"Organic" plaster finish to look like lime plaster

[speakermonkey]

We want to plaster a feature wall of our living room to have a natural organic finish, a bit like a "faux" lime render. It is a 19th C. house but it is a sand-cement mortar, so the work involved with a lime plaster is unnecessary. Ideally we'd have it plastered flat and add a textured layer at the end. Google hasn't helped much however, so I'm trying my luck here.
I'm aware there's probably a very fine line between a nice organic finish and it just looking s**t.
Any constructive pointers appreciated.

 

[JohnD]

Some pictures of the sort of effect you want will help

I have had a house with lime plaster. It looks like smooth flat plaster.

 

[StephenStephen]

Why not just use lime putty plaster if you want a lime plaster finish?
The work involved with a gypsum plaster is unnecessary.
As a diy-er who has learnt how to use lime putty plaster successfully from a couple of videos and a couple of booklets, but who sees the kind of flat square finish tradespeople get from gypsum plaster as a kind of dark magic, I do find the idea that lime plaster (especially if you're just putting a topcoat on) is difficult or specialised to be quite mystifying...

 

[speakermonkey]

Some pictures of the sort of effect you want will help

I have had a house with lime plaster. It looks like smooth flat plaster.

Hi John, kind of something like this I think https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/wall-whitewashed-by-lime-white-color-731794246

 

[JohnD]

That had thick layers of old wash that have flaked off and been coated over.

Don't know how you'd simulate that.

It was not put on to look like that.

 

[lostinthelight]

Why not just use lime putty plaster if you want a lime plaster finish?
The work involved with a gypsum plaster is unnecessary.
As a diy-er who has learnt how to use lime putty plaster successfully from a couple of videos and a couple of booklets, but who sees the kind of flat square finish tradespeople get from gypsum plaster as a kind of dark magic, I do find the idea that lime plaster (especially if you're just putting a topcoat on) is difficult or specialised to be quite mystifying...

Or even a lime wash paint from watered down lime putty or by it ready mixed.
There's also Earthborn clay paint

 

[jacko555]

If you want a finish like that, just use gypsum plaster and do a crap job. Then wash it / try and smooth it out, while its still curing, with a damp sponge and paint it white.

OK, sarcasm, but, I'll seen some DIY "how hard can plastering be" come out looking like that

 

[JohnD]

If you want a finish like that, just use gypsum plaster and do a crap job. Then wash it / try and smooth it out, while its still curing, with a damp sponge and paint it white.

OK, sarcasm, but, I'll seen some DIY "how hard can plastering be" come out looking like that

I've never been able to get it as bad as that.