Pasting walls with fiberglass, their composition, properties and classification, choice of material and technology for working with it. Pasting walls with fiberglass is a modern type of decoration with decorative fiberglass-based canvas. It is made from natural materials and does not contain harmful substances. Unlike traditional wallpaper, this coating adheres perfectly to any substrate such as concrete, wood, metal or plastic.
Composition and classification of fiberglass wallpaper
For the manufacture of these coatings, special glass is used, which includes quartz sand, limestone, dolomite and soda. The glass mass melted at a temperature of 1200 degrees is drawn into light and thin fibers that form yarns of various thicknesses.
In linen captivity, textured wallpaper patterns are created from it on a special machine. If fiberglass is pressed on wet paper, you get a painting fiberglass - "cobweb", which is used in construction as a reinforcing material.
The price of glass wallpaper on the walls depends directly on their class. Each of them has its own characteristics. Fiberglass wallpapers are "full-bodied", i.e. 1st grade, non-standard 2nd grade and economy class.
The first, with a density of 100 g / m2 and more have the highest rates ensuring the durability of the material. The second grade, unlike the first, may contain defects: protruding threads, holes, violation of the pattern. Economy-class wallpaper has the lowest density - less than 100 g / m22, with such an indicator, there is no need to talk about their durability.
Technical characteristics of fiberglass
Fiberglass wallpaper has an impressive list of positive characteristics that distinguish it from other types of roll coverings. The undoubted advantages of the material are:
- High strength for durability of the coating. It is difficult to tear or scratch it, and the service life of such wallpaper, subject to the installation technology, can be up to 30 years. Due to its strength and reinforcing properties of fibers, the material is often used in earthquake-prone regions, counteracting the development of small wall cracks.
- Natural composition of the material, which ensures a healthy indoor climate and excludes the appearance of a breeding ground for microorganisms and insects.
- Excellent fire safety data: flammability index - G1, and toxicity - T1. In the event of a fire, fiberglass wallpaper is non-flammable and does not emit toxic substances.
- Fiberglass wallpaper is insensitive to moisture and chemically neutral. They can be glued in the kitchen and bathroom.
- The material is hygroscopic: the walls pasted over with it do not disturb the air exchange in the room.
- Wallpaper does not accumulate static electricity and therefore does not attract dust.
- High wear resistance. The coating can be repainted up to 20 times.
All of the above advantages ensure the use of glass fiber wall decoration for almost any room. Roll of quality material 25 rm. costs 1500-2500 rubles.
Features of the choice of glass wallpaper for walls
Some manufacturers use too much impregnation in the manufacture of fiberglass wallpaper, thus trying to make the material dense. But in the process of pasting, the wallpaper pattern on the wall loses its expressiveness, since the impregnation does not provide the desired texture. Therefore, the choice of such wallpaper should be treated with caution.
Another "pitfall". The texture of the wallpaper roll may not always look like it on the finished cover. There are manufacturers who use fluff fibers in the technology, which are wider than ordinary threads. The consequence of this is a decrease in the volume of the wallpaper relief when removing the air gap between the mounted canvas and the wall.
To simplify the task of choosing a material, there are two options. The first is a trial pasting. A small piece of wallpaper must be glued to the wall, then painted and ironed with a spatula, thus performing a full testing of the material. If, at the same time, the wallpaper has not been tricky and has retained its original texture, this indicates their worthy quality. But it is not always possible to carry out such a test, so there is another option.
In this case, you will have to trust the quality mark itself, that is, the brand, and purchase material from world-famous manufacturers. These include the Swedes from Johns Manville, which produces Wellton, Tassoglas and Oscar fiberglass wallpapers, and the German concern Vitrulan Textilglas GmbH with Vitrulan wallpaper. The turnover of the Swedish company is higher than that of the German one, but Vitrulan Textilglas GmbH is well known in Europe. Her Vitrulan wallpaper is the highest quality coating of its kind today. Tests of this model have shown its resistance to enormous loads, even when wet.
Technology for installing fiberglass wallpaper on walls
Before gluing fiberglass to walls or preparing them, you need to dress appropriately. This is required by the specifics of the work. The fact is that small fibers of the material in the process of manipulating it will inevitably crumble and fall on the skin, causing discomfort and the desire to scratch. When sweating occurs, these sensations are aggravated. Therefore, it is highly advisable to protect your body with working overalls with long sleeves, and put a hat on your head. After that, you can start decorating the walls, which can be presented in a certain sequence of execution.
Preparation of walls for pasting with fiberglass
As with any wall covering, the preparation of the base for fiberglass wallpaper should begin with the removal of the old finish.
