Paints & Finishes
Suppliers in this category provide paints and finishes suited to old buildings: limewash, clay and distemper paints, linseed oil paints, silicate and mineral coatings, and traditional wood finishes. The common thread is permeability. Modern acrylic and plastic-based paints form a film that stops walls and joinery releasing moisture, which traps water behind the coating and causes blistering, decay and damp. Traditional paints let the substrate breathe, weather by gradual erosion rather than peeling, and are usually easier to maintain and repair. Many suppliers also offer historic colour ranges and advice on period-appropriate schemes.
What this category covers
- Limewash, distemper and clay paints for lime plaster and render
- Linseed oil paints for joinery and metalwork
- Silicate and mineral paints for masonry
- Traditional wood finishes: oils, waxes and shellacs
- Historic colour ranges and scheme advice
Ecomerchant
Ecomerchant is an independent, employee-owned builders’ merchant supplying natural and sustainable building ...
Keim Mineral Paints Ltd
Keim Mineral Paints provides long-life protective and decorative mineral paint finishes for ...
Mike Wye Limited
Mike Wye Limited has supplied natural and sustainable building materials from Buckland ...
Old House Store – Traditional Materials for Modern Times
Old House Store is a specialist merchant for traditional and ecological building ...
Rose of Jericho Ltd
Rose of Jericho, established in 1989, manufactures and supplies materials for the ...
The Breathable House Company Ltd
The Breathable House Company restores, refurbishes and maintains historic and listed buildings ...
Womersley’s Ltd
Womersley’s is a Yorkshire lime specialist manufacturing and supplying breathable building materials ...
Choosing paint for an old building
Match permeability to the substrate. Lime plaster, lime render and soft masonry need coatings that let moisture through – limewash, distemper, clay or silicate paints. Putting modern emulsion or masonry paint over them is the most common cause of blistering and of damp appearing where there was none.
On external joinery and ironwork, linseed oil paint behaves differently from modern gloss. It penetrates rather than forming a surface film, so it erodes slowly and evenly instead of cracking and lifting, and it can usually be recoated by cleaning and applying a fresh thin coat rather than stripping back to bare timber.
Think about maintenance cycles, not just the first application. Traditional finishes are often specified because repainting is simpler and less destructive, which matters on a building you expect to look after for decades.
Where colour matters historically, ask about paint analysis. Several suppliers offer historic ranges, and specialist analysts can identify original schemes from paint sections – useful evidence for a listed building consent application.
Questions to ask
Why is limewash used instead of masonry paint?
Limewash is highly permeable, so walls continue to dry through it, and it weathers by gradual erosion rather than peeling. Modern masonry paints form an impermeable film that traps moisture, blisters off and can push damp problems into the wall.
What are the advantages of linseed oil paint on joinery?
It soaks into the timber rather than forming a surface skin, so it does not crack and lift as conventional gloss does. Maintenance is usually a clean and a thin recoat rather than stripping back, and it performs well on both timber and cast iron.
Do I need consent to repaint a listed building?
Redecorating in the same colour and material usually does not need consent, but changing colour, or changing to a different type of coating, can do, particularly on principal elevations. Check with the conservation officer before altering an established scheme.
Directory information is provided to help visitors identify potentially relevant specialists and suppliers. Inclusion does not constitute a recommendation, approval or guarantee by Tuscan Foundry Products. Please check current services, credentials, availability and suitability directly with each business.