Fresco - Brick Walls

Brick walls should be cleaned of all old plaster. The mortar between the bricks must be cut back to a depth of about one-quarter inch below the face of the brick. If the bricks are very smooth, they should be hacked to roughen them with a hammer made for the purpose. This is unnecessary in the case of walls made of hollow clay tiles with a grooved surface. Bricks that have been baked to a dull violet color, instead of to the usual bright earth red tone, will not be as absorbent. Where possible, they should be replaced with the regular absorbent bricks. Bricks sometimes show a white deposit on their surface. This efflorescence is caused by moisture penetrating the brick and bringing out of it various salts, such as sodium sulfate, gypsum, and other materials. These come to the surface as a whitish moldlike deposit which can work its way through the plaster and ruin a fresco painting. Therefore all bricks of this sort should be removed and replaced before the wall is prepared for painting. Finally, the brick wall should be thoroughly hosed down with water several times, after which the mortar is applied.

[Kay, Reed. The Painters Guide to Studio Methods and Materials. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1983. p. 172]

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