Why silicate paint for a facade instead of normal exterior emulsion?

A silicate paint bonds chemically into the mineral render and becomes part of the wall, rather than sitting on top as a plastic film. That means it cannot peel away as a film, it stays highly vapour-open so the wall can release moisture, and its mineral pigments hold their colour against UV far longer than an organic emulsion. On render in a hot, monsoon climate that breathability is what keeps the coating — and the wall behind it — sound.

Should I use the ProfiSol system or the UniverSil system?

It depends on what is already on the wall. The ProfiSol system (612 over Profi Fixative 611, with an optional 613 base coat) is for new, sound mineral and cement render, historic stock and modern architecture. The UniverSil system (614 over the 615 base coat) is the renovation route for facades already carrying firmly-adhering emulsion or synthetic-resin coatings, and for ETICS. They are not interchangeable — each topcoat is thinned and primed differently, so choose one system and stay within it.

Do I need to prepare the render first?

Where the render has hairline cracks, repaired patches, load-bearing old coatings or uneven structure, prepare the whole surface with ProfiGrund Quartz Filler 610 — it levels and consolidates, and is overcoatable by either facade system. On a sound, even render you go straight to the system primer: Profi Fixative 611 for ProfiSol, or the 615 base coat for UniverSil.

How do I maintain a silicate facade?

There is no separate care or refresh product, and none is needed. A silicate facade ages by gentle surface chalking — a normal characteristic of mineral coatings, not a fault. When a facade is genuinely weathered, you recoat it with the matching silicate system rather than maintaining it with a care product. Talk to a LEINOS specialist about the right recoating route for your wall.

Outside · Facades

A facade that stays mineral, breathable and fade-resistant for years.

Rendered and plastered exterior walls — coated with a breathable silicate paint that bonds into the mineral surface, lets the wall release moisture, and holds its colour through sun and monsoon. Here is the system we specify for facades.

Rendered walls
Plaster
ETICS
Renovation

A daylit rendered facade on a modern Indian building, freshly coated with a breathable LEINOS silicate facade paint.

The brief, in plain words

A facade is a paint job with the weather as its enemy. It bakes in the sun, soaks in the monsoon and swings through hot days and cool nights — and an ordinary wall paint, sealed as a plastic film over the render, traps the moisture the wall needs to release. Water gets behind the film, the coating blisters and peels, and the render begins to break down underneath. A facade is not finished with a tin of emulsion; it is finished with a coating built to live on render and breathe.

The real divide is film versus mineral bond. A film-forming emulsion sits on top of the surface; a silicate paint reacts with the mineral substrate and binds chemically into it, becoming part of the wall rather than a skin over it. That bond is what makes a silicate facade so durable — it cannot peel away as a film, it stays highly vapour-open so trapped moisture can escape, and its mineral pigments hold their colour against UV far longer than an organic paint. It is the established choice for facades that have to last and breathe in a demanding climate.

But not every facade takes the same system. A new, sound mineral render wants a sol-silicate paint that keys straight into fresh plaster — the ProfiSol system. A facade already coated with emulsion or synthetic-resin paint, or an external insulation (ETICS) system, needs a paint that bonds to those existing surfaces too — the UniverSil system. The two are deliberately separate, non-interchangeable systems with different primers and different thinning, each matched to a different starting point. The page below is simply choosing the right one for your wall.

The recommended system.

Two parallel silicate systems to choose from — ProfiSol 612 for new mineral render, or UniverSil 614 to renovate an already-coated facade — each over a quartz-filler prep and its own matching primer.

A facade is not a single recipe — it is the right silicate system for where you start. Pick one of the two systems below: they are not interchangeable, so choose the one that matches your wall, then follow that chain.

01The facade paint · choose your system

Start from the topcoat — it decides everything beneath it. The two paints belong to two separate, non-interchangeable systems; the prep and primer follow from the one you choose.

New-render topcoat612ProfiSol Facade Paint FineNew mineral renderFor new mineral / cement render and historic facades.

Renovation topcoat614UniverSil Facade Paint FineOver existing coatingsFor renovating facades already coated with emulsion or resin paint.

02Preparation · where the render needs it

Common to both systems. Where the render has hairline cracks, repaired patches or uneven texture, level and consolidate the whole surface first — both facade paints can be applied over it.

Full-surface prep610ProfiGrund Quartz Filler

03The full system behind each paint

Each topcoat has its own primer chain — and the two are not interchangeable. Match the chain to the paint you chose above: never cross a ProfiSol primer with a UniverSil paint, or the reverse.

