Can anyone please give me the best mix/product to achieve a nice soft internal rustic render finish and similar for pointing stonework? Thank you.

You'll struggle to buy the materials nowadays, as river sand isn't really available any more thanks to estuaries being protected for wading birds etc. However, it goes without saying that using authentic materials will inevitably make it feel "right", by which I mean blended sand for base coat render, very coarse and very fine mixed in a natural balance. Todays sands are quarried, and mechanically graded into monogrades, or bands of grades. The very fine sand that would be in the mix otherwise, has been sieved out, and this can only be replaced by lime. This has a HUGE effect on the sand-lime ratio needed to give a good mix. My advice is that whatever sand you use for rendering, try adding half a sack of fine "sablon 01" into the mix, remembering that a mix containing too much lime will shrink and crack as it dries. If you use CAEB (non-hydraulic lime) as purists do, you're already well on the way to creating a soft render. Most Hydraulic lime is commonly around NHL3,5 which is rock hard when set, more like a white cement than a lime, in fact. I question whether this stuff breathes or moves to any useful degree. It's lovely to work with though, and sticks like shit to a blanket. Final coat of render would be of fine river sand. Quarried sand is NOT acceptable, but you have no choice. You'll just have to mask the sandtex-like texture with layers of whitewash, which can be applied before the render is even dry. Additives can be thrown into the limewash to make it less powdery, and harder-wearing, along with pigments, obviously.

You'll note that there is no correct mix ratio, because it depends entirely on the sand. You'll know just by working with it, whether it's a good mix or not. Just remember that an old wall could have had 3 coats of render, and each coat is successively WEAKER that the previous one.

Good luck!

Chaux blanc? Have fallen into this trap myself in the past having tried to buy a sack of cabbages at a builder's merchants!

Thanks for the information. Can anyone recommend suppliers in Civray/Ruffec area? Can the sand be supplied in 1 Tonne dumpy bags?