How to Whitewash Walls

Making Whitewash

• 1

  Start by making a creamy paste from 5 pounds of calcium hydroxide (also called hydrated lime) with about 2 gallons of water and let it sit over night. (This water and lime mixture will combine and form what is known as 'slaked lime' - which is the basis of house plaster).

• 2

  At the same time, make a salt-water solution by mixing 5 pounds of salt with 2 gallons of water.

• 3

  After setting up overnight, pour off any excess water from the lime and water mixture then add salt water to achieve a 'pancake batter' like consistency.

• 4

  Mix the two solutions slowly and add the salt water to the slaked lime. You can always make the mixture thinner by adding more water, but you can't thicken it by adding more calcium hydroxide.

• 5

  Test your mixture by applying it to a piece of paper that can be dried quickly. If it's too thick it will dry looking coarse and granular.

• 6

  Color your whitewash (if you want), by adding pigments that aren't affected by lime. A light yellow color comes from adding yellow ochre, and iron oxides can produce reddish or brownish tones.

Applying whitewash to your walls.

• 7

  Allow your whitewash mixture to set up overnight before your begin 'painting'.

• 8

  Whitewash is more commonly applied to external walls, but it can be used on inside surfaces as well. It works well on plaster or adobe type walls where it actually forms a thin plaster layer that bonds to the underlying surface.

• 9

  Before beginning to white wash, clean the wall surface to remove any marks or grease. Whitewash won't cover these marks, and they will show through your finished surface.

• 10

  Be sure to cover your floors well, the lime in the whitewash will stain them.

• 11

  Wet the wall surface (to help the whitewash spread) and then apply the whitewash using a wide paintbrush.

• 12

  Use the tips of the bristles and apply a thick coat of whitewash. Don't bend the brush (as you do when applying paint), use a more free flowing arm motion. (Whitewash is thick and it doesn't go on as easily or smoothly as normal paint).

• 13

  Whitewash will often appear blotchy when you are applying it, but it will dry to a brilliant white color by the next day.