Tranquil

You can paint a lot of different surfaces with Bauwerk Colour Lime Paints, some can be painted with very minimal preparation, some require a few more steps before you can apply our paint.

BAUWERK Limewash paints are perfect for all masonry surfaces, like render, bricks, mud brick, strawbale that’s where it works best as it is absorbed into the wall leaving a breathable surface that is protected by the natural properties of the paint. However it’s also ok if your walls are already painted or are made of gyprock / drywall / plasterboard or plaster.

If your wall is already painted or are made of gyprock / drywall / plasterboard or plaster.
It is very important that your walls are correctly primed, as Limewash and Prep Coat will not mask what is on your wall, for example, inconsistent materials like the join lines of where the plasterboards meets, or any fillers or patches that are on the wall – to ensure that no ghosting of these inconsistencies comes through to your final finish.
Step 1. First apply 2 coats of a good quality water based drywall / plasterboard / gyprock primer, to ensure an even absorbency across the wall surface.
Step 2. Apply 1 coat of our BAUWERK Prep Coat by roller, especially formulated to make limewashing easier and more durable on previously painted walls.
Step 3. Apply Limewash by brush 2-3 coats, however you like it best. We find 2 coats is usually enough.

Do I need BAUWERK Prep Coat?

We have especially developed our Prep Coat as a bridge coat between standard paint and primers to make limewash more durable, and easy to apply.
BAUWERK Prep Coat is not a primer.
It is important to understand that BAUWERK Limewash and Prep Coat have no capacity to mask what is on your wall, it allows all the history and the materials of the wall to come through.

Natural walls such as unpainted render, brick, stone, masonry, mud brick, etc. Do not require any undercoat or primer, limewash can be applied directly to the wall.
Dampen walls sufficiently with water, prior to painting the first coat to ensure the paint is spread out thinly. First coat can be applied as soon as surface is ready – no curing time needed.

Previously painted render, brick, stone, masonry, mud brick. Carry out any surface repair and remove all dust and loose particles. No undercoat required. Sand well if previous paint has any gloss level. Previously painted masonry internal walls with an inconsistent wall finish or gloss finish – you can apply 1 coat of BAUWERK Prep Coat to create a more uniform finish.

Some Tips about wether your painted wall needs a primer:

1 Check absorbency of the surface
Most important is that the surface has some ability to absorb the paint as lime wash paints always look for a surface it can penetrate into.
If you are not sure if your surface has some absorbency you can do a quick and easy test with clean water: if the water is absorbed, so will be the paint. If the water is rejected we have to create an absorbent surface first.

2 Check if the surface has absorbency differences
Most surfaces will naturally have some differences in absorbency. Most are ok, but some you may not like to see through the finished paint work:
- the outlines of plasterboard (gyprock)panels
- spot repairs done with fillers or in a prominent part of the wall
- filled up channels for electrical cables or plumbing pipes

If you do not want to see such repairs it is necessary to equalise the absorbency across the entire surface, otherwise they might ''ghost'' through after painting. Follow our Application guidelines to fix such surfaces.

Surfaces such as newly rendered walls, natural stone, mud bricks, rammed earth, even canvas, can be painted directly. You can add clean water to the surface before the first application in cases of high absorbency. Never thin the paint for that purpose!

BAUWERK Limewash paints are perfect for all masonry surfaces, like render, bricks, mud brick, strawbale that’s where it works best as it is absorbed into the wall leaving a breathable surface that is protected by the natural properties of the paint. However it’s also ok if your walls are already painted or are made of gyprock / drywall / plasterboard or plaster.

If your wall is already painted or are made of gyprock / drywall / plasterboard or plaster.
It is very important that your walls are correctly primed, as Limewash and Prep Coat will not mask what is on your wall, for example, inconsistent materials like the join lines of where the plasterboards meets, or any fillers or patches that are on the wall – to ensure that no ghosting of these inconsistencies comes through to your final finish.
Step 1. First apply 2 coats of a good quality water based drywall / plasterboard / gyprock primer, to ensure an even absorbency across the wall surface.
Step 2. Apply 1 coat of our BAUWERK Prep Coat by roller, especially formulated to make limewashing easier and more durable on previously painted walls.
Step 3. Apply Limewash by brush 2-3 coats, however you like it best. We find 2 coats is usually enough.

How much paint you require for different surfaces depends on the nature of your surface.
Generally, if you paint on top of BAUWERK Prep Coat, 1 liter of limewash paint will cover 6m2. Usually two coats are sufficient.
If you paint over new render, 1 liter of Lime wash paint will cover between 7-10m2 per coat, depending on the surface texture and level of absorbency.

A simple maintenance coat on top of previous lime wash paint application will cover around 10-12m2 with 1 liter of paint.

We have application guides for the most common surfaces.

Here you find limewash application guides for internal surfaces.
Here you find our limewash paint application guides for external surfaces.

Q. How durable is BAUWERK Limewash?

If you are painting natural surfaces such as render or brick our paints are wonderfully durable as they are absorbed into the wall. If you are painting our paints on already painted or sealed walls, they are not as scrubbable as other paints. Because our paints are made from natural materials, they are not made to be indestructible, it is part of the beautiful natural qualities of the paint. However they are perfectly durable enough and have been used in thousands of homes all over the world. We work with nature to make paints that are good for the environment including your home environment, many standard paints have a toxic mix of chemicals such as biocides, plastics and heavy metals to make them function as paints that stick to your wall, and make it possible to scrub them. With natural antibacterial qualities, our paints are suitable for a high humidity environment. We have especially developed our BAUWERK Prep Coat as a bridge coat between standard paint and primers to make limewash more durable, and easy to apply. 

When building or renovating, schedule BAUWERK painting to be the last trade.

The paint should be touch dry in a short period. It will cure for about two weeks.

Sealer or protective coats do contain a lot of chemicals that we try to avoid, often change the appearance and do get damaged regardless. i.e once a wall is sealed it becomes harder to repair.

We believe a better solution is to use the lime wash paint and when desired apply another quick coat.

 Limewash has its own perfectly ‘’Imperfect’’ look, and in painting it out will add to the character and patinated look. Usually only one coat is applied at a time and that takes only a few minutes.The paint dries quickly and is fume and smell free.

As a design tip for future projects, where you have the chance to influence the wall substrate: 
The ideal lime wash substrate is a lime or (in high traffic areas) a cement based render . We found those to be the most resilient and long lasting finishes. The same goes for concrete or brick walls. For those substrates the paint is applied directly, without the need for primers or Prep-Coat. Such wall finishes are also a zero VOC finish.

If you covered up all surfaces that you did not want to come into contact with the paint, then you wont have much clean up to do.

Clean up with water, you can add a little bit of soap, or if you had a larger spillage you can also use some diluted vinegar (test your surface first). Most non-absorbent surfaces you can wipe the paint off with a lint free white piece of cloth.

Your brushes and stirring tools wash out with water. The run-off is safe for your drainage system or your garden, it will not pollute the environment nor damge or clog up your septic system.

As with all paints store away safely from reach of children.
Limewash paint is alkaline and can irritate your skin or eyes. Please protect yourself with barrier cream or gloves and wear eye protection.