Description
Atlas Salta silicone masonry paint base grey 10L is the darker tinting base of the Atlas modified silicone façade paint, held in the silicone masonry paints range at Renders World at £57.50 per 10 litre bucket (August 2026) — the same price as the white base, so the choice costs nothing but the right shade.
Deep SAH Shades and the Walls the Grey Base Suits
Atlas Salta silicone masonry paint base grey 10L is the darker tinting base of the Atlas modified silicone façade paint, classified W3 for low water permeability under EN 1062-1:2004, so exposed elevations shed driven rain.
The grey base exists for the deep half of the 400-shade SAH palette — charcoal, slate, anthracite and saturated earth tones — where starting closer to the target colour is the sensible route to an even finish. The paint itself is identical to the white base; the sheet declares one set of properties for Atlas Salta and does not split them by tinting base.
- Thin-coat mineral and dispersion renders — the sheet's principal backgrounds, with fresh mineral render paintable from five days.
- Cement and cement-lime renders — traditional wet-applied work, once fully cured.
- Gypsum plasters, skim and plasterboard — listed alongside the mineral backgrounds.
- Unrendered masonry — concrete, brick, blockwork, ceramic, aerated and calcium-silicate units.
- Sound existing coatings — the case where going darker over a lighter wall is the whole point of the grey base.
Why a Grey Tinting Base Is Specified for Dark Colours
Four of the reasons below are declared on the Atlas Salta technical data sheet, and the fifth is a purchasing fact from the live range. Nothing here is a claim about the grey base outperforming the white one — the sheet makes no such distinction.
- Colour durability: the sheet attributes high resistance to fading, UV and soiling to latest-generation pigments and controlled component dosing — the properties a deep shade leans on hardest.
- Pearling effect and a dirt-shedding surface: the film is described as compact and microscopically smooth, so dirt particles and fungal spores lose contact and leave with rain and wind.
- Elasticity across layer movement: high resistance to cracking, achieved by compensating stresses from the differing thermal expansion of the substrate layers beneath the coating.
- Bio protection without a separate treatment: unfavourable conditions for fungi and mould from low water absorption and the coating's acid–alkaline reaction.
- Same price as the white base: both bases are £57.50 per 10 L bucket at Renders World, so base selection is a technical decision rather than a budget one.
Declared Performance From the Atlas Salta Sheet
Every value below comes from the Atlas Salta technical data sheet, update dated 30 June 2015, which covers Atlas Salta and not the separately documented Salta N, Salta S or Salta E paints sold under similar names.
| Property | Declared value |
|---|---|
| Product basis | Selected polymer dispersion, high-grade fillers and pigments |
| Tinting base | Grey (live product title) |
| Pack | 10 L plastic bucket · 440 L pallet |
| Gross weight (live product data) | 15 kg per bucket |
| Density | Approx. 1.45 kg/dm³ |
| VOC | 39.9 g/L (permitted 40 g/L) |
| Gloss, EN 1062-1:2004 | G3 — matt |
| Film thickness, EN 1062-1:2004 | E3 — 100 to 200 µm |
| Grain size, EN 1062-1:2004 | S1 — fine, under 100 µm |
| Vapour transmission, EN 1062-1:2004 | V2 — medium, 15 to 150 g/m²·d |
| Sd, general data line | Under 0.14 m |
| Water permeability, EN 1062-1:2004 | W3 — low, under 0.1 kg/m²·h⁰·⁵ |
| Adhesion, PN-80/C-81531 | Grade 1 |
| Working temperature | +5 °C to +30 °C |
| Drying · recoat | 2–6 hours · next coat after approx. 6 hours |
| Colours | 400 shades, SAH colour system |
| Shelf life | 12 months from the production date |
| System scope | ATLAS ETICS · AT-15-9090/2014 · ZKP ITB-0562/Z |
Reading the Two Vapour Lines Before Specifying
The sheet reports vapour behaviour twice and the two entries do not land in the same band: the general data table gives Sd under 0.14 m, while the EN 1062-1:2004 classification gives V2, medium, at 15 to 150 g/m²·d. Buy on the stricter of the two — the V2 class — and treat the Sd line as the sheet's own separate figure.
For an ordinary repaint over sound render that distinction changes nothing. Where a specification calls for a high-permeability V1 coating on a lime or heritage build-up, put the question to Atlas in writing before the order goes in, and the answer arrives long before the scaffold does.
How to Apply the Grey Base and Keep a Dark Colour Even
Application is by roller, brush or spray in two coats, worked wet on wet, with paint, substrate and air between +5 °C and +30 °C. One line on the sheet matters more here than anywhere else in the range: drying time runs 2 to 6 hours and depends on the intensity of the colour applied, so a charcoal wall and a pastel one do not keep the same clock.
- Stir before use, never blend: mix the bucket mechanically with a slow-speed drill and paddle to even the consistency, and combine the paint with no other material.
- Dilute the first coat only: up to 2% clean water, one 200 ml glass per 10 L bucket, on textured backgrounds such as thin-coat render — then hold that ratio across the whole elevation and apply the final coat undiluted.
- Cross the second coat after a minimum of six hours, perpendicular to the first.
- Wait out the substrate: five days on Atlas mineral thin-coat renders, seven days on acrylic and SAH renders, two to four weeks on traditional renders.
