Hye guys have you ever heard about the mineral fresco paint , please toss the formula if possible .

the only "fresco paint" is the one you mix yourself mineral pigments + whater.

the rest are gimmics created to boost sales abusing the luck of knowledge of what Fresco actually is.

Mineral paint is often used in Europe to mean potassium silicate paint. Do a google search for 'mineral paint' and a few companies will come up - Keim being the most well known.

Potassium silicate is silica sand which has been dissolved. When it 'cures' it forms tiny crystals of silica. It is also very alkaline, and you can only use pigments which are tested and proven for lime - fresco pigments.

You have to find potassium silicate, mix it with water up to three times - thats it - no fumes, fireproof, kills algae -etc. I use it a lot up here in Canada. Joes uses it in Australia. It also allows concrete to breathe - our City Hall in Vancouver is painted with this stuff.

Rather than being some new gimmic - it is just the opposite - it is just so simple - like lime wash - no one can figure how to make money at it.

Gary, pearl paint sells/sold "fresco paint" which was just a variation of universal tints. when I talked to them and asked if it is intended to be used in buon fresco they did not have a clear ansver and told me that that was just a brand name.

as you know a bucket of lime wash cost $3 to make but I can give you a list of companies thet sell it from $75 and up per bucket.

and Keim paints or others alike can not be used for buon fresco painting. But for painting over dry plaster they are possibly the best.

Gary did you try to keep the keim painted wall wet for a long time? I've met a keim distributor, very nice lady she said that if the wall will be soaked for a long time it will dissolve the paint (not that buon fresco will resist such treatment) She gave a lecture at the mural conservation symposium at Getty (i went there to give them some s** about total absence of any kind of support for fresco recearch and preservation)

Ilia - if you look at the history of Keim paint is was developed to be a substitute for Italian exterior fresco which would standup to the Austrian Bavarian weather. There are pictures of buildings using Keim, in fresco type murals, since 1890 in Switzerland and other places.

I agree fresco can be, and is often applied to a wide variety of schemes. I tried to get a commission for a lobby of a new condo tower called 'fresco' - but got the 'bum's rush' - does that equate into Russian?