LimeWash
traditional Eco-friendly Paint
Brief history
Long before synthetic coatings dominated modern stores, limewash served as humanity’s original mineral finish, born from heating natural limestone and slaking it with water. This ancient technique stretches back thousands of years—coating sacred Egyptian tombs, brightening classical Greek facades, and lining the villa walls of imperial Rome. Valued through the centuries as both a weather shield and a natural antiseptic against mold, it became a staple of rural European farmhouses and Mediterranean coastal towns.
Unlike modern paints that form an impermeable plastic film, limewash sinks directly into porous stone, brick, and lime mortar, calcifying to form a breathable barrier that naturally regulates moisture. Though mass-produced emulsion paints sidelined the tradition in the mid-20th century, limewash is experiencing a major renaissance today as architects and homeowners rediscover its non-toxic composition and timeless, luminous patina.
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What is limeWASH?
Limewash is a traditional mineral paint formulated from natural slaked lime putty, water, and mineral pigments. It cures into a soft, cloud-like finish with a subtle tonal depth that synthetic paints simply cannot replicate. As a brushable relative of traditional lime plaster, it brings essential performance benefits to expansive walls and ceilings quickly—naturally regulating humidity, deterring mold growth, and allowing masonry to breathe freely. While it dries to a velvety, matte patina, it can also be burnished with natural soap or sealed with protective wax to enhance durability and water resistance in high-use spaces.
why you should limewash?
Limewash is eco-friendly and biodegradable
Limewash is a non-toxic, fully biodegradable finish that stands as one of the most eco-friendly paints available. Unlike conventional synthetic paints that off-gas harmful VOCs and end up as microplastics in landfills, limewash is completely zero-VOC and chemical-free. Throughout its life cycle, it actually absorbs carbon dioxide from the ambient air as it cures—calcifying back into solid limestone and leaving zero toxic trace behind.
Limewash goes beyond flat color
Limewash cures to a soft, velvety matte finish that gently highlights the unique character of any surface. As light interacts with its mineral structure, it creates subtle, cloud-like variations in tone rather than a rigid, solid block of color. This delicate interplay of light and shade brings flat drywall, raw masonry, or textured plaster to life, imbuing spaces with an organic warmth and timeless architectural depth.
Limewash regulates humidity and resists mould
The porous structure of limewash actively absorbs excess indoor humidity during damp spells and naturally releases it back into the room when the air turns dry, preventing trapped moisture from damaging walls.
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And with a natural alkaline pH of around 12–13, limewash creates an environment where mold spores, mildew, and bacteria simply cannot take root or multiply.
Limewash is forever
Unlike synthetic paints that rely on chemical dyes prone to breaking down under UV exposure, limewash is tinted exclusively with natural, inorganic mineral pigments. Because these mineral oxides unite with slaked lime and calcify directly into the wall's surface, the color becomes an integral, permanent part of the substrate itself. The result is exceptional lightfastness—your finish will not fade, yellow, or peel under harsh sunlight, preserving its rich, soft-toned depth for decades.
Great Places to apply limeWASH
Getting started on your renovation or remodelling a space?
Here we listed down 3 places where limewash will great!
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Kitchen Ceiling & Walls
Lime helps to remove odors from cooking
Interior Walls & Ceiling
Enjoy a cozy space filled with fresh air
Bathroom Ceiling
Seamless finish with mould resistant properties
What is included in our limeWASH application?
Day 1: Basecoat Application
2 x Casein Primer
Day 2: Topcoat Application​
2 coats of Cloudlime, or more, as needed
Day 3: Soaping
Apply natural soap sealer
Day 4: Sealer Application
Natural Beeswax
Ready to start? Get in touch with us
top 5 Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the difference between lime plaster and limewash paint? A: Lime plaster is a 2-3mm coating while limewash paint is less 0.5mm thick. Essentially it means lime plaster is more durable and it can be used to make old walls look new. Limewash is a thin coating, so it cannot level old walls, and requires a skim coat plaster application before that.
Q: How do I maintain limewash? A: Limewash paint is applied thin, similar to paint. You can use a damp cloth to wipe on it but be careful not to exert too much pressure as it can remove the limewash instead. Another way, is to recoat a section of the wall with the same limewash again, extending and feathering it out to blend it in.
Q: Can I use limewash for bathroom walls? A: Unlike lime plaster, where it is compacted to form a water tight surface, limewash is very much more porous than lime plaster. Because limewash applied by brush and not compacted, it is not advisable to apply it in a harsh environment. You can apply limewash for bathroom ceiling though!
Q: Do you have a catalog? A: No we don't. Aftertouch is a bespoke applicator for hand applied finishes. We customize every single limewash mix for each project. Some of the usual control points are the degree of contrast between the basecoat and topcoat or the intensity of the secondary colourwash. We highly encourage our clients not to limit themselves to catalogs, but to find an inspiration photo and share it with us. We will then use it as a base to customise our mix.
Q: What is soaping? A: Soaping is a traditional, but powerful method of sealing lime plaster finishes. The fatty acids in the soap reacts with the alkaline calcium hydroxide in lime, to form calcium stearate which protects your walls from within. After soaping your limewash walls, it will not feel powdery anymore and it acquires some resistance to staining.