To clean the wallpaper from the walls, moisten them with water using a brush or roller and allow time to soak well. The coating can then be removed with a metal spatula. If some of the wallpaper still remains on the wall, such areas should be ironed with a hot iron and re-moistened. After this procedure, the problem will disappear.
Water-based paint from the walls can be washed off with a sponge or cloth. Oil paint can be removed with sandpaper, but the process is tedious and time-consuming. It is easier to use the mechanical method: you need to insert a special nozzle with metal bristles into the drill, with the help of such a brush any paint can be removed without problems, but with more dust than in the previous case. Therefore, it is worth worrying about the protection of furniture and things in advance. They can be covered with plastic wrap.
Cracks found after cleaning the walls should be putty, the nodules should be knocked down with a chisel, and stains of various origins should be removed using available methods.
After cleaning and repairing the surface, it should be treated with a penetrating primer such as Ceresit CT17. At the same time, dust will disappear from the walls, and their outer layer will harden and acquire adhesive properties. It is necessary to prime the walls before applying each layer of plaster, painting, putty compounds and before any pasting.
When the primer is dry, you can begin leveling the surface. In this regard, preparation of walls for glass fiber wallpaper does not require special care. The dense structure of this material can completely cover small flaws in the plane. Aligning the walls is done with plaster or gypsum mixture. The result of the work must be controlled using a plumb line, a square and a two-meter level-rule.
After a while, even and dry walls should be primed again before gluing.
Preparation of glue for the installation of fiberglass
The service life of the wall covering depends on this procedure. Fiberglass wallpaper must not be applied using an adhesive designed for paper roll materials. The reason for this is the dense texture and significant weight of fiberglass, which "paper" glue simply cannot hold.
An adhesive composition suitable for such a material is marketed in the form of a ready-made or dry mixture. Recommendations for its preparation are indicated by the manufacturers of the glue on the product packaging. Typically, 200 g of powder requires 3-5 liters of water.
To prepare the solution, pour water into a container of a suitable size and gradually pour the mixture into it, continuously stirring the contents of the container. Then the glue should be allowed to swell for 5-10 minutes, and after its expiration, it should be mixed until a homogeneous appearance is obtained.
For gluing fiberglass wallpaper, the most commonly used pigmented composition Oscar, which allows you to determine the uniformity of the adhesive layer. In addition, there is a frost-resistant universal adhesive Kleo Ultra, Security GK 10, Pufas and others.
Some fiberglass wallpapers do not require the purchase of glue. For example, Vitrulan Aqua Plus has a ready-made adhesive layer on its back. For a wall sticker, it is enough to moisten such wallpaper with water.
The amount of glue required to complete the entire scope of work should be known in advance. Usually manufacturers indicate its consumption on the package, but you can generally focus on 250-300 g of the finished composition per 1 m2 wall surface.
How to glue fiberglass wallpaper on walls
Before you start pasting the walls, make sure that the windows and doors are closed and there are no drafts. Direct sunlight on the glued wallpaper is also undesirable for now. The room temperature should be room temperature + 18-25 ° С, humidity - less than 70%.
To work on pasting walls with fiberglass, you will need a tape measure, a knife and a plumb line, a plastic and metal spatula, a brush, a paint ditch and a roller, as well as a rag to remove glue from the front surface of the material.
Work should begin by cutting the canvases of the required length, focusing on the height of the pasting of the walls. The glue must be poured into a cuvette, it is convenient to draw the composition onto a roller in it and squeeze out the excess.
Using a roller, the mixture should be applied to the wall with a passage equal to the width of the canvas with a margin. The labeling of the first strip must be carried out strictly vertically: the rest of the canvases will be aligned along it. Therefore, when performing this work, you need to use a plumb line to draw a control line on the wall.
After applying each sheet to the section of the wall covered with glue, carefully smooth the surface of the coating with a plastic spatula, straightening the folds and removing air bubbles. The direction of movement is from the middle of the canvas to its edges. When smoothing the wallpaper, excess glue will appear, squeezed onto the surface of the covering. They should be removed with a damp and clean cloth.
Excess fiberglass near the floor and ceiling must be cut off. To do this, it is convenient to use a wide spatula as a ruler, and cut with a sharp knife.
All canvases should be glued end-to-end. After finishing the work, the coating must be left until the adhesive has dried.
After pasting the walls with glass fiber and drying them for two days, the new coating can be painted. Before painting, its surface should be primed with a thick aqueous solution of wallpaper glue. This will reduce the consumption of paint and varnish material, which is 500 g / m2… Coloring should be done in two layers. The break between them is 12 hours.
How to glue fiberglass wallpaper on walls - watch the video:
As can be seen from the above material, pasting walls with fiberglass differs little from the device of similar vinyl or other coatings. But the quality characteristics of the material made from natural ingredients attract more and more admirers every year.
