Gary you misunderstood me,

silica is bad that is all I am saying.

Bad because if someone uses it and then runs into trouble - there is no way back for that person to much work gone down the drain, who will want to try again...

and there is nothing more difficult in buying "whashed plaster sand" from home depot and sifting it through window screen for the intonaco (skim coat) and arriccio (float coat)then getting a bag of sandblasting sand from the same home depot

So if I, you, someone else provides a foolproof method that works then student has a success and if later he/she runs into the trouble they know that they had it working.

and about european materials - the first thing I say at my workshops is that the main thing is to develop common material base! First thing architect or developer asks is where will you get your materials and who is your backup in case the first source fails...

and do not use our lime for experiments - no need to waste money. Go to Cafe al Fresco, read Gary's post about making lime putty - there is nothing wrong with it. Later on when you get more familiar with the technique then get Italian stuff. and there is correct (calcium) lime putty in the US for instance in Virginia. I did not try it myself since the cost is about the same and what is the difference where to buy as long as you get the right stuff.

Take our shop - it does not sell in a year more than one workshop uses. Why people do not know what to look for, so they are not looking at all.

So the problem is not finding stuff, the problem is that everyone has a different suggestion of what to look for. So people rightfully think that "lets wait untill these guys get their story strait"