Wandmalerei Tapetenmalerei Illusionsmalerei Horus Kunstmalerei Atelier für Wandmalerei in Hamburg und Westerland / Sylt

SocialBook

H o r u s Newspaper for Guests and Friends

? Do you have any questions
about this page? >>>

Distemper, The youthful granmother among colours

(But, of course, we also use latex paints! Often. And in wall painting a necessity!)

There is not a lack of options for paint for wall paint ing . Just as there is no shortage of goods and ideas that can be created with money, trends and promises can create beautiful pseudo matter s of course.

Who would not want "washable" paints? Names like "Alpinawhite" are reasonable. English and French colors are currently popular: they are highly pigmented, and (which, however, without any doubt) marketed beautiful. Even I would always want to paint with them. The design is appealincg. However, mainly I find the design of the packaging and the ambience of the showroom at which these colours are sold appealing.

Not so long time (15 years ago?) eco-colours were dominant in the young institution scene. And that was the way it should have been.

Latex paints were not as successful. Anyone that tried it only did it once . The trend faded quickly.

And lime color, well, it always had a bad reputation. For good and for bad reasons, here I will not elaborate on it, since it is a topic on its own!

What about casein? We also use these beautiful wall colors, offering a wide range of opportunities, both in design as well as technically.

But we have a great privilege, we work for a client base which we can very easily inspire the highest quality levels. And there, wherever it is technically feasible, we prefer to use the distemper.

Until the 60s distemper was the paint of choice for all contractors and builders. It was cheap, easy to process by a specialist, had a beautiful, matte surface and had a beautiful old white, one white, that was not hyped by additives and brighteners, but was dictated by the natural pigmentation.

But there is a "but"!

First: What is "distemper" now? What is the secret? As so often in life, there is absolutely no secret. Chalk, glue, water. That's it! Cheaper to produce than any color. The chalk is the hue, a color impression, which we seek to produce other colors, the dispersion of colors, with difficulty. We buy an "Off White" or the Industrial white which is “broken” by means of tinting. The glue in turn binds to the color to a durable, smudge-proof layer (Do not say anything else; if distemper is not smudge-proof, it is simply not done properly!) And today it consists of cellulose, in the past there was bone glues. Well, the water dilutes the whole thing.

But now to the “but”:

Distempered colours can only paint over 2-3 times. Then the surface starts to become unattractive or (if not used properly) tear. The layers must then be washed off before a new coat can be applied. Of course, again with distemper.

And it is precisely this "But" it has the other colors, paints, latex paints, all the achievements of 70's, made it so easy to sweep the distemper completely from the market. Distemper? Try to buy distemper! You will not be successful. Is no longer available!

But today we are a few steps ahead, we have learned to look more closely: how nice it would be if after every second or third renovation interval we could wash off all colors, all dirt, all residue, and fragrances completly from ceiling and walls! Today, we recognize what was formerly sold as a benefit: "The color never needs to be washed down again" has, as in so many other areas of life, was incorrect. Now we know the color cannot be washed away again to the pure substance of the walls! However much we would like this to be the case.

What is preventing us from gong back to the roots using simple and old surfaces?

The world has changed. In fact, in order to create this beautiful surface, the Queen of the wall surfaces in fact (I remember them with enthusiasm), it takes practice, skill, routine. Currently these colours nee to be homemade (until the industry recognizes the trend), and who can actually do this! And of course it takes time and money to wash down the old layers of paint after 10 or 20 years.

So it is here, as with so many things: what once was the most natural and cheapest thing in the world is now a luxury item. You need the best painter of your city, (in our case, even an artistic painter and decorator!), to apply the once -a matter of fact- distemper colour lovingly and professionally.

Is the world not strange?