Finishes - Why is my lime mortar a different colour/texture to previous that I have bought?

My lime mortar appears a different texture and colour to what I thought it would be, is there a reason for this?

The visual appearance of lime mortars will be very dependent on how you finish them i.e. if you finish them off the trowel, or sponge them, or open up the surface with a churn brush.

If you overwork the material in the wall it can also appear lighter and whiter as you will bring the lime up to the surface.

New lime mortars will age and weather and therefore change appearance over time.

Lime mortars will also appear different when dry and when wet.

As an example, look at the images below – they are all old red sandstone fat lime mortar from the same bag.

1. The first set of images below shows a closed surface and an open surface.
2. The second set of images below shows (on the left) the closed surface cut back to take the lighter/ whiter finish away to reveal the true colour of the mortar.
3. The third set of images below shows the same mortar wet.