Seeking advice on clay/lime wall coverings over"painted wood" paneling in a traditional house build.

Hello everyone.

Thank you for this great community.
I am new here and thought I would ask for some advice.

I came across an 9 year old post here, where someone with MCAS had asked some questions about using clay as a natural wall covering to avoid adding more chemicals to a home that is a traditional build.
I found it interesting as I also have MCAS and I am also looking for solutions for more natural wall surfaces in a traditional home build.
I did comment on that thread, but as it is so old, so I figured I would also create a new post.

The walls I am working on right now, are painted wood paneling, with sheet rock underneath.
I was going to buy some lime products from a company, but it is quite expensive, so I am looking in to other options as an alternative
My goal is to leave the paneling there, but will fill in the groves. I would love to end up with a wall that has texture like old lime/clayish finish, with a little more depth that just a lime wash.

I have found some very nice natural red/brownish clay back in our woods and was hoping to maybe use that on my walls. I have quite a lot of clay already in my garage as well as shopped up straw.
I am wondering if I could mix in some lime for strength etc.
When I was looking for natural solutions for wall coverings, I came across someone using clay, sand, toilet paper etc.
Has anyone here used a mix of natural clay, lime, toilet paper, sand and or straw fibers?
I was told that the "wood paneling" might be changing with a fluctuating humidity here in MI, and to be careful that my wall coating doesn't crack, probably will need some fiber/glue (latex free) in the mix.

Wheat and latex is also an allergen for me, so I can't use a wheat primer coat, or mix in wheat as a glue for strength.
I can probably use a non toxic primer with sand added, and then air the room out for a while. (normal latex paint does NOT contain any latex, even though the name latex is there)

In the past, in another house, I used "American Clay" wall covering system. I used a trowel for that application, so I am familiar with that. I really liked the look and feel off this natural surface.
I also have multiple mold allergies and learning that a lime finish is a surface that resists mold etc. and is a very healthy additive to a home.

If anyone here has some ideas I would love to hear from you.
Thank you
Pia.

Pia,

Painted wood and clay do not sound like good friends. Applying plasters even to similar masonry substrate has its challenges. If it was not painted then it would be already difficult. I think it would be easier to tear it all and infill the studs with light clay and then you would have choices. It's a project, but I can not imagine how a natural plaster wood adhere to a painted panel.

Hey Pia,

Welcome to Permies! If the wood panel finish is smooth plaster won't adhere well to it. You could do a lath and plaster finish by fastening the laths directly over the wood panels. Just make sure you anchor the laths to studs. The downside is your walls will end up about an inch thicker. If you removed the wood panels I've heard you can apply sand and glue mixture to sheetrock to provide a mechanical key for plaster but never tried it myself.  

I haven't used toilet paper but I have used shredded paper for the fiber in my natural plasters. For the base coat I'll use finely chopped straw and then for the finish coat I'll use shredded paper rom sometimes no fiber at all if its a really thin skim coat. I'm a big fan of using lime as a binder. It doesn't seem to dust off as much as clay based plasters and is harder wearing. To tint the lime plaster I'll used iron oxide powder but you can probably use a mix of lime and the clay from your site.