Cob: Limewash and milk paints

Wed Nov 17 16:26:29 CST 1999

Recipes for limewash vary throughout Devon, England let alone the UK, Europe, the world... so there's no right answer.
Pure limewashes don't have skimmed milk in them, these are called lime-casein paints as casein is the binding material in skimmed milk.
A traditional limewash is made from mature lime putty and water mixed 1 to 1 with either animal fat (tallow) added into the putty when its slaked or with added raw linseed when mixed.
Raw linseed oil is readily obtained where farming is undertaken.
Earth pigments for colouration are mixed into a paste with warm water and added in to the lmewash as its prepared.
You can make a lime putty by soaking hydrated lime with an excess of water, mixing well and leaving a couple of weeks to fatten up the lime. This is the original method of using hydrated lime rather than as a powder additive.
If you make a lime-casein paint ( with casein or skimmed milk) it requires extra additivers such as borates to dissolve thr casein properly and there is only a limited time for using the paint once prepared as calcium caseinate is precipitated. Skimmed milk is prone to bacteria attack and discolouration on any damp walls or any subject to condensation.
Egg whites are common additives to lime plasters and for some kinds of lime painting as the albumen reacts with lime to form a hard and durable compound. Egg white is used in fresco painting to bind the pigment, often when applied onto freash lime plaster.
We supply ready mixed linseed oil bound limewash but the transport costs overseas usually mean that making your own from locally available hydrated is much cheaper.
We also supply earth pigments for colouration which are typically £3.50 to £6 per kg + transport.
Information on limewashing, lime rendering and lime plastering onto cob is available as printable guide sheets from our webiste www.mikewye.co.uk adn I hope this is useful.
Mike 
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Recipes for limewash vary throughout Devon, England 
let alone the UK, Europe, the world... so there's no right answer.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Pure limewashes don't have skimmed milk in them, 
these are called lime-casein paints as casein is the binding material in skimmed 
milk.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>A traditional limewash is made from mature lime 
putty and water mixed 1 to 1 with either animal fat (tallow) added into the 
putty when its slaked or with added raw linseed when mixed.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Raw linseed oil is readily obtained where farming 
is undertaken.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Earth pigments for colouration are mixed into a 
paste with warm water and added in to the lmewash as its prepared.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>You can make a lime putty by soaking hydrated lime 
with an excess of water, mixing well and leaving a couple of weeks to fatten up 
the lime. This is the original method of using hydrated lime rather</FONT><FONT 
face=Arial size=2> than as a powder additive.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>If you make a lime-casein paint ( with casein or 
skimmed milk) it requires extra additivers such as borates to dissolve thr 
casein properly and there is only a limited time for using the paint once 
prepared as calcium caseinate is precipitated. Skimmed milk is prone to bacteria 
attack and discolouration on any damp walls or any subject to 
condensation.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Egg whites are common additives to lime plasters 
and for some kinds of lime painting as the albumen reacts with lime to form a 
hard and durable compound. Egg white is used in fresco painting to bind the 
pigment, often when applied onto freash lime plaster.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>We supply ready mixed linseed oil bound limewash 
but the transport costs overseas usually mean that making your own from locally 
available hydrated is much cheaper.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>We also supply earth pigments for colouration which 
are typically £3.50 to £6 per kg + transport.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Information on limewashing, lime rendering and lime 
plastering onto cob is available as printable guide sheets from our webiste <A 
href="http://www.mikewye.co.uk">www.mikewye.co.uk</A> adn I hope this is 
useful.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Mike</FONT> </DIV></BODY></HTML>

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