Decorative plaster of walls, its types, advantages, preparatory stage and coating technology, sequence of works and painting of the material. Depending on the type of surface obtained as a result of application to the walls, decorative plasters are classified as follows:
- Structural coating … It consists of several materials that differ in stability and properties: quartz, small stones, fibers or mica. A striking example of such a coating is the "bark beetle" structure. The coating can be made on a lime-cement or synthetic base, it is easy to apply and quite flexible.
- Mineral coating … Includes lime, marble granules, minerals and cement. This composition gives the coating thermal insulation properties. The modifiers included in it, in contact with lime, make it resistant to moisture. The mineral coating is used for indoor and outdoor use. The main advantage of plaster is its low consumption.
- Stone plaster … Contains quartz or marble chips. Its particles are large enough, so the coating creates a play of light on the surface. Stone plaster is ideal for outdoor use; after polymerization, it becomes moisture resistant.
- Venetian plaster … It has been known since the Middle Ages. Most often, the mixture contains crushed marble, the dust of which creates the illusion of a natural mineral finish on the surface. Natural and synthetic substances are used here as binders. Venetian plaster belongs to elite coatings, requires careful surface preparation, is applied in a thin layer and is used exclusively for interior walls or ceilings.
Advantages of decorative plasters
The use of decorative plaster for wall decoration has a number of advantages:
- The external characteristics are excellent and are manifested in the material by its rich gamut of colors, various textures, allowing you to create relief patterns and patterns on the coatings.
- Water resistance. Due to its dense structure, the decorative coating resists the penetration of moisture into the enclosing structures, thereby protecting their heat-insulating layer.
- The plaster does not corrode, it is frost-resistant and can be used for coatings operating in various temperature conditions.
- Price. It is almost the most important weapon in the fight against numerous competitors on the market. Given the price of the material, it has become a massively affordable opportunity to do decorative plastering of walls with your own hands.
- The material is easy to use. Its application does not require special skills or sophisticated equipment. Quite enough simple tools and even improvised means.
- The use of coarse-grained decorative plaster reduces the time for preparing the surface of the walls, since their careful leveling and putty is not required in this case.
- After polymerization of the applied material, the walls have a finished look and a durable, durable coating.
- The appearance of the walls decorated with plaster can be changed in a matter of hours: you just have to paint them in the color you like. At the same time, the relief of the coating will remain, and its effectiveness will only increase.
Preparatory work before decorative plastering of walls
Before working with decorative plaster, preparing the walls is a top priority. This work is simple, but requires patience. The surface must be cleaned of paint, chalk, peeling plaster or old wallpaper. All these procedures should be performed very carefully so that repairs do not have to be done again after a couple of years.
If there are cracks on the walls, they should be cut and putty. For some types of coatings, for example, Venetian plaster, the walls must be leveled to perfect condition. In other cases, such thoroughness is not required in the work, but there should be no grooves and bumps on the surface. After leveling, the walls should be primed and allowed to dry.
When planning a combined finish, when one part of the wall is painted and the other is decorated with plaster, you can separate surfaces that have different textures with masking tape or self-adhesive tape, depending on the straightness of the dividing lines.
Like any work, decorative wall plastering requires the tools necessary to get the result. Despite the various techniques for applying the composition to the surface and the associated abundance of devices, the minimum set of tools is always the same - a trowel, a plastic float, a set of spatulas of different widths, rollers, stamps, brushes and improvised means for applying patterns. In addition to tools, you will need a container for mixing the textured solution.
With these things at hand, you can move on to the choice of plaster. If you are too lazy to experiment with its compositions, you can buy a ready-made mixture. Decorative plaster can be made independently from the finishing gypsum plaster.
In addition to her, you will need PVA glue and clean water. All these components are mixed in the following proportion: PVA glue - 200 g, gypsum putty - 6 kg, water - 2 liters or a little more. Mixing should be thorough until a homogeneous mass is obtained. The decorative plaster is then ready for use.
Technology for applying decorative plaster on walls
The technology chosen for decorative wall plastering is directly related to the type of desired coating. It can be very simple or quite complex to perform, requiring some professional experience. This applies, for example, to Venetian plaster. It is applied in a special way, layer by layer, and covered with a special wax on top. Each of the stages of working with this material requires strict adherence to the rules and great care.
