DIY limewash, plaster, and microcement: what it really takes
Yes, you can. Here is the honest version, from the people who do it for a living.
Talk with Greg or Gabriel now, until 10 p.m. Text us any time. Greg or Gabriel will reply first thing in the morning.
Can you do limewash, plaster, or microcement yourself?
Yes, with patience and practice, but they are not equally forgiving. Limewash is the easiest to learn. Roman clay and Venetian plaster take a trained trowel. Microcement is the hardest, and a shower is no place to learn it: one mistake there lets water behind the wall.
From the most forgiving to the hardest
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Limewash
The most forgiving
A good brush and a primed wall go a long way. Watch for lap marks, and color that dries lighter than expected.
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Roman clay
Harder
A few degrees of trowel angle decide whether clay goes on, comes off, or shines.
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Venetian plaster
Harder still
Thin coats, each polished at the right moment, over a wall smooth enough to hide nothing.
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Microcement
The hardest
Each batch is weighed and used within a short working time, mesh goes flat into the first coat, and a cured ridge is very hard to take back.
Sure, but here is what it takes
All of it can be learned. None of it comes in the bucket.
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An even pattern
Most first walls look patchy, with skips, hard lines, and patches of different patterns. An even pattern takes years: more with clay, and more still with Venetian plaster and Marmorino.
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The wall underneath
Most failures start before the first coat, on a wall never repaired, smoothed, and primed. See paint and plaster problems.
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The right products
Which primer, finish, sealer, and wax, in what order. The wrong pairing bubbles, chalks, and peels.
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The hours you do not see
Most hours go to covering, scraping, and cleaning up. Lime is caustic: wear gloves and goggles.
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Your arm, and the finish line
An untrained arm is spent within a day. By about 100 square feet most people wish they had called someone; many stop partway.
If you still want to try
Good. Here is how to give your wall its best chance.
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Practice on boards
Prime a few drywall scraps the way you will prime your wall, and make your mistakes there.
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Start small
Pick one small wall, use the primer its maker specifies, and finish it in one session, keeping the edge wet.
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Embrace the hand
A little variation is the beauty of it. Perfectly imperfect is the goal; sloppy is not. See wabi-sabi walls.
Or get our quote before you buy a bucket
The consultation is free and ends with one fixed quote, in writing. Compare it with the materials, the tools, and the weekends, then decide.
Questions about doing it yourself
Why do do-it-yourself limewash and clay walls look patchy?
Because an even pattern comes from the hand, not the bucket. A limewash brush feathers the lime across the wall, its tips dragging countless small variations in depth into a soft, cloudy surface; stop or overlap at the wrong moment, and hard lines appear. A trowel leaves crisper lines, so clay and plaster build their pattern from layers, skips, the density each pass presses in, and working the same area again at different stages of drying. Most beginner walls show sections of completely different patterns. Predictable, beautiful movement takes an experienced hand: more so with clay than limewash, more still with Venetian plaster and Marmorino, and some understanding with any mineral finish.
Is it cheaper to do it yourself?
Only if it works the first time. Plaster and microcement are a serious investment, an opened bag cannot be returned, and the tape, plastic, blades, and other supplies add up. A failed finish has to come off before the wall can be done again, and removing it can run higher than doing it right the first time. Get our fixed quote first, then compare.
Why is microcement so hard to apply?
Because almost nothing about it forgives a mistake, even when it is sold as a kit for beginners. Each batch is weighed and mixed, then sets fast, so you work to a wet edge the whole way, over mesh pressed flat into the first coat. The wall has to come out smooth, with no trowel edges, burnish marks, lines, ridges, or sloppy corners, and once it cures, a mistake is notoriously hard to sand out: it is cement, made to be hard. The trowel’s noise and vibration wear on you, too. Beginners clench the wrist to find the right pressure, and hours or days of that tension can injure the hand, shoulders, and back.
Can I put microcement in my own shower?
We would not start there. In a shower, everything depends on the waterproofing beneath it, and a mistake can let water behind the wall long before anything shows. Every corner, niche, and edge has to be right the first time, because cured microcement is very hard to remove.
Tell us about the wall you have in mind
Greg or Gabriel replies today, or by the next business day.
Prefer to talk? Call or text (317) 795-6378.
Thank you
What happens next
- We reply today, or by the next business day at the latest, to check your dates and set a time for our visit.
- We visit with samples in the colors and textures you like.
- You receive one fixed quote, in writing.
Before we visit, gather two or three photographs of looks you love, and keep any fabric, tile, or stone you want us to match nearby.
To speed things up, text us a photo of the space.
Greg and Gabriel