Wood oil and wax, lime and natural wall primers at the Naturalpaint workshop

On October 4 and 5, 2019, a workshop was held in Gheorgheni with the theme "Finishing wood and walls with natural products Kreidezeit", organised by Naturalpaint, the distributor of these products in Romania. The special guest and coordinator of the activities was Martin Krampfer, specialist in paints and natural building materials and certified environmental advisor for crafts. The participants learned about the history of Kreidezeit, the raw materials used in the manufacture of the products, environmentally friendly technologies and learned wood and wall finishing techniques. For practical applications, oils, waxes, pigments, lime-based paints and special effect materials were used, all Kreidezeit branded.

About Kreidezeit

Martin's presentation also had a brief history of the company, from which we learned about Gert Ziesemann, the company's founder. It all started from his desire to paint the walls of his house with a healthy, basic product, different from the commonly used acidic ones. In the 1980s, acid waste dumping in the North Sea was a major environmental problem. Gert made a paint from fresh cheese, borax and chalk to paint the walls of his house and was very pleased. So he thought he'd give the recipe to others. It was so well received that he started making the paint at home and selling it at weekend fairs and organic produce markets. It was 1987.

In 1992, after appearing on a TV show where he explained how to make paints other than oil and toxic chemicals, his small business took off. It began to grow which led to the need for a larger production space. After passing through an animal barn in 2002, the small factory moved into an old gater in Sehlem, which Gert bought. This is where the factory still stands today. The factory's products have become known all over the world and have been used in ordinary houses, but also in the restoration of castles in Japan and tourist attractions in the Netherlands and Germany.

The products are appreciated all over the world because they are made exclusively using natural raw materials and environmentally friendly technologies. In fact, the company principle is: "What you can't produce in an environmentally friendly way, you don't manufacture". The materials have all components declared by the will of the manufacturer, without this obligation and are totally harmless so that any accidental leakage from the packaging should not be reported.

First day dedicated to wood finishing with natural products Kreidezeit

After telling us about the beginnings of Kreidezeit, Martin explained and demonstrated how ordinary materials around us can become binders for pigments. We saw him using beer and egg as a binder. Natural pigments mixed with just water and applied on wood to color it, take off by hand after drying. In contrast, mixed with beer or egg, they stick to the wood much better. Egg also works as an emulsifier, allowing the oil to mix with the water and pigments, turning them into paint. All this information and much more has been discovered by studying ancient recipes used by master painters of cathedrals and churches.

Kreidezeit oils, waxes, waxes, varnishes and paints used for various purposes were taken in turn. We saw how they are applied floor oil and wax, varnishes and paints for exterior woodwork, solvent-free oil, Marseille soap and others protection and maintenance products.

And after he told us all about the materials, he let us "play" with them by applying them on pieces of wood specially prepared by Naturalpaint. Martin was bes besieged with questions and so the practical part of the workshop lasted well beyond the time set for the end of the first day. However, in order to be able to cover the whole program for the second day, we ended the day by applying the primer over the pieces of drywall to be covered with plasters and paints.

Next day - finishing the walls

The program started at 9am, an hour early in order to finish on time. 😊 The day also started with the theoretical presentation, in which plasters and lime paints, casein-based primers, as well as the health benefits of using these products to finish homes. We discussed Tadelakt - traditional Moroccan plaster - and saw how to 'seal' walls with soap to make them damp-proof in areas such as bathrooms and showers.

The second part of the day was again dedicated to practical applications. Everyone could "get their hands" practising application techniques with specific tools provided by the organizers. By far the most attractive and spectacular were the special effects, when red glass balls or crushed walnut shells were mixed into the paints before application. The participants were like children with new toys and seemed to be competing to see who could do it better and more beautifully. Socializing was another good point of the meeting, with those who had used Kreidezeit products in the past sharing their experience with others.

It was an information-packed event with lots of hands-on activity, which seemed to be a win-win for the participants. Despite the nasty weather on the first day, with lots of rain and cold, they didn't regret their decision to come. The workshop space was warm and cozy (with coffee and cronuts 😉 ) and they could learn a lot about Kreidezeit's natural products, which are very appreciated by their users.

The participants appreciate such events, whether they have attended Naturalpaint workshops before or if it was their first time, they were all excited to learn new things about natural, healthy materials. Some are even looking forward to the next workshop which will take place soon. We'll be back with details as soon as we know the date and venue. So stay tuned!