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For Architects + Designers

What Is Limewash? A Guide to Lime Paint

Limewash is the oldest way to paint a wall in southern Spain, and still one of the best. It is a mineral paint: instead of laying a plastic film over the wall, lime bonds with it and hardens with the CO₂ in the air. The result is a soft, matte finish with the gentle tonal movement of Andalusia's white villages, on a wall that keeps breathing.

What limewash is

Limewash is made from slaked lime: limestone that has been burned and hydrated. Once applied, the lime reacts with carbon dioxide in the air and turns back into calcium carbonate, the stone it came from. It doesn't dry like a latex paint. It cures into the surface over its first 30 days.

OxiGen™ Limewash is Origen Paints' limewash: artisanal lime from southern Spain, formulated by chemist Antonio León and made in El Viso del Alcor, near Seville.

Why choose limewash

  • The wall keeps breathing. Highly breathable (Sd < 0.03 m, class V1 under EN 1062-1): water vapor escapes instead of being trapped behind the paint, which helps prevent condensation on cold walls.
  • It doesn't peel. It bonds without forming a film, so over the years it weathers into a patina instead of flaking.
  • A mineral matte finish with soft, natural variation that latex paint can't give.
  • Very low VOC: under 1 g/L (ISO 11890-2). No solvents, no microplastics.

Where to use it

Interior walls and exterior façades, new construction and repaints: concrete, cement stucco, plaster, gypsum, brick, prefabricated panels and other mineral surfaces. Not for surfaces in permanent contact with water. In bathrooms and kitchens, protect it with TerraGen™ PU Water-Repellent, which repels liquid water but reduces the finish's breathability.

How to apply limewash

  1. Prepare the surface: dry, clean, free of dust and salts. New mineral surfaces need at least 28 days of cure. Remove old film-forming paint.
  2. Thin it: stir well and add 5–10% clean water by weight (about 9–19 fl oz per gallon).
  3. Apply two even coats by brush, roller or spray (three on exposed façades). Two thin coats are better than one heavy coat.
  4. Recoat after 2–4 hours at 77 °F and 60% RH.
  5. Let it cure: protect exteriors from rain for at least 4 days, and don't wash or scrub for 30 days.

Coverage: about 180–220 sq ft per gallon for a finished two-coat system. Apply between 41 °F and 104 °F, out of direct sun. Full details in the Technical Data Sheet and the Application Guide.

Colors and the cloud effect

Lime is white by nature. Limewash White gives the classic lime white; Limewash Color comes in a curated selection of Harmony colors, made only with light-stable mineral pigments. For a soft, dimensional cloud effect, apply it over OxiGen™ Primer Plus with a large limewash brush. Being a mineral finish, the final tone may vary slightly from the sample: always test on site.

FAQ

Can I limewash over latex paint?

Not directly: latex forms a film that blocks the wall from breathing, and lime won't bond to it well. Remove it, or ask us which primer fits your wall.

How long does limewash last?

Limewash doesn't peel, it weathers. On a well-prepared wall it lasts for years and is refreshed with a new coat over the old one.

Is it safe to handle?

Lime is strongly alkaline (pH 13): wear gloves and eye protection, and read the label and SDS before use.

Order samples to see the finish in person, or ask us about your wall.