Fresco - Mixing the Mortar

The following remarks on sand mortar apply as well to mortar made with other aggregates. The sand and lime are combined in a clean wooden trough. First, the sand is sifted and measured in by the pailful. If the lime putty has been stored a long time, a thin lime crust may have formed on its top surface, and this should be removed. It is then strained into the mixing trough through a sieve or screen to catch all lumps and bits of crust. The putty will make a very dry mixture with the sand, but no water should be added at this point. The sand and lime putty must be thoroughly hoed and chopped together and can then be left to combine for a day or so in a covered trough. Only when the mason is ready to lay it on the wall are small amounts of water added gradually to bring the mortar to a usable consistency. Water can be added to the mortar only after the sand is intimately combined with the lime putty; otherwise the sand particles would become surrounded with an envelope of water, which would interfere with the perfect contact of the lime with the sand.

[Kay, Reed. The Painters Guide to Studio Methods and Materials. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1983. p. 174]

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