Glossary - K
Keenes cement
A quick-setting, hard wall plaster, slower in set than plaster of Paris and normally used to produce hard, well-trowelled surfaces.
Keep alive/keep open
Refers to the condition of a paint which has been applied for a short while but is still in a sufficiently liquid condition to be successfully joined up and to dry without showing the lap.
Key
As a paint term this refers to the slight roughness of a surface which enables a coat of paint to achieve good mechanical adhesion to the surface.
Keystone
The central locking stone in an arch.
Knotting
A solution of shellac in methylated spirit used for treating knots and resinous timber to prevent stains from the timber discolouring the paint. It cannot be expected to hold back resinous exudation.