Emulsion paint over distemper/limewash

sue_balu

I hope someone can advise me?
I have a stone internal wall in my kitchen (no damp proof course - cottage over 200 yrs old) so in the past we tried distemper finish but that rubbed off on clothes if you brushed past it. Then we tried limewash which soon flaked off. These finishes were used to allow the moisture content to vary naturally.
We now want to try an old fashioned (not plastic) emulsion paint.

Does anyone know if it will adhere to a surface that has previously been distempered and limewashed?

Is there something we could use as a base to help adhesion? We dont want to "seal" it with any nasty chemicals, as we need it to "breathe"

Any suggestions gratefully received!

Mikeyorks

sue_balu wrote:

Does anyone know if it will adhere to a surface that has previously been distempered and limewashed?

In short - 'No, it won't'.

I'm not an expert. But have a lot of experience of my 400 year old farmhouse, that came inches thick in limewash.

You have to scrape / brush off the loose stuff first - and then stabilise the surface, before applying anything other than a repeat of limewash / distemper.

If you were papering - you can stabilise it with a couple of coats of PVA. Then you apply lining paper horizontally - to reduce the overall tension that simply wallpapering vertically generates.

But I'd never recommend PVA under emulsion - so you need something a bit different. Unsure of the cost - but this site appears to fit both your needs and empathy with the structure of your cottage?

http://www.earthbornpaints.co.uk/products/interior/index.htm

In particular look at the 'Wall Glaze' which can allegedly be used either / both as a stabiliser and a protective overcoat to paint. And the 'Claypaint' might be a suitable alternative to emulsion, depending on colour / price?

Stockists in Wales:-

http://www.earthbornpaints.co.uk/stockists/ind_stockists_wales.html

Hope that's in line with your thinking?

sue_balu

Thank You Mikeyorks

Its good to hear that someone else has had to deal with similar issues.
I love my house but it certainly challenges my very meagre DIY skills - non-existant really!

I do like the sound of the earthborn products and yes do seem to fit with what we are trying to achieve here.
I'll read it all thoroughly and report back in case others might be interested.
Cheers
Sue

Mikeyorks

Yes I've spent many an (un)happy hour scraping / scrubbing and washing limewash off. The ochre coloured layers (the green and blue not too bad!) were the worst - my hands / arms looked as though they had spent 10 years in the Caribbean sun for weeks afterwards.

But the plaster was such (dados and picture rails added / removed probably several times by previous owners) that wallpaper was really the only suitable final cover. The lounge had a big wood burner (brilliant but dusty things - let no one tell you differently) we put in, so the sensible thing there was always a paper that could be emulsioned over.

But the entrance hall / staircase was the DIY killer - taking 22 rolls of paper. My wife was talking to a chap taking his dog for a walk past the house a few weeks later - and he mentioned he'd done some work on the house several years earlier. 'Papered that staircase - never want one like that again'! I think, until then, she just thought I was whingeing!

Be assured - your DIY skills will necessarily increase. I'm getting to the stage now where I'm letting the Bank balance decrease instead. But getting the professionals (?) in when you need them - is just as hard as doing it yourself?