Hot Lime Wash
Lime wash, we have learnt these last few years is best when applied hot, therefore the lime is slaked on site and put on straight away.
Preparation of the wall:
Brush any loose particles off, the base needs to be firm. Wet the wall before applying the lime wash. If lime washing externally, it should be done between May and early September, it needs to be above 6 degrees for a minimum of 6 weeks. It should be left to carbonate slowly, therefore it shouldn’t be done on really hot days or windy days. Internally don’t have the wood burner on!
Wear eye protection and wear some gloves, if you do get lime in your eyes use eye wash, if this doesn’t solve it go to A&E.
Mixing & application:
Put two measures of water in a metal bucket followed by one measure of quick lime,( the same size measure) let the heat start, then add enough water to make it into a consistency similar to Greek yogurt/ milk, brush on the wall straight away, it will look grey when you are putting it on, but it will be white the following morning! If it goes on thick brush it down until it is thin on the wall, if it is put on thick it will flake off. Use a wall paper paste brush doing the brushing of the limewash in circles.
The wall ideally should have 3 coats done on 3 days, not necessarily on consecutive days, but not two coats on the same day. Wet the wall before each coat and leave it approx. 5 minutes before applying the lime.
Pigments:
Pigments can be added to the lime wash, this is added just before applying the lime to the wall. The difficult part is knowing how much of the dye to add, if you have 1 measure of lime today and the correct measure of water and 40 grammes of dye and do the same tomorrow, it’s not guaranteed to be the same!