Travertino Naturale

Travertino is a lime-based decorative coating that recreates the look of natural travertine stone on interior or exterior walls. The finish is forgiving for first-time applicators, but a calm, methodical pace pays off in how the wall reads when light hits it.

Before you start

Conditions. Work between 8°C and 35°C, in light, dry air. Damp or unusually warm rooms shorten open time and make smooth strokes harder. Set up a strong, single-side light positioned where daylight naturally falls — typically the window side. The shadow your trowel throws is what tells you whether each coat is even.

Tools. A clean stainless trowel, a plastic float for polishing, painter's tape, a roller or brush for primer, drop sheets for floors and skirting, and your PPE (gloves and safety glasses). For texture variants you'll also need a plastic grass brush or a brush trowel.

Preparing the material. A small layer of water sits on top of every bucket of lime plaster — pour it off before stirring. Lime products always thicken in transit, so if Travertino feels stiff, stir with a paddle drill for a minute or two on low speed until it loosens. Then add the colorant of your choice and continue mixing until the colour is uniform. Let the bucket rest for around 5 hours so the lime regains its working density. For a single wall, always use packs from the same production batch; if you must combine batches, mix the material together first to keep the tone consistent.

Surface prep

Travertino bonds to almost any wall — plaster, drywall, wood panelling — provided a primer is applied first. A quartz-loaded primer gives the best key. Clean lime-based or sand-rendered plasters can usually skip the primer. Mask windows, sockets and trim, protect floors and skirting boards, and avoid splashing aluminium and certain hardwoods, which can mark from contact with the wet material.

Application

Coat 1 — base layer. Apply a thin, even coat across the whole wall with a stainless trowel. Keep ridges to a minimum and stop just shy of the masking. Replace the masking before the next coat for a cleaner edge.

Coat 2 — body coat. Once the first coat is fully dry, apply the second coat with a polished, defect-free trowel blade. Cover the whole wall before starting the finishing pass — unless the area is large or the room is warm, in which case work as a team with one applicator on the second coat and another already starting the third pass behind them. The third coat must go on while the second is still damp.

Coat 3 — the travertine effect. When the surface has been smoothed almost to a Marmorino-like finish, hold the trowel blade at 90° to the wall and gently scrape with horizontal or vertical strokes. This is what creates the characteristic stone-like pitting.

Coat 4 — finish. Go back over the scraped surface, moving parallel to the "grain" you just created, smoothing the high spots without flattening the texture. Re-scrape any thin patches. To bring out the polished look, follow the metal trowel with a plastic one.

Texture variants

Travertino Romano. Use a plastic grass brush across the second coat to draw the classic Roman pattern. Press into the surface to create pits, smooth, and repeat the brushing if needed.

Travertino Toscano. Apply a slightly thicker second coat. Working from top to bottom, drag the brush trowel through the wet plaster in long parallel grooves. About 30 minutes later, when the surface has begun to firm up, pass the trowel blade vertically again to soften the raised lines. Press harder for a more polished read. This finish pairs particularly well with the Naturale variant, because the slight scoring highlights the coloured marble grains within the plaster.

Optional additives. Mix in our Silver Mica Powder for fine sparkle across the finish, or the Salt and Pepper Effect for the black flecks that give the wall a more authentic stone character.

Exterior application

Lime plaster fully carbonates over several weeks — the surface seals in hours, but the deep cure takes a month or more. Plan exterior work in stable weather:

• No heavy rain for at least 3 days after application
• No frost for 48 hours
• Avoid windy days and direct mid-day sun in hot climates
• A small roof overhang or eave is strongly recommended — wind-driven rain can still affect the finish weeks later
• In hot weather, hang shade cloths from the scaffolding so the surface dries slowly
• Apply continuously across each wall plane — no break lines mid-wall

Protection

Interior. A protective top coat is optional in most rooms. It is essential for bathrooms, kitchens, and splashbacks. We recommend pairing with NAPPA, our ClearCOAT acrylic varnish, or Velatura.

Exterior. Like all lime-based finishes, Travertino briefly darkens in rain (the "wet effect") and clears again within hours, with no damage to the finish. A protective varnish is optional but recommended in polluted areas or if you want to avoid that temporary wet look entirely.

Timing. After about 72 hours at 20°C or above, apply the colourless protective varnish — ClearCOAT or Velatura — both designed specifically for exterior lime-based coatings.

A word on finish

Travertino rewards patience. The texture, the scraping, and the final polish all benefit from a slower hand and a watchful eye on light. If you can, walk away from the wall for ten minutes between coats and come back fresh — you'll spot imperfections you wouldn't have noticed up close.