water. A certain percentage of pigment is added in relation to the volume of lime, depending on the desired colour. For example, for 100 grams of lime and 10% pigment, 10 grams of pigment would be added. A few drops of black soap are also added, acting as a wetting agent. It can be diluted further to obtain a patina.

Simple limewash

Simple limewash is made up of 1 volume of lime for 2 volumes of water, to which a percentage of pigment and a touch of black soap are added, along with approximately 2% casein or vinyl binder in relation to the weight of the lime.

Textured limewash

Textured limewash is made up of 1 volume of lime, plus 20% of its weight in Meudon white, 10% talc, and approximately 20% pigment depending on the desired colour. A fixative, casein or vinyl binder can also be added at 10% of the weight of the lime. This type of limewash is mainly used outdoors.

Lime plaster is a mixture of lime, in powder or paste form, and sand.

If hydraulic lime is used, the plaster will dry faster than with aerial lime.

Mix approximately 1 volume of lime with 3 to 5 volumes of sand.

It is then applied in 3 coats:

• The first coat is applied directly to the substrate and covers its irregularities, such as brick or stone.
• The second coat, also known as the “levelling coat”, is applied over the first after one week of drying and creates a flat surface.
• The third coat, much finer, is applied 3 weeks after the second. Pigments can be added — 10 to 20% of the lime weight — to modify the colour of the finish, along with a little black soap to help distribute the pigment more evenly.

A lime wall has many advantages:

• it has a beautiful appearance and can be tinted according to taste — Marius Aurenti offers it in 56 shades
• it allows the interior space to “breathe” thanks to its micropores
• it therefore acts as a humidity regulator
• it acts as a sanitising agent, preventing micro-organisms from developing and damaging the wall
• it is strong and durable
• a lime wall is a good thermal and acoustic insulator
• outdoors, lime plaster protects the wall from bad weather
• used since Antiquity, it is a reliable construction material, rooted in tradition

Marmorino is a plaster a few millimetres thick, made from a mixture of lime, marble powder, pigments and water. It has a glossy, naturally marbled and luxurious appearance.

It is also known as stucco marmorino, literally marble stucco.

Its origins date back to Antiquity — it has already been found in Pompeii — but especially to the golden age of the Republic of Venice in the 17th century, where it was used as a façade coating for majestic palaces.

Marmorino is applied to a wall coat by coat, after the substrate — which must be homogeneous — has been thoroughly dampened.

The craftsman uses a stainless steel smoothing trowel for this, or, to obtain a floated effect, a polystyrene or sponge float.

Marmorino can be used as a wall coating both indoors and outdoors.

Lime paste slightly improves the acoustic insulation of walls thanks to its porosity and its ability to absorb part of the sound, but its performance remains limited without the addition of specific aggregates. For optimal sound insulation, it is recommended to combine it with complementary natural materials such as hemp or linen.