Going Strong Since 1878

Keim Mineral Paints has reached a distinctive milestone in its history. This year the company celebrates its 125th anniversary being founded in 1878.

1878 was a memorable year in many ways. No 10 Downing Street first became home to England’s Prime Ministers – Disraeli was the Prime Minister at the time. William Booth founded the Salvation Army. London’s Holborn Viaduct became the first street to be lit by electric lighting. Tchaikovsky wrote Swan Lake and the Meteorological Office issued its first weekly weather report.

Weather has also played an important role in the creation of Keim Mineral Paints, which were originally formulated in 1878, the result of a specific edict from King Ludwig of Bavaria.

At the time the lime fresco decoration of impressive buildings in Italy was highly popular because Europe’s rich and famous were journeying to Italy as the 19th Century equivalent of the ‘jet-set’ King Ludwig wanted to emulate these decorative finishes on his own buildings but because of the harsher Bavarian climate, they failed after a short time period. He then instructed his court scientists to invent a suitable decorative finish that would provide a longlife protective solution. A W Keim was granted a Royal Patent for his mineral silicate paint system in 1878 and it has been used successfully since then.

Keim Mineral Paints are ideally suited for external and internal decoration of wall surfaces. They comprise a potassium silicate binder with inorganic mineral fillers and natural earth oxide colour pigments. The paint forms a chemical microcrystalline bond with the substrate becoming an integral part of the surface. This ensures an extremely longlife protective finish, eliminating the need for regular redecoration and allows moisture vapour to pass through it whilst preventing the ingress of driven rain.

Today’s extensive range of mineral paints from Keim now offers products formulated especially for specific substrates or applications. Although Keim have developed a number of new products during these 125 years, the basic principles remain the same and have been proved to provide extreme longlife performance throughout the 125 years. For example Schweiz Town Hall in Switzerland was decorated in 1890 using Keim Mineral Paints. Today the decorative finish is still going strong after 113 years during which time it has only required small-localised remedial work and regular wash-down maintenance.

Another natural property of mineral paints is that they are inherently non-combustible. The silicate base of the paint, quite simply, does not burn; neither does it give off noxious fumes when exposed to fire. It conforms to British Standards for BS476 parts 6 and 7 and the new European Fire Regulations, which are currently awaiting implementation.

Keim Mineral Paints are widely specified throughout the country for projects ranging from domestic housing to large-scale buildings such as hospitals and offices as well as on many historical buildings. To date over 5million square metres of façade have been decorated with Keim in the UK.

And the Keim system will still be providing long-term protection for buildings, which will be specified throughout the next Century.

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