Old walls can have a right old mix of surfaces on them – some old lime, some newer gypsum, paint, filler …. Trying to get an even coat of a plaster or paint over the top of this can be a bit of a nightmare! Having gone through this myself I know what a frustrating problem this is.
I called LaFarge to see if they had a solution, but they said that all their products were gypsum and so not suitable for use over any old lime. Oh the honesty was great.
So the alternatives?
1. Knock off all of the plaster and start again using lime plaster. This would have been a good solution for my situation as a lot of the plaster was blown, but the thought of all that dust and mess!
2. ….umm
Thankfully, there is a new kid on the block – Auro.
The new Auro 305 Universal Primer has been developed to provide a uniform finish for the application of Auro natural paints. Still made from all natural products it looks like it will be a real boon for people with these awkward walls.
The wall still needs to be prepared – old paint taken off / rubbed back etc so that the wall does not have any loose materials on it, it also needs to be filled etc to sort out cracks etc, but then after that basic preparation the walls can be treated with the 305 to give a much more uniform substrate for the paint. Marvellous!
Small holes can be filled using the Auro filler, whilst larger areas can be filled / smoothed with the Auro 311 natural fibre plaster. All the treatments are breathable and provide an excellent smooth finish that is really easy to work with.
