Milk of Lime Concentrate for fresco plaster and pigments – 1 pint

Description

1 pint of filtered Milk of Lime Concentrate (35-55% solids) Makes upto 1 gallon of Limewater for fresco paints and fresco plasters (improves adhesion between layers).

Milk of lime is also known by a number of other generic terms, such as lime slurry, whitewash and limewater. Milk of lime is made by mixing calcium oxide (CaO) with water in an exothermic reaction known as lime slaking: CaO + H2O → Ca(OH)2

This reaction initially produces a hydrated lime or slaked lime ( Slaked Lime Putty). Continuing to add water allows for the liquid solution known as milk of lime to be produced. Essentially Milk of Lime is a suspension of Calcium Hydroxide [Ca(OH)2] in water. This suspension of Ca(OH)2 usually contains between 15% and 35% Ca(OH)2 by weight of solids.

Directions:

for fresco paints preparation:

• add to 1 gallon of water and shake for a few minutes
• let it sit at room temperature for a few hours (keep shaking every now and then)
• Let it sit overnight, the excess lime will separate and settle down at the bottom
• carefully pour Clear Limewater off the top into a separate container.
• whatever lime is left you can mix into plaster

For your convenience FrescoShop.com offers ready to use fully saturated Limewater solution

for fresco plaster – use in place of water to moisten plaster prior to application of consecutive layer:

• empty into 1 to 2 gallon of water and mix thoroughly
• apply with brush or spray bottle to plaster prior to application of consecutive layer

Yes, you can use regular Slaked Lime Putty to make Milk of Lime.

In fresco painting, pigments are ground into paste and diluted with Clear Limewater from Milk of Lime on the day of painting. If limewater is “milky” – wait for it to settle down. Use only the clear portion or your colors will whitewash. Fresco Paints prepared on Milk of Lime begin to calcify as soon as mixed. For best result and clarity of color, paints should be used right away (on the same day).

When using Limewater, Fresco School advises to prepare a new batch of colors (paints) every 4-5 hours of painting. Pigments can be ground with distilled water into paste/dispersion and stored indefinitely, then mixed into paints with Limewater from Milk of Lime as needed.  A detailed tutorial on Fresco Pigments & Paints is part of FS Membership.

Read more on Lime Water and Milk of Lime.