How to apply Consolidate + Protect
Read this before you buy, not after. The product is straightforward to apply, but the preparation and the test patch decide the result.
A stiff brush, a low-pressure garden sprayer or a wide masonry brush, clean water, and something to protect glass, joinery and planting at the base of the wall.
Between 5 °C and 30 °C. Below 80% relative humidity. Out of direct sun on the elevation you're working on — the surface should be cool to the touch. No rain forecast for six hours.
To a wall that is wet, to a wall with an unresolved damp source, in direct summer sun, or over any paint, sealer or coating.
Brush the whole elevation down with a stiff brush to remove loose material, dust, cobwebs and organic growth. Everything that is going to come off on its own should come off now — anything left behind will be bound in place and stay there.
Where growth is heavy, wash down and let the wall dry fully. Depending on wall thickness and weather that is anything from two days to a week.
Repair open joints and missing material with a compatible lime mortar and let it cure before treating.
Half a square metre, somewhere inconspicuous, on the same elevation you intend to treat. Apply exactly as you will apply the rest — two coats, wet on wet.
Leave it seven days to cure fully. Then look at it in the light you'll normally see the wall in, and compare it with the untreated stone beside it.
Colour change is typically ΔE 2.1 or below, which almost nobody notices. On highly absorbent stone it can reach 3.4, which is visible in direct comparison. This is the step where you find out which you have.
Work from the bottom of the elevation upwards. Apply generously until the stone stops taking it up and the surface glistens — friable stone will drink it.
Apply the second coat wet on wet, or within four to six hours. Do not let the first coat dry hard before the second goes on.
Keep a wet edge across the whole elevation. Stopping mid-wall and restarting the next day can leave a visible line.
Catch runs on smooth stone with a brush before they dry.
Rain-free for six hours. Touch dry in about an hour. Full cure in seven days — water repellency develops over that period, so don't judge it on day two.
Rinse tools with water immediately. Dispose of washings per the safety data sheet.
| Problem | Cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Patchy appearance | Uneven absorbency, or the second coat went on too late | Apply a further coat across the whole elevation |
| Visible lightening | Highly absorbent stone | This is what the test patch is for. Consult us before treating further. |
| Visible join line | Wet edge lost | Reapply across the join, elevation-wide |
| Surface still powders | Insufficient material absorbed | Apply a further coat. Heavily decayed stone can take three. |
| White residue | Applied too heavily on low-absorbency stone | Brush off while damp |