How to white wash red brick paving?

[MaggieJ]

Hi. I have red clay pavers and would like to paint them with a white wash or limed look finish rather than a straight painted look. Would welcome any suggestions please. Thanks in advance. 

[MitchellMc]

Welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community @MaggieJ. It's wonderful to have you join us, and many thanks for your question about painting brick paving.

I presume these are fired clay pavers or bricks? You might like to post an image of them, so our members can better understand what you're working with. A photo of your inspiration also wouldn't go astray as "whitewashing" can mean several effects, depending on who you speak to.

Have they been sealed with any products before, or are they uncoated? If they have been sealed, you are painting onto the sealer, not the pavers themselves. So your paint coating will only be as durable as the sealer underneath. If the sealer comes off, so will your paint. To get a proper bond, any sealer should be removed before applying your effect.

I haven't heard of any specific products marketed towards whitewashing or liming outdoor pavers. You could use a standard exterior paving paint like Berger Jet Dry 4L Aquatread Satin White Paving Paint in the absence of a specialised product. Whitewashing paints are generally somewhat diluted pigment wise, so I'd suggest trying a test section with a mix of 50% paving paint and 50% water. You might like to try a variety of textured application tools. A UNi-PRO 230mm Medium Foam Texture Roller Cover could be used to apply the wash, and a rag or Sabco Bulldozer Big Job Sponge used to wipe it back off. The trick to getting a consistent wash coating is to do several light coats instead of a couple of thick coats. If you apply the paint thickly, you'll lose the texture and colour of the pavers underneath.

You might like to check out this previous discussion: Help to lime/white wash driveway. @2Belindas gave some helpful advice.

Let me mention @prettyliving to see if she had any thoughts.

Please let me know if you have any questions.

Mitchell

[prettyliving]

Hi @MaggieJ 

That sounds like a great project, I love the look of white washed pavers! 
There’s a few ways you could go about this, one being as @MitchellMc suggested mixing exterior paint with water or another you could try is lightly painting the pavers with straight paint (no water mixed) and then before the paint dries rub it with an old towel. Obviously the second method would take longer but it would leave a cool effect, so really depends on how big of area you are working with.