ProfiSol system

Sol-silicate — for new mineral render.

Consolidation primer611Profi Fixative

Base coat · optional613ProfiSol Facade Paint Coarse

Fine topcoat612ProfiSol Facade Paint Fine

UniverSil system

Potassium silicate — for already-coated facades.

Base coat615UniverSil Facade Paint Coarse

Fine topcoat614UniverSil Facade Paint Fine

keeps the two silicate facade systems deliberately separate, because the right one depends on what is already on the wall — ProfiSol for fresh mineral render, UniverSil for facades already coated. There is no separate care or refresh product: a silicate facade ages by gentle surface chalking, which is a normal property of mineral coatings, not a defect to maintain away. When a facade is genuinely tired, you recoat it with the matching system rather than maintaining it.

Why it’s demanding

What a facade puts a coating through

Sun, rain & heat
Harsh sun, driving monsoon rain and day-to-night temperature swings hit the same wall relentlessly, year after year.
The wall must breathe
Render needs to release moisture from inside. A sealed film traps it, blisters and peels — a facade coating has to stay vapour-open.
Colour against UV
Strong sunlight fades organic paint within a few seasons — facade colour has to come from UV-stable mineral pigments to last.

A facade paint that becomes part of the wall.

An emulsion film sits on the surface, traps moisture and eventually peels. A silicate paint bonds chemically into the mineral render instead — so it cannot lift as a film, it stays vapour-open, and its mineral pigments hold their colour against the sun far longer than an organic coating.

See it in real projects.

All projects

Bathroom interior in Coimbatore with white lime-painted walls above dark slate floor tiles — LEINOS Anti-Mould Lime Paint 665 system.

Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu

Bathroom Walls with Anti-Mould Lime Paint

Same family · finished with 665

View project

Living room walls in Pune finished with LEINOS Anti-Mould Lime Paint 665 in warm peach-gold — trowel-applied texture creating a Mediterranean plaster effect.

Pune, Maharashtra

Warm-Toned Textured Lime Paint Walls

Same family · finished with 665

View project

Modern Mumbai living room with smooth sage-green LEINOS Anti-Mould Lime Paint 665 walls and contemporary furnishings.

Mumbai, Maharashtra

Sage Green Painted Walls in Living Room

Same family · finished with 665

View project

Children's space wall in Visakhapatnam — LEINOS Anti-Mould Lime Paint 665 white base behind a hand-painted three-giraffe mural.

Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh

Colourful Giraffe Mural on Lime-Painted Wall

Same family · finished with 665

View project

Got Questions?

Questions about facades

Quick answers on formulation, application and Indian-climate suitability. Pulled from our full FAQ and TDS library.

: A silicate paint bonds chemically into the mineral render and becomes part of the wall, rather than sitting on top as a plastic film. That means it cannot peel away as a film, it stays highly vapour-open so the wall can release moisture, and its mineral pigments hold their colour against UV far longer than an organic emulsion. On render in a hot, monsoon climate that breathability is what keeps the coating — and the wall behind it — sound.
: It depends on what is already on the wall. The ProfiSol system (612 over Profi Fixative 611, with an optional 613 base coat) is for new, sound mineral and cement render, historic stock and modern architecture. The UniverSil system (614 over the 615 base coat) is the renovation route for facades already carrying firmly-adhering emulsion or synthetic-resin coatings, and for ETICS. They are not interchangeable — each topcoat is thinned and primed differently, so choose one system and stay within it.
: Where the render has hairline cracks, repaired patches, load-bearing old coatings or uneven structure, prepare the whole surface with ProfiGrund Quartz Filler 610 — it levels and consolidates, and is overcoatable by either facade system. On a sound, even render you go straight to the system primer: Profi Fixative 611 for ProfiSol, or the 615 base coat for UniverSil.
: There is no separate care or refresh product, and none is needed. A silicate facade ages by gentle surface chalking — a normal characteristic of mineral coatings, not a fault. When a facade is genuinely weathered, you recoat it with the matching silicate system rather than maintaining it with a care product. Talk to a LEINOS specialist about the right recoating route for your wall.

Ready to specify your facade?

Open a facade paint to see its full data, or talk to a LEINOS specialist about your render, your substrate and your climate before you order — the right system depends on what is already on the wall.

612ProfiSol Facade Paint Fine 614UniverSil Facade Paint Fine

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