- Plan the breaks: set technological breaks at corners, building setbacks, downpipes and colour joints so no face dries mid-wall.
Quantities and Material Cost for a Charcoal Elevation
Consumption is declared per background rather than as one house figure: 0.25 L/m² on mineral renders such as Cermit SN, 0.20 L/m² on dispersion and SAH renders, and 0.15 L/m² on traditional renders. Two coats over 90 m² of SAH render therefore need 90 × 0.20 × 2 = 36 L, which is four buckets at 10 L each, leaving 4 L for cutting in and touching up.
On cost, one bucket covers 10 ÷ 0.20 = 50 m² per coat, so £57.50 ÷ 50 = £1.15/m² per coat, or £2.30/m² for the two — material only, at August 2026 prices. On a mineral render at 0.25 L/m² the same bucket covers 40 m², giving £1.44/m² per coat. Renders World ships by the bucket and by the 440 L pallet, which is 44 buckets, and that becomes the sensible unit once a scheme runs past roughly ten elevations. Roller sequencing and weather planning are set out in the silicone masonry paint application guide.
Installation Notes for Dark Elevations in UK Weather
Even colour on a deep shade is mostly a matter of substrate dryness and batching, and the sheet is specific about both. Colour uniformity depends largely on how thoroughly the background has dried, and mixing all the buckets for one surface together guarantees a single tone across it.
- Box the buckets, then check the dates: apply paint of one production date to one surface, which removes shade variation before it can appear.
- Protect the wet work: shield the painted surface from sun, wind and rainfall during application and while it dries.
- Net fresh render: keep scaffold nets up from the start of rendering until 24 hours after painting finishes.
- Allow 48 hours after rain on old renders, extending that as air humidity rises.
- Expect a third coat in poor weather — the sheet allows for one to even the surface out, so carry it in the allowance rather than the programme.
Two further lines are worth reading before a dark colour is confirmed. Painting naturally smooths the substrate texture slightly, and painting across surfaces that differ in texture or technical parameters can read as differing shades of the same colour — which is why a patched elevation is best made good in one material first, using a repair mortar such as Atlas ZW 330. Following the sheet's preparation and protection guidance is also what keeps discolouration and salt efflorescence off the new film, the subject of the guide to white salt staining on rendered walls. Where algae, resin or cement residue is on the wall first, the façade cleaning and biocidal wash products clear it before the first coat.
Choosing Between the Two Salta Bases for Your Shade
Both bases are the same paint, in the same pack, at the same price, and both draw on the same 400-shade SAH system. Atlas Salta silicone masonry paint base grey 10L is ordered for the deep end of that palette; the white base is ordered for the pale end.
| Variant | Base and price | Order it for |
|---|---|---|
| Atlas Salta Base Grey 10 L | Grey, £57.50 per bucket | Charcoal, slate, anthracite, deep earth tones |
| Atlas Salta Base White 10 L | White, £57.50 per bucket | Whites, off-whites and pastel SAH shades |
- Absorbent or chalky background? Old renders and highly absorbent substrates are primed first — the sheet names Atlas Arkol NX, and the equivalents sit in the exterior render primers range at Renders World.
- Deep shade on a sun-exposed wall? The guide to dark colours and solar exposure on façades covers how orientation shapes a dark specification.
- Still choosing a binder? The silicone against acrylic masonry paint comparison settles the technology before the colour.
- Ready to order? Confirm the SAH code, take the grey base for anything mid-tone or darker, and order to the consumption figure for your background.
FAQ: Ordering, Dark Colours and Painting Over Old Coatings
How much paint should I order for a dark elevation?
Order against the declared consumption for the background rather than an average. One 10 L bucket covers 50 m² per coat at 0.20 L/m² on dispersion and SAH renders, or 40 m² per coat at 0.25 L/m² on mineral renders. A 90 m² face in two coats comes to 36 L or 45 L respectively — four or five buckets, with the sheet's provision for a third coat in poor weather worth allowing for.
Can it go over an existing painted façade?
Sound, well-bonded coatings are an accepted background once old paint has been thoroughly removed where it is chalking or flaking, and small cracks and losses have been filled. Low-absorbency backgrounds and fresh thin-coat renders need no separate primer, since the first coat primes them; old and highly absorbent renders are primed first.
Do dark colours behave differently as the paint dries?
They do, and the sheet says so: drying takes 2 to 6 hours depending on substrate, temperature, relative humidity and the intensity of the colour used. Plan the second coat around the six-hour minimum rather than around a pale-shade habit, and keep each elevation to one continuous wet-on-wet pass.
Can the grey base be applied in cold or damp weather?
Standard application needs +5 °C or above at the paint, the substrate and the surrounding air, with high humidity avoided. Adding Atlas Eskimo brings that floor to 0 °C and allows humidity to around 80%, which covers most frost-free UK winter days and keeps a two-coat programme running.
How should buckets be stored between visits?
Keep them tightly sealed in the original marked packaging, somewhere dry and cool, out of direct sun, protected from temperatures above +30 °C and from freezing — below 0 °C the paint freezes and permanently loses its working properties. Shelf life is 12 months from the production date on the bucket.
Atlas Salta Technical Documentation on File