The composition and characteristics of silk plaster, the preparation of the solution and the methods of application to the wall, the positive aspects of using this decorative coating. Silk plaster is a picturesque finishing of walls made of silk fibers and chemical components, imitating the fabric of the same name. A feature of the material is the presence of silk elements that give the room a chic look. The article provides useful information about the properties of the material and the method of applying silk plaster on your own.
Composition and components of silk plaster
Silk plaster stands out for its striking appearance: after processing the wall, it seems that it is decorated with silk fabric. The effect is created by the main component in the plaster - fibers of artificial or natural silk, as well as cotton and cellulose. In the manufacture of the material, the following components are used:
- Polyester … The basis of the material is responsible for elastic and strength properties. The higher the percentage of the substance, the stronger the coating.
- Acrylic blends or cellulose glue … They tie all the components into a single whole.
- Special Ingredients … Prevents the appearance and development of mold and mildew on the wall.
- Dyes … There are a wide variety of colors, because the natural color of the plaster is silvery-white.
- Decorative elements … These are glitter, mineral chips, mother-of-pearl. With such fillers, plaster looks different from different angles.
- Additional components … Allows you to decorate walls in different styles, for example, in the form of wet silk, velvet surface, crinkled silk, etc. The addition of marble chips adds volume to the plastered partition.
- Silk plaster … Changes properties if there are more impurities of the same type. For example, mineral additives reduce abrasion resistance, while acrylic and silicone additives increase. Therefore, when buying, study the composition of the mixture, the possibility of using the material in different conditions depends on it.
Unlike ordinary building plaster, sand is not added to the decorative plaster. Silk plaster can be applied to many surfaces: concrete, brick, wooden walls, metal partitions, etc. Special additives allow you to decorate walls even without removing the old coating, painted with oil and alkyd paints.
As a rule, the mixture is prepared from two components: the main one, consisting of an adhesive composition, and additional elements responsible for the decorative front part. The main component is sold in the form of dry small granules or cotton wool, it resembles children's ornamental material. Packaged in kilogram plastic bags.
Advantages and disadvantages of silk plaster
Silk plaster gives the wall good performance and decorative qualities. You can highlight the following positive aspects of the coating:
- Plaster allows high-quality processing of surfaces of any complexity, walls with ledges, openings, numerous corners are easily covered.
- The technology for preparing the mixture is very simple, it is enough to dilute the workpiece with water.
- The coating does not lose its original appearance for a long time.
- Applying the mixture to the wall does not require experience with such a material, you can do everything yourself.
- There are no seams or joints on the wall covered with silk plaster, there is no need to join patterns.
- The preparatory work does not imply a thorough preliminary leveling of the base wall. The material is able to mask small wall defects. After finishing, a flat surface is obtained.
- Silk plaster enhances the sound and thermal insulation characteristics of the substrate.
- When applying plaster on the wall, you can create panels, contrasting elements, images.
- The properties of silk plaster make it possible to replace damaged areas.
- Silk plaster in the interior is considered a universal coating. Walls can be decorated with cladding in any room - bedroom, living room, kitchen.
- Small damages are quickly removed by wetting the area with water from a spray bottle and smoothing the area with a plastic spatula.
- The material is plastic, fits well on the wall.
- Silk plaster has a large color palette, you can choose a color for every taste.
Like all building materials, silk plaster has disadvantages. The coating absorbs moisture and odors well, which limits the scope of application. If stains and other dirt remain on the base wall before coating, the silk plaster will suck them in and they will appear on the finished surface. The coating wears out quickly, so it is recommended not to use it in places where it will be exposed to intense mechanical stress.
Tips for choosing silk plaster
When choosing a silk decorative plaster, use our recommendations:
- Artificial and natural silk differ in color and price. The first option is used more often, because artificial silk is cheaper, and the color can be any
- Silk plaster based on a natural component is expensive, but the interior is original and luxurious.
- Natural silk plaster does not change color for a long time, does not fade in the sun.
- Silk coverings with the addition of cotton or cellulose are inferior in appearance to the previous version, they are less durable, but they are cheaper.
- Fibers of plaster can be of different sizes, their size is indicated on the packaging of the material.
- Plaster with long silk fibers looks more impressive, but fine-grained materials are more convenient to apply to the wall, because mechanical devices can be used for this.
- Silk plaster looks luxurious and cannot be used in any room. It looks good in the study, living room and hallway.
- It is recommended to use dark textured plaster in offices and study rooms. In living quarters, decorate the walls at your discretion.
