Care & Maintenance

Keeping Your Finish Alive

Alchemy Wall Studio finishes are designed to live with you for decades, and a small amount of thoughtful maintenance keeps them looking their best. The following notes cover routine care, spot repair, and environmental considerations for each finish we install — written for the interior designers, architects, and past clients who specify our work. For touch-ups, restoration, or refinishing beyond these guidelines, we are a single call away.

Mineral Finish Care

Limewash

Reference: Limewash craft page

Dust with a soft, dry microfiber cloth on a monthly cadence; high-touch areas benefit from a light pass weekly.
Clean with a soft damp cloth using only water — a drop of pH-neutral soap is acceptable for stubborn marks. Avoid abrasive cleaners entirely, as they will score the cured mineral surface.
Spot repair is straightforward: lightly mist the area with clean water, dab to lift the mark, and let the surface re-carbonate. Deep scuffs can be re-waxed in place by the studio.
Limewash prefers stable interior humidity. Keep rooms between 40 and 60 percent relative humidity and avoid prolonged direct sunlight, which can fade pigments unevenly over years.
Call us for any hairline cracking, persistent staining, or before re-painting or wallpapering over an existing limewash surface.

Limewash is intentionally a "living" finish — minor patina is characteristic of the mineral system and not a defect.

Lime-Plaster Care

Venetian Plaster

Reference: Venetian Plaster craft page

Dust monthly with a soft, dry cloth, following the direction of the trowel polish to maintain the burnished sheen.
Clean only with a soft damp cloth. We do not recommend abrasive cleaners, harsh chemicals, or solvent-based products — the sealer will cloud and the polish will dull.
Spot repair of small nicks or scuffs is handled in situ by the studio: we blend a tinted repair plaster to match the original mix before re-burnishing the affected area.
Limit prolonged direct sunlight on feature walls. Indirect UV exposure over years can shift the colour drift of deeply saturated pigment mixes.
Call us before any third-party contractor drills, sands, or paints adjacent surfaces — Venetian plaster is unforgiving of mechanical impact.

A penetrating sealer applied at handover protects the finish for years; a re-seal assessment every 5–7 years keeps high-traffic walls in showroom condition.

Hand-Painted Mural Care

Murals

Reference: Murals craft page

Dust monthly with a soft, dry microfiber cloth; avoid feather dusters, which can catch on raised passages of impasto or metallic inlay.
Clean with a soft damp cloth using only water or a drop of pH-neutral soap. Do not use abrasive cleaners near edge details or signature passages.
Spot repair should be performed by the original artist where possible — we keep a record of pigment mixes and layering order for every mural we install.
Shield murals from prolonged direct sunlight with appropriate window treatments; even UV-resistant pigments will drift under sustained exposure.
Call us if you notice lifting at edges, hairline cracking in the ground coat, or any change in sheen that suggests moisture intrusion behind the surface.

A custom mural is original artwork — the same care considerations apply as for any fine-art collection in the home.

Specialty Paper Care

Wallpaper

Reference: Wallpaper craft page

Dust weekly with a soft, dry microfiber cloth or a vacuum brush attachment held slightly off the surface to avoid catching seams.
Spot-clean marks with a soft damp cloth using only water. For grasscloth and natural fibres, blot gently — never rub, as this disrupts the natural fibre lay.
Seam lift or small bubbling should be reported promptly. We carry the original adhesive specification for every installation and can usually repair in situ without re-hanging.
Maintain stable interior humidity between 40 and 55 percent. Grasscloth and silk wallpapers are particularly sensitive to dry winter air, which can shrink seams.
Call us before any third-party trades work near a wallpapered wall — picture hanging, electrical work, or adjacent painting all risk damage that is best prevented.

Designer wallpapers carry manufacturer care instructions; the notes above supplement — they do not replace — those guidelines.