Silicone materials are also not easy to apply to walls. Allowing for the creation of embossed and very beautiful images, they require the artist to have an artistic taste, clear movements worked out with experience and the greatest patience.
For independent execution, decorative plaster "bark beetle" is well suited. It is easy to apply and can help create a beautiful textured surface with little effort. To work with this material, you will need a grater, a spatula and the skill of working with these tools: it is impossible to spoil the "bark beetle".
The technology of work allows you to make the relief in its various versions. The depth of its furrows is determined by the size of the grains that make up the plaster. In this case, one should take into account the fact that the large texture of the material increases its consumption. But there is also a positive factor: there is no need to carefully align the walls, since the textured plaster "bark beetle" perfectly masks their small defects.
Decorating walls with textured plaster is performed in the following order:
- According to the instructions on the packaging of the material, you need to prepare a solution of a certain consistency. Its amount should be such that the mixture can be worked out immediately without taking breaks in the work, since it does not dilute again when solidified. In addition, the joints between a fresh and dried layer of plaster are always noticeable and look ugly.
- An ordinary grater and a spatula become versatile tools in skilled hands. Before applying decorative plaster to the wall, on a small area of its surface, you must first practice distributing the composition in a thin layer. Once it thickens slightly, the plaster should be lightly trowelled to create the pattern.
- For beginners, there are several techniques available to get a good decorative effect. It can be a wave, straight or oblique lines of "rain", various circles or crossed lines. A simple and interesting option is horizontal relief. Movements during work should be soft and confident without undue effort. It is not necessary to design a certain area for a very long time: you can lose the desired surface effect.
- The texture on a fresh plaster solution is also obtained using improvised means: washcloths, brushes, crumpled paper and others. An interesting effect is achieved even without devices, but with the help of your own hands. Using a special roller to create the relief is the easiest method to guarantee a decent result. The drawing should be done as quickly as possible, since the coating does not dry for long either. Otherwise, you can get a heterogeneous texture on the plaster. Sharp boundaries and layering should be avoided in the abutting areas of the coating.
- After applying the coating, after 15-20 minutes, its surface begins to lose its shine as it dries. At this time, it is necessary to slightly reduce the protrusions of the relief with a wet trowel. It is not necessary to press on it with great effort in order to avoid deformation of the pattern. During this procedure, the instrument must be periodically cleaned and moistened abundantly.
- When using tape to separate sections of the wall with different textures, it should be removed before the surface dries, otherwise the separation lines may not be clear due to the chipping of the contours.
- It takes about a day for the decorative plaster to dry completely. After its polymerization, the surface of the wall should be treated with fine emery paper to sand and remove excess "hanging" particles of the material.
Painting the surface of the walls
Since the walls covered with decorative plaster have a generally finished look, many people stop at it. However, not all. Fans of bright colors and those who want to quickly update the interior at no special cost often resort to painting surfaces decorated with plaster.
For this purpose, it is recommended to use high-quality sunlight-resistant paints. First of all, the textured part of the wall is painted in order to avoid the ingress of dry plaster particles on the smooth surface. After a couple of hours, paint the rest of the wall. After the first layer has dried, apply the second one. The decorative effect achieved in this case is impressive, despite the extra hassle. The paint is applied with a short nap roller. The tool must be semi-dry during operation. To highlight the pattern, you can use paint in lighter colors.
Coloring of decorative plaster can be done when choosing it or at the stage of preparing the mixture. The store usually offers a huge assortment of all kinds of shades of decorative plaster. For a sample, you can apply a small amount of it to a piece of plywood and allow it to dry completely, as the shade of the sample will depend on its moisture content. If you are not satisfied with the color, you can choose another one. This method has clear advantages: the tone is uniform, and if there is a shortage of material, you can easily order it with the desired shade.
If you have a desire, you can experiment with the color of the plaster yourself. There is nothing difficult in this: the pigment of the desired color needs to be added to the mixture little by little, mix it well and be sure to make test applications on any sample.
How to apply decorative plaster on the walls - watch the video:
When following these simple recommendations, you can easily carry out decorative plastering of the internal walls with your own hands, while achieving a good result. This finish looks great in any interior, but remember that it needs to be done within one day. With some effort, you can create a cozy atmosphere in the house, and most importantly, forget about repairs for years. Good luck!