- In the kitchen, create the coating with care, after finishing the work, you should protect the plaster with a special varnish, but in this case it is impossible to carry out a partial repair of the coating.
- In the bathroom, use water-repellent silk plaster. Before decorating the wall, carefully treat it with an anti-fungal impregnation, and after finishing work, be sure to protect it with varnish.
- A wall with a lot of irregularities can be decorated with wet silk plaster. The special composition of this material smooths and masks defects. This type of plaster can be used to decorate arches and walls with protrusions.
- During operation, the plaster should not touch the furniture.
- Be sure to use special metal strips to protect the silk plaster in the outer corners from damage.
DIY wall plastering technology
Wall decoration with silk plaster is carried out in several stages. Failure to follow the sequence of work will lead to various unaesthetic consequences.
Necessary tools for plastering walls
A high-quality wall covering with silk plaster cannot be obtained without special devices. Depending on the type of material for applying the solution to the wall, you will need various devices:
- Apply a consistent silk plaster with a trowel or trowel. It is recommended to use a transparent tool that allows you to adjust the thickness of the applied layer and the pattern of the coating.
- Silk plaster with a fine texture can be applied with a spray gun, if the packaging of the material is marked "MH" - machine application. The spray device is chosen according to the characteristics of the material, which affect the diameter of the nozzle and the power of the blower, for example, the viscosity of the plaster solution. For mechanical application, you need an air blower or compressor that creates a pressure of 0.5 MPa with a capacity of 400 l / min. The diameter of the nozzle of the compressor gun should be 5-10 mm. From these data, it can be seen that the power of a household vacuum cleaner will not be enough.
- For embossed patterns, stock up on a textured roller, fine-bristled brush, sponge and other accessories.
Preparing walls for silk plastering
Before applying the plaster, remove the old coating, paint, glue, etc. from the wall and inspect it for defects. Despite the ability of the material to mask defects, walls, cracks and dents more than 3 mm should be putty. If you ignore this operation, then stains will appear on the surface, the coating may peel off or the color of the finished wall may change.
Silk plaster adheres well to any surface, but the walls should be properly prepared before work. Preparatory work depends on the material for making the wall:
- On concrete walls, you should be careful about the presence of various stains. It will not be possible to disguise them by coloring. In this case, the problem area should be putty, then primed with a facade primer and painted to match the purchased silk plaster or white. Fix crumbling surfaces with strengthening compounds.
- If a sand-cement plaster is applied to the base surface, it is checked for delamination. Problematic areas are cleaned, putty and strengthened with special means. It is not allowed to leave stains and stains on flat plastered surfaces. To prevent negative consequences, problem areas should be painted over with oil or alkyd paint, which is compatible with this silk plaster.
- On plasterboard walls, pay attention to the fasteners. Sink the heads of the self-tapping screws into the plate, no traces of rust should be visible, so it is recommended to completely putty the walls of the gypsum board. Especially carefully seal the gaps between the panels, they can appear on the finished wall. After pretreatment, drywall sheets should be painted with a composition of white paint and PVA glue in a ratio of 3: 1.
- Wooden surfaces made of chipboard, MDF, moisture-resistant plywood must be plastered with special mixtures and impregnated with a primer.
- Metal surfaces require special preparation before applying silk plaster. The material only fits well on the painted surface, so the walls should be properly treated and painted.
Preparation of a mixture for plastering walls
Silk plaster is produced in two types - ready-made and dry compositions. In the first version, the material is sold ready-to-use. Before work, it is enough to dilute the mixture with water to the desired consistency.
Dry billets are sold in parts, from several components, packaged in bags, which are connected in a certain way. The solution is prepared according to the instructions supplied with the product. Depending on the content of the plaster and its configuration for sale, the methods for preparing solutions can vary greatly.
The typical scheme for preparing the working mass is as follows:
- Mineral and decorative additives are added to the bag with dry microgranules, their quantity is determined by the master. The more additives, the less visible areas of fragmented repair will be.
- For the preparation of some types of solutions, it is necessary to separately make a color scheme, and then pour it into the liquid mass. For such cases, a special container for dosing the coloring element is supplied with the plaster.
- If you want to add glitter to the plaster, pour it into the water before mixing.
- Shake the bag with the blank thoroughly to distribute the components evenly.
- Pour enough water into a plastic container to dilute one bag of material. The volume of the liquid is indicated on the package. The water temperature should not exceed 35 degrees, otherwise the granules will "brew" and turn into hard lumps.
