Mortar colour samples test

[Mark A]

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My house has no cavity.

Ahh, yeah lime is your friend then. I think powdered dye might be your only option. Once you work out the ratio needed, you could weigh the powder dye out and add it to the mix per bag off lime/sand to make sure you get a consistent colour.

 

[danlightbulb]

Still think pigments are probably the way to go:

Pigments | For Limewash & Mortars | Cornish Lime

Shop our range of pigments, for lime renders, limewash & concrete. Available in 15+ colours including black, marigold, yellow ochre, raw umber & more.

cornishlime.co.uk

You're probably right but it's gonna cost me loads to test some combinations as they aren't local.

It still doesn't make sense why I'm getting so little colour pass through from the dry sand to the final sample. That's not what colour lime mortar turns out as on all the YouTube videos of it.

 

[danlightbulb]

I ordered some premixed lime mortar samples from Womersleys. Sandstone and Old White.

https://i.~ibb.co~/vxqQktP2/PXL-20260627-112750735.jpg

I like them both. The texturing of the churn brush step adds so much to the overall look. Far better than a smooth pointing iron finish.

I really like the yellow but over a whole house it might look very bold. I will try mixing the sandstone and old white 50/50 to see what colour that gives, hopefully a more muted yellow.

Main problem now is that Womersleys is in Leeds, over 2 hours from here. Why are suppliers of stuff I want never close.


Edit - why is my image not working?

 

[Mercenary Keyboard Warrior]

Both look good, top one would do better at hiding imperfections on initial glance
The higher the contrast between brick and mortar the more imperfections will pop

Texture of both look really good though

 

[danlightbulb]

Both look good, top one would do better at hiding imperfections on initial glance
The higher the contrast between brick and mortar the more imperfections will pop

Texture of both look really good though

Yeah it a world away from cement isn't it. I wish I'd have tried it before but many people on several forums were just saying cement is fine. This is orders of magnitude better.

I've just tried a 50/50 mix of old white and sandstone. Surprisingly it's not really muted the colour too much. Colour is so weird the way it behaves.

 

[alexakasloth]

That mortar looks nice and traditional.

 

[danlightbulb]

I've ordered two more sample bags. Ironstone Lite and Ironstone Fine. Both look to be a lighter yellow shade than the Sandstone.