Example Limewash Projects in Federal Way

Scope of work

A scaffold tower in the stair hall; masking of the treads, handrail, balusters, trim and window; light sanding and cleaning of the acrylic finish; the undercoat; two brushed coats, with two painters on the tall wall; clean-up and the tower taken down.

Project overview

In this example, the stair hall is painted with an acrylic sold as a “limewash look”. It has dried streaky and a little shiny, and the owners want the real thing.

Paint like that is still acrylic paint, so the walls are treated like any painted wall, with a light sanding and the undercoat the lime needs. Most of the time goes into the tall wall beside the stairs, which two painters brush together from a tower.

The goal

The goal is a soft oatmeal stair hall with real lime movement from the front door to the upstairs hall, and no streaks or shine left.

Process

1. Before work Boards in oatmeal and soft white, set on the landing and checked morning and evening.
2. Day one Tower up; treads, handrail and window masked; walls lightly sanded and cleaned.
3. Day two Undercoat on all walls.
4. Day three First coat, starting on the tall wall beside the stairs.
5. Day four Second coat in the same order.
6. Day five Touch-ups, masking off and the tower down.

Planning right

• Many paints sold as a “limewash look” are acrylic and breathe like ordinary paint. The binder is listed on the product’s safety data sheet if you want to check.
• Whatever the label says, a painted wall needs the right undercoat before real lime goes on.
• Wet lime is caustic, so the treads and handrail are covered and any splash is wiped at once.
• The landing window throws side light along the wall, so the boards are checked in that light.

Scope of work

TV off the wall; light sanding and cleaning of the eggshell paint; the undercoat; two brushed coats of warm white, and a third where the charcoal still shadows through; masking of the niche shelves, console and floor.

Project overview

In this example, the TV wall is painted charcoal as an accent, and against the light floors and sofas it now reads as a dark hole. The owners want it warm white, with the soft texture of lime instead of flat paint.

Fresh lime is semi-transparent until it dries, so a dark wall underneath can show through a pale color. A board painted the same charcoal, then undercoated and limewashed, shows whether two coats are enough or a third is needed.

The goal

The goal is a warm white TV wall with soft lime movement and no charcoal showing through, so the whole family room feels lighter.

Process

1. Before work A board painted charcoal, undercoated, then brushed with two and three coats of warm white.
2. Day one TV down, masking, light sanding and the undercoat.
3. Day two First and second coats, the second once the first has dried.
4. Day three, if needed A third coat where the charcoal still shows.

Planning right

• Warm white over charcoal can look gray after the first coat. Judge the color only once the last coat is fully dry.
• The estimate allows for a third coat. If the board shows two are enough, that day drops out.
• Check the boards with the niche light on as well as off. Light shining down a wall picks out brush marks.

Scope of work

A water test across the wall to find where the sealer still holds; cleaning and degreasing; a primer made for sealed or dense brick; two brushed coats; protection of the floor, cabinets and ceiling.

Project overview

In this example, the brick carries an old clear gloss sealer. It has yellowed, and water beads on it, so plain limewash would not soak in. The owners want the wall pale but still clearly brick.

Drops of water show where the sealer still holds. Where water sits on the surface, the brick takes a primer made for sealed brick first, and then two coats of a pale gray-white.

The goal

The goal is a pale gray-white brick wall with no yellow cast, where every brick and joint still shows.

Process

1. Before work Water drops across the wall, and a board primed and brushed in pale gray-white.
2. Day one Protection, cleaning and degreasing, and the primer where the sealer holds.
3. Day two Pale gray-white brushed on in two coats, then clean-up.

Planning right

• Spray the brick with water for a minute or two. If it soaks in, no primer is needed there. If it beads, that part needs one.
• Some old sealers contain silicone, and lime cannot go over those at all. A small test patch shows this before the job is booked.
• Brick indoors hardens more slowly than brick outside and can feel chalky at first. Avoid rubbing it for the first weeks.

Scope of work

Work from closing time each evening; stock moved to the middle of the floor and covered; light sanding and cleaning; the undercoat; two brushed coats; the shop aired and cleared for opening each morning; a clear matte sealer on the rail wall several days after the last coat.

Project overview

In this example, the shop walls are scuffed eggshell paint and the owner wants a soft clay color with more life in it. The shop cannot close for days, so every step happens after closing time.

Each evening covers one step, and the floor is cleared and swept before morning. The rail wall, where clothes and shoulders brush past, gets a clear matte sealer on a later evening, several days after the last coat.

The goal

The goal is a calm clay-colored shop with soft movement on every wall, finished without losing a single opening hour.

Process

1. Two weeks before Boards in pale clay, checked under the shop lights after closing.
2. Evening one Stock moved and covered, walls lightly sanded and cleaned.
3. Evening two Undercoat.
4. Evening three First coat of pale clay.
5. Evening four Second coat and clean-up.
6. Several days later Clear matte sealer on the rail wall after closing.

Planning right

• The sealer goes only on the rail wall. The other walls stay plain lime, which is fine where nobody brushes past.
• Fresh lime hardens slowly as it takes in air. Rails and hangers go back up with care, and nothing leans on the walls for the first days.
• Federal Way’s permit exemption for painting is written for homes. For a shop, check with the city first.