- The mixture is poured into water and mixed by hand, the contents are passed through your fingers. It is not allowed to use mechanical means, after which the structure of the silk plaster will be disturbed. After mixing, no lumps should remain in the solution; partial mixing of the powder is not allowed. This can lead to uneven wall color or poor adhesion of the plaster.
- Several bags of the mixture are diluted in different containers and left for the glue mass to swell.
- The solution is prepared 12 hours before work, usually it is kneaded in the evening in order to start applying it to the wall in the morning.
- Immediately before the plaster, solutions from different containers are poured into one and mixed, leveling out possible differences in shades. If necessary, water can be added to obtain the desired consistency.
The solution is prepared in an amount that is enough to finish one wall. If unused solution remains, it can be added to the next batch. You can also freeze some of the solution and use it in case of restoration of the coating. Low temperatures do not affect material properties.
How to apply mortar to walls
Before applying silk plaster, treat the wall with a special acrylic primer, although the material has good toughness. The solution is allowed to be applied to a completely dry wall.
The amount of material can be determined theoretically, based on the calculation of 1 kg - by 4-5 m2 walls with a layer thickness of 1, 5-2 mm, but adjustments should be made to the texture of the plaster. A coating with a large texture will require more material than a small one. In case of rework, purchase one bag of the mixture in reserve. Decorative sequins, which are often sold separately, are purchased at the rate of 1 sachet per package of putty.
Wall decoration starts from the corner. The prepared solution is applied with a plastic trowel to the wall in random order with small strokes, at a short distance from each other. The trowel should be held obliquely, at an angle of 10-15 degrees to the surface, the wedge is easily controlled visually.
The process is like spreading butter on bread. The thickness of the initial layer is up to 2 mm. It must be remembered that roughness appears on the surface of a thick layer, and a substrate is visible through a very thin layer. It is recommended to apply the solution from the light side to the dark side, so the unevenness is more noticeable. Purchase an angled spatula to apply the mixture to the corners. The corners are formed by moving the spatula outward.
The silk fibers are laid in the direction of movement of the spatula. In this way, you can create background images. There are several ways to apply the solution:
- Technique "moon" - strokes are applied with radial movements.
- The droppe technique involves the use of short strokes in different directions when applying silk plaster, resulting in patterns in the form of curls.
- The effect of a "wet" fabric is obtained with a very thin layer of the mixture.
- The visibility of silk plaster appears after applying multiple layers of mortar in the same style. When using special textured brushes, you can get the illusion of crinkled silk or a velvety surface.
2 hours after applying the plaster, it is recommended to moisten the wall and treat it with a float, controlling the work with side lighting. As a result, all irregularities and grooves will disappear, and you get a flat surface.
Silk plaster dries within 48-72 hours, the process is influenced by room humidity and air temperature. To speed up drying, you can periodically ventilate the room and turn on the heating devices - silk plaster is not afraid of drafts.
If you don't like individual areas of the coating, you can redo the silk plaster with your own hands. To do this, moisten it with water and wait until it softens. Then it is removed with a spatula, a fresh layer of coating is applied on top and carefully processed to the level of adjacent areas.
After the plaster has dried, it is recommended to cover it with a colorless acrylic varnish. The top layer will protect the coating from moisture and odor absorption. The smooth surface protects the surface from dust and makes it easy to clean the walls. Dust can be collected with a vacuum cleaner, and small dirt can be removed with a damp cloth or stationery eraser. However, the varnish deprives the coating of its ability to pass air. Also, varnished plaster is difficult to restore after damage.
Methods for decorating silk plaster
A wall decorated with silk plaster looks elegant in itself, the surface displays a variety of shades. If desired, the partition can be decorated with additional decoration:
- On wet plaster, they are carried out with a trowel, creating patterns in the form of a herringbone, waves, etc., maintaining one direction of the lines. A medium-bristled brush or washcloth can be used instead of a trowel.
- Also, a mixture is applied to certain areas of silk plaster, which differs in shade from the base. To do this, you need a tray where the mixture is poured. The sponge is dipped into the solution, held along the rough surface to remove excess solution, and then applied to the plaster.
- You can create fragmentary decorations on the surface. On a section of the wall, a drawing is made with a pencil (for example, a flower) and the inside of the image is removed with a knife. The borders of the picture are protected with masking tape. The recess is filled with silk plaster mortar.
- Layers can be tinted with a shaggy roller. As a paint, a color scheme is used, which was added to the bulk of the plaster.
How to apply silk plaster - watch the video:
Wall decoration with silk plaster allows the owners to get a beautiful individual interior and surround themselves with affordable luxury. Despite the considerable cost, the demand for such surface cladding remains consistently high.
