James Alexander 

Limewash Paint

- The Mineral Wall Finish  

With a light and easily applied viscosity, James Alexander Limewash Paint is a natural and traditional wall finish thats based on mineral limestone. It's applied with a large block style brush and provides a soft and mottled matte flat finish, evocative of hand plastered walls. 


Authentic limewash adds unmatched dimension and depth of color along with nuanced texture without surface build. It tends to enhance the appearance of surrounding room decor and serves as an affordable upgrade.

What is Limewash

Limewash paint is is a natural finish made from crushed limestone and has a history dating at least back to Roman times. In the process, the crushed stones are burned and then water is added to the mineral lime. The material is aged in water. Mineral pigments are then added for color.


When the limewash paint is applied, it begins the process of carbonation where the limewash paint absorbs and captures carbon dioxide from the air and actually uses it to cure into a limestone finish on your walls! This is called the lime cycle and the curing process. It takes days or weeks even to fully cure, depending on the moisture content of the surrounding air. The curing process of CO2 absorption is the primary mechanism which helps natural lime paints improve interior air quality. 


While there are specialised techniques employed by high level decorators, limewash can be applied by novices and is a rewarding wall decorating method. Due to the brushed application, the finish is unique and personal to the applicator.


Painting With Limewash

FAQ's

Our limewash is naturally compatible to most porous masonry, wood, or plaster wall surfaces without a primer. For other surfaces, you will need to apply Lime-Prep Primer to create a compatible mineral substrate for the limewash to "grab" onto. In addition to providing better adhesion, Lime-Prep primer also helps to produce a more accurate color finish. Lime-Prep is for interior surfaces only.

Densifier is a water based, mix-in binder additive that makes interior limewash applications cure to a finish that is more typical in performance to a flat water based wall paint. It will still have the visual movement, texture, and finish of our pure limewash. Densifier reduces the inherent chalky surface finish for areas of wall that may be touched. This is especially helpful to create a practical limewash finish in higher use areas such as hallways, bathrooms and other living areas. Our sealer can be applied over a densified limewash finish for an additional level of protection.

Our interior sealer is a very flat finish with exceptionally low sheen. It allows the surface to be wipeable. There will be a slight sheen increase from using sealer. If you want the surface as flat/matte as possible, adding a sealer may not be desirable. Another benefit of not sealing is that you can touch-up with no prep (if you need to touch up after applying sealer, you will need to apply Lime-Prep primer to the surface before completing the touch-up application). Finally, a consideration is that with deeper colors, the sealer can alter the appearance of the color. If you decide to use sealer, always test in an inconspicuous area before applying to the whole surface to ensure that the visual appearance of the sealer on limewash is acceptable for your project.

The sealer allows walls to become wipeable but we would not consider it a washable surface. Limewash paints do not create a plastic film as acrylics do so they do not allow for the same level of scrubbing without damage. An alternative care method is to not seal the walls and occasionally apply a new coat of limewash as it does apply rather quickly compared to standard paints.
While we don’t recommend roller or sprayer applications in most circumstances, some production level applications may benefit from using specialized methods or equipment for faster applications. Please contact us if you have any questions for a larger project and are considering application methods.
James Alexander Limewash Paints are made in the United States. We currently sell exclusively direct-to-customer via our website and online shopping channels. We provide free shipping within our sales area (48 contiguous United States) and provide prompt fulfillment and expedited shipping options. See shipping policy for further information.
You can to many wall surfances after proper preparation. If the surface is glossy or a known difficult surface to apply paint, you will likely need to apply a “bridging primer” before applying Lime-Prep mineral primer. There are several readily available products that will work for this application. The “bridging primer” should be a primer that is intended to prime “difficult to adhere to” surfaces and is suitable for a water based paint coating over the primer. After applying the bridging primer, you will be able to apply the Lime-Prep Primer and will then be able to paint with James Alexander Limewash. Please feel free to contact us if you'd like advice with prep.
Limewash is a mineral finish, unlike like a standard film-forming paint so a thick application is the opposite of what is required with this finish. You will want the limewash to absorb into the surface, whether that is the mineral Lime-Prep primer or a mineral masonry substrate, but it will perform poorly if it's applied too heavily. Limewash painting is more like staining and less like traditional painting. A thick coating will weaken the finish and can cause cracking of the limewash finish. Always apply thin!
Limewash creates a mottled color and is a naturally plaster-like uneven finish so touching up very small areas can often work quite easily. Larger areas of touch-up may require a recoat of the wall with limewash to reduce a patched-in appearance. Make sure that if you sealed your limewash, that you apply Lime-Prep at your touch-up area before applying limewash. You can touch-up over Densified limewash without applying primer first. It is a good idea to test your method in an inconspicuous area before touching up in a more visible location. If you have questions, you can always contact us for tips.
Coverage rates will range depending on the porosity of the surface. Generally, a gallon of Limewash Paint (and Lime-Prep Primers) will provide approximately 250-350 square feet of coverage. Quarts typically will provide 75 square feet. Coverage rates are determined using two coats as a standard. If coverage rates are much lower than expected, the surface may be absorbing too much material and should be misted with water immediately prior to limewash application to reduce excess limwash absorption.

Yes, all of our products are water based and are water-clean-up.

With standard paints, VOC (volatile organic compound) emissions occur during paint application and the drying process, and may continue to off-gas even years after application.


It's important to note that even paint labeled as "Low VOC" can emit VOCs, as they are only required to contain less than 50g/l of VOCs, and may still include intentionally added VOC-containing chemicals. Conversely, "Zero VOC" paints must contain less than 5g/l of VOCs, with no intentional addition of VOCs, although trace amounts may be present as residual components of other ingredients.


But what exactly do we mean by trace amounts of VOCs? According to the Federal Trade Commission's guidance on zero-VOC claims, this refers to VOCs that have not been intentionally added to the product and do not cause material harm that consumers typically associate with VOCs. Additionally, the level of trace VOCs must be no more than that which is found as a trace contaminant or background level in the ambient air.


Our limewash and mineral pigments naturally fall under the zero VOC category.


We are committed to providing you with eco-friendly, low-VOC and zero-VOC paints that are designed to enhance your indoor air quality without sacrificing quality or performance. 

Yes! One or two applications of various dilution ratios will create a translucent finish. James Alexander Limewash can be diluted with water up to 300 percent of volume to create a nearly transparent wash effect. This is a standard dilution ratio for wood-wash finishes. Wax pastes or water based polyurethanes are sometimes used for protective topcoats in these decorative applications.

Authentic Limewash Paint is a natural mineral finish and is not film-forming, therefore you should not attempt to clean limewash walls. The finish is naturally mottled and irregular so you will likely find that limewash will look great without the need to clean. A light touch-up coat every so often refreshes the wall. Using a Densifier within the limewash will make the surface more durable to very light wiping with water and a lint-free cloth (and we strongly recommend using this product in your final application coat of limewash walls that will be touched) but this should be avoided if possible. A topcoat of James Alexander Matte Sealer over Densified limewash on surfaces that may be splashed allow for light wiping with water and a lint-free cloth. Limewash should not be used on surfaces that will require regular cleaning.
Our primers and sealers cannot be used for high-temperature applications such as fireplaces. All James Alexander Limewash Paint is non-flammable and is a “heat-resistant” finish. This means that it will not catch on fire, however, it is not designed to be exposed to open flame or high heat specifically. You can use it indirectly close to flame but it should not be directly exposed to open flame.
While we do not offer custom colors, mixing two or more of our limewash colors can create a custom color blend. All James Alexander Limewash colors are compatible for blending together to create custom colors.