Decorative plaster is considered one of the mostcomplex and beautiful types of wall decoration in the room. Despite the low cost of materials for the work, this process is considered quite expensive in terms of labor intensity. Consequently, decorative plastering of walls with your own hands will cost you several times cheaper if you decide to do the work yourself.
Types of decorative plaster: smooth, textured, relief.
Advantages of decorative plaster
There are a lot of different materials for finishingsurfaces with decorative plaster. They differ in consistencies, shades and application features. To better understand whether it makes sense to apply decorative plaster to walls, it is advisable to consider its main features:
Comparative table of decorative plasters.
Decorative plaster can withstand changestemperatures and is excellent at resisting mold. The listed characteristics make it possible to use decorative plaster not only for interior work, but also for exterior work. At the same time, you can be absolutely sure that the coating will not be damaged by external environmental factors. So, the main features of this coating have been considered. As you have already seen, the plaster has solid advantages. Of the disadvantages, it is worth highlighting only the high cost of the process and the complexity of working on individual patterns. But if you decide to master everything yourself, then such disadvantages will not bother you much. Return to the table of contents</a>
Materials and tools required for work
Finishing in this way involves several stages, none of which can be excluded from the process. You should have the following materials and tools at hand:
Decorative processing toolsplaster: a - scraper; b - nail brush; c - comb; g - roller; d - seam roller; e - bush hammer. The most important point is the choice of decorative plaster. It has several components. The first component is pigment. It gives the plaster a certain shade. Pigments can be purchased separately. This way you will be able to mix them to achieve the desired color. Fillers and all kinds of modeling elements allow you to achieve relief. The larger the fraction of filler particles, the larger the relief elements can be made (and vice versa). Polymer binders are the main functional elements of decorative plaster. The durability of the future coating will depend on their quality. As a rule, binders included in the plaster mix can be both organic and mineral. Return to contents</a>
Surface preparation
Any art starts with thempreparation. First, you need to prepare the surface. Working with this type of finishing does not imply anything particularly complicated. However, you need to take into account and fulfill the basic preparation requirements. First, you need to remove all fragile remains of mortar and other finishing materials from the wall. After that, you need to free the surface from dust, cover it with a primer. When it is absorbed, start sealing cracks and large cavities. Too large cracks are sealed with ordinary cement mortar. Minor cracks, holes and pores can be covered with putty.
Preparing walls for decorative plaster.Next, the entire surface on which you plan to apply the plaster should be coated with a special cement putty. The layer should not be thick, but it does not need to be transparent either. There is no point in achieving perfect evenness, because after decorating, all minor defects will disappear on their own. A layer of plaster should be applied over the putty. You do not need to use beacons, since this is not necessary. Not ordinary plaster is used, but one that contains expanded vermiculite. Usually, such mixtures are already sold dry. Before work, you will only have to dilute them with the amount of water indicated on the package and mix well. When the solution dries, the surface must be treated with a deep penetration primer. When it is absorbed, the surface should be vacuumed. Keep in mind that if you are going to do Venetian plaster, then you do not need to prime the wall. The best option for Venetian plaster is to use a sand base. To do this, you need to mix a small amount of regular quartz sand with acrylic paint, stir the mixture well and thoroughly cover the entire surface with it. This will serve as the main base plaster. Instead of sand, you can also use pearl powder, but this will cost you a little more. Return to the table of contents</a>
Basic methods of applying plaster
Once the base surface is dry, you canget down to the decorative plastering itself. As a rule, there are many different types of plastering that differ in their application techniques. For this reason, it would be appropriate to consider the basic application techniques that can be successfully combined with each other to achieve the desired effect. The usual basic application of decorative plastering involves the use of beacons, a trowel and a spatula. First, you need to install beacons along the edges and closer to the middle, which will control the evenness of the applied layer. Next, take the plaster with a trowel, apply it generously to the surface, smooth it out, and then use a trowel and spatulas of various sizes to achieve the desired effect. This type of wall plastering is the simplest, since even unsightly stripes cut into the mortar layer will look original. This is considered a classic version of decorating walls with plaster.
Methods of applying decorative plaster.The next finishing option is to plaster the walls with your own hands using modeling elements. It can be done with your fingers (protecting your hands with regular medical latex gloves) or with rollers or stamps. Modeling is done on a freshly applied layer of mortar. But you should not do it immediately after application, but after some time, when the mortar becomes flexible and more elastic. Usually it becomes so after 10 minutes. It is very important not to waste time, so that as a result it does not turn out that you cannot model on a dried layer of mortar. It is noteworthy that modeling can be done with the addition of additional pigment. Due to this, the texture will acquire some tonal blurriness. This will give the wall mystery and abstraction. A successful combination of shades can completely transform the wall and create a beautiful gradient. Touching up is another common way of working with decorative plaster. This means applying certain pigments or specific patterns. The work is done using rollers or brushes. You can tint the plaster on a previously prepared relief, or you can make a pattern on an absolutely flat surface, which will look interesting. Rubbing the plaster is done using a special sponge. You can rub the surface with force, or simply apply a sponge (for example, coral) to a fresh layer of mortar, getting an interesting pattern after drying. If you prefer to use mechanical rubbing, then first a rough rubbing is done on a fresh solution, which determines the main relief. After the solution has partially dried, a final rubbing is done, this will hide all the sharp corners and round out the resulting abstraction. So, the main features and methods of decorating walls with plaster have been considered. Whatever methods you combine, after completing the work, the surface should be dried naturally, avoiding direct sunlight, warm air from heaters, too cold and humid air. Ideally, you should open the vents and let the plaster adhere to the wall.
