2)  Use premium water-based primers with high levels of TIO2.  Importing primer is not necessary!  Organic stucco products and lime paint will never mask oils and chemicals bleeding through a wall.  We recommend that you always prime surfaces first before preparing for or applying stucco unless you can guarantee the integrity of the surfaces.

3)  Make sure product is always covered by a sheet of plastic and stored airtight.  Do not allow product to cake and dry on the inner sides of the bucket.  You can strain contaminated product to correct it by purchasing a straining bag at your local paint or hardware store..

4)  Before tinting and applying, mix product with a plaster drill bit.  This wiping of air into product will not only guarantee consistency but will ease your application.  Olivetti Mineral Finishes contain organic materials that will settle with time.  Unopened product should be used within six months.  Opened product should be used and not stored.

5)  When handling stucco, you should wear protective gloves and clothing.  Wear protective eyewear if working on a ceiling.  Wash hands and tools in warm, soapy water to remove product.

6)  You can tint our stucco products with universal tints or earth pigments.  Tints are to make up no more than 10% of the total volume.  Some earth pigments are not formulated for stucco and some are to fine to ever disperse properly.  Check with your dealer or manufacturer.  Make sure you shake your tints well and dissolve your earth pigments properly before adding them to your product.  You don't want nuggets of pigment cascading across your walls.

7)  Stucco and lime products lighten slightly in color when dry.  Conduct a sample to check your accuracy.

8)  Tint enough product to do your whole job and save what is left over "wet", in an airtight container, in case you need to match it or use it later.

9)  Tape the room with the proper adhesive tape.  Set the tape out from the wall enough to allow for the thickness of coats you are going to apply.  If you don't, you could wind up pulling up the finish when you remove the tape.  Use tape adhered to paper to keep debris from settling on baseboards.

10)  All painting, caulking, trim, rosettes, mantels, etc. need to be finished before you begin.  In bathrooms, fixtures can be added later but with precise cuts and tinted caulking.

11)  Float stucco product evenly onto the wall without creating any ridges from your blade.  Use minimum passes with the trowel or spatula. 

12)  Once you begin applying you can not stop until you have reached a seam or the wall has ended.  Move quickly and avoid dry joints from forming. If the walls are large you may need additional help.  Everyone involved needs to have the same technique and style of applying as well as matching tools.

13)  Burnishing just as the product dries requires less work than if you let finishes dry overnight.  You may need to have someone follow behind the applicator, to burnish, if walls are drying quickly.  This will make your mottling and burnish consistent around the room.

14)  Always protect your tools after use.  If the blades become bent or scratched, throw them away.  New edges can be fine sanded to break them in and ease application. 

15)  If you plan to wax or seal your finished product, make sure everything is perfect and approved before applying.  If you know that there is a great potential for your walls to be damaged, hold off until construction has cleared out.  If you are using our water-based stucco sealer be sure to let finishes dry overnight before applying.  If sealer feels sticky you have either not allowed your finish to dry completely or you have not diluted it enough with water.  Brush sealer on with your lime brush in sections as large as our arm span and immediately rub sealer in with a clean dry towel before progressing to the next section.  You need to move quickly to avoid dry joints from forming.  Sealer will darken wall initially until it dries.

16)  Post signs to warm other trades people to use caution around the completed finishes.  Never allow tape, other than white lowest tack, to rest on your finished walls and only after surfaces have cured.

Good Luck!