1) Kalklitir’s Kalkpaint can be used directly on surfaces that are painted with matt or semi-matt water-based paint as well as on unpainted surfaces such as concrete, gips, plaster, wood etc. Walls do need to be clean and free of dust, grease etc. When using Kalkpaint on surfaces that have already been painted with oil paint or lacquered surfaces or if you have plaster on parts of walls (like on joints or if you have fixed some holes etc.) you have to apply water-based acrylic primer before you start as the paint will not bond with oil-based surfaces and plaster will absorb differently so you want to prevent discolouration.

2) Before applying the Kalkpaint, all surfaces should be properly dry and clean and free from dust, grease. All holes and cracks should be fixed, as usual, using proper material, and make sure that all repairs have dried completely before painting (please follow instructions from the individual producer), if walls need to be fixed before you paint, you will need to apply one layer or primer to prevent discolouration, or you will need to do more layers of the Kalkpaint until you have even absorption. *It is a good rule to apply water-based acrylic primer on top of grease, fixed holes and cracks, glossy paint, wallpaper etc. in order to avoid any discolouration, and also good to use sandpaper to even out and erase spots.

3) If you have more than one type of surface material on the same wall (like plaster and paint etc) you need to first paint one layer of water-based acrylic primer (must be free of Alkyd) to prevent discolouration. Have in mind that different materials will absorb the paint differently, causing both the colour outcome to vary and also the coverage of the paint can be different.

4) Use a brush, paint either up and down or in X-strokes. Starting in the corner top of the wall, painting towards the floor, covering roughly 50-70cm each time is normally a good way to paint a wall. The colour will look darker when wet and will dry up lighter, normally in few hours, once dry (and lighter) you can paint the next layer (normally within 3-4 hours, depending on the humidity in the room). There is no right or wrong outcome and that you are working with natural material and the final outcome may vary depending on your method.

*Best is always to use a good quality lime-brush like our brushes that are made especially for Kalklitir (instead of rollers) as they have extra-long hair to get the more smooth outcome.

5) Make sure to stir well in the bucket both before you start and also from time to time through the whole process to prevent pigments to fall to the bottom and cause discolouration.

6) Always paint your wall in one go to prevent overlapping and edges to dry out. Never try and fix spots or other areas on parts of the wall once you have painted and/or the paint is starting to dry out as that will result in a patchy looking wall.

7) It is very important to avoid any water coming in contact with a freshly painted wall for at least 72 hours (if in contact with water in the first 72 hours, it will leave white spots on the wall).

8) Kalkpaint will normally dry in few hours but it will take few days and up to a few weeks for it fully harden, depending on the intensity of the colour and humidity in the room. Natural paint like Kalkpaint needs air to fully harden and it can be good to raise the temperature in the room in order to help speed up the hardening time.

9) Once you have mixed the powder with water, it can be kept for one year in an airtight container. But in powder form, it can be kept for years.