how to color mortar

Does anyone have advice as to how to either acquire mortar mix that will match the color of existing mortar or change the color of available mortar mix? My husband patched an area of brick on one of our bump-outs; the newly installed bricks look different because they were cleaned, but the grout lines also look different, as shown in the attached photo. (I am also attaching a photo of a lump of the old mortar.) In that spot it doesn’t matter because it will all be covered up, but another area where we want to keep exposed brick also needs patching. (It is an area where we were told a hole was kept open between adjacent houses so that construction workers could easily move between houses; when all the houses were finished the hole was bricked up, but carelessly.) [Brick_patch](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s1/:brownstoner:FheX:brick_patch.jpg.jpg) [Mortar](//muut.com/u/brownstoner/s1/:brownstoner:xHwu:mortar.jpg.jpg)

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Guest User | 3 years and 2 months ago

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thanks!

GreenThinker | 3 years and 2 months ago

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Extech Building Materials in long island city has white mortar. It won’t be the same as the old lime mortar that they used in the past, you’ll have to re-point the whole sections of wall that will be exposed for it to all look the same.

stevecym | 3 years and 2 months ago

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If you are trying to match the white, you will have to wait until someone comes on who knows a lot about mortar because my go to is grey. Unless you try thinset mortar for it. White thinset. Or mortar the bricks back with like type n an point with sanded white grout.

In so far as coloring mortar, like making grey mortar dark brown or some other color, the true mason supply places have powdered dye for mortar. The issue is, as with anything else, you can always darken it but you cannot lighten it.

With what i say above, about trying thinset. I would only do that in a small interior patch. I would not try that outside or do a wall this way. I am not a mason and do not know the risks of using thinset on these old bricks. There is quite possibly a white mortar for this sort of thing.