Speaking of plaster, we most often mean a technical finishing material for leveling walls. But there is a separate type of it, which allows you to combine the stages of roughing and finishing and show creativity when working with your own hands. This is the so-called decorative plaster. The idea of giving decorative qualities to this material cannot be called new; it has been known since the time of the Renaissance frescoes. However, thanks to modern technologies, such plaster has received a new composition and properties that allow it to become one of the most popular and promising finishing materials. Wall decoration with decorative plaster will help to give any apartment a unique and original look and embody any design delights.
What is decorative plaster?
Technically, this material is a mixture of binder, filler, dye and water. As an adhesive base in manufacturing plaster mixture cement, lime, synthetic latexes, potassium silicate are used. Stone chips and wood fibers can act as a filler.
Decorative plaster is also called textured, because when it is applied, the surface acquires a certain texture. Different kinds of textures are achieved in different ways. Some mixtures become porous due to filling with oxygen. Others create a grainy terrain due to the sand and pebbles included in their composition. Certain types of plasters have properties that, with certain skills, allow them to give them absolutely any texture.
One of the most important advantages of decorative plaster when doing repairs with your own hands is the reduction in labor costs for finishing work. In general, this method of finishing an apartment has so many positive aspects that it simply leaves no chance for other materials.
Advantages and disadvantages of finishing with decorative plaster
The advantages of this type of finishing material include:
- no need for careful leveling of the wall surface;
- the uselessness of many procedures, for example, puttying, painting;
- smoothing wall irregularities due to volumetric texture;
- lack of joints and seams;
- strength and durability;
- environmental friendliness;
- vapor permeability;
- resistance to pollution and ease of maintenance;
- variety of textures and palettes;
- the possibility of implementing a variety of original design solutions;
- excellent compatibility with other finishing materials;
- wide scope and availability.
Among the shortcomings, only the relative complexity of application and dismantling can be mentioned. But there is no need to be afraid of the complexity of the work, it is within the power of everyone who improves housing with their own hands. If you are a beginner, it is not necessary to immediately try to realize intricate artistic ideas. Decorative plaster is suitable for everyone - from beginner home craftsmen to professional artists and decorators.
Types of decorative plasters
Depending on the base material that binds the components of the plaster, the following types can be distinguished:
- mineral;
- acrylic;
- silicate;
- silicone.
Let us briefly consider the features and differences of different types of plaster mixes.
mineral plaster
Base: cement, lime or gypsum.
Features: sold as a white dry mix, diluted with water immediately before starting work, needs to be tinted. Requires pre-treatment of the wall with a special primer with quartz sand in the composition.
Application: finishing walls made of concrete, brick, drywall.Suitable for both interior and exterior decoration.
Advantages: strength, moisture resistance, vapor permeability, ease of application when finishing with your own hands, low cost.
Disadvantages: low plasticity, the possibility of cracks.
Acrylic decorative plaster
Base: acrylic resin.
Features: Packed and sold in finished, diluted form. Requires a two coat primer prior to application. Allows you to achieve a certain texture in two ways: using an optional filler or manually.
Application: interior decoration.
Advantages: excellent elasticity, good adhesion to the surface, ability to withstand slight deformation of the base, ease of application and structuring.
Disadvantages: refers to flammable substances, should not be combined with wooden walls.
silicone plaster
Base: silicone resin.
Features: sold in finished tinted form, requires the use of a special primer before application.
Application: interior and exterior decoration.
Advantages: high elasticity and hiding power, moisture resistance, increased vapor permeability, long service life, high adhesion, self-cleaning ability, a huge variety of shades.
Cons: Expensive material.
silicate plaster
Base: potash glass.
Features: you can buy ready-made, requires the application of a silicate primer.
Application: mainly for finishing facades of buildings.
Advantages: excellent elasticity, moisture resistance, strength, vapor permeability, durability, high adhesion.
Disadvantages: poor color range, requires certain skills due to rapid drying.
According to the method of creating texture and pattern, the following types of decorative plasters are distinguished:
- structural plaster;
- Venetian;
- "stone chips";
- flock coating and other varieties.
Structural plaster
Of all types of decorative coatings, this is the most popular and inexpensive. As a filler, heterogeneous components are used here: pebbles, mineral chips, mica, wood fibers, flax, cotton. With its help, you can imitate different types of natural materials, for example, tree bark or masonry stone. Such a coating perfectly masks surface defects and looks very interesting and voluminous. It is very plastic, so it is suitable for do-it-yourself decoration and allows you to use any tool.
Venetian plaster
This finishing material is considered the most expensive and difficult to work with. Filler - marble chips. Perfectly fits into an antique or classic interior. Allows you to create the effect of a marble pattern. Via Venetian plaster you can achieve absolutely incredible effects, but when decorating an apartment with your own hands, it is not recommended for beginners to use it.
flock coating
Flock - these are particles of acrylic paint of different colors, shapes and sizes.
Flock coating is a mixture of water-acrylic base, flock and protective varnish. It is a novelty in the world of decorative finishes and has a number of advantages. When applied to the wall, it dries for a long time, so it does not require work experience, it is easy to apply with your own hands. Flock coating is suitable not only for walls, but also for ceilings, window sills, doors and cornices. It combines aesthetics, durability and environmental friendliness.
stone chips
A stone chip coating is a mixture of a binding material and fragments of several types of natural stone (quartz, granite, marble). Plaster with small chips is suitable for interior decoration, with a larger one - for facades.Since this material is considered cold, it is better not to use it in living rooms in an apartment, but to use it to finish the corridor. In addition, it can be used to highlight some part of a wall or interior detail. Stone chips can have a wide variety of shades, and are sold as a finished mass. Its application is not difficult, the main thing is to achieve an even layer.
Methods for applying decorative plaster
There are a huge number of ways and techniques for applying a decorative coating, some of them are simple and suitable for do-it-yourself work, some can only be done by experienced professionals.
We will look at simpler methods available to beginners.
- Spray method. The easiest way to achieve a relief structure on a plastered surface. After the first coat of plaster has dried, using whatever tools are handy, start spraying the wall. You can use a regular broom, and for a coarser layer, spray through the mesh.
- "Wood bark". Imitation of the bark is obtained by smoothing the plaster with a roller with a fur coat. For an additional effect, after drying, the wall must be sanded and varnished using the same roller.
- "Circles". To create such a coating, an ordinary sponge is used, which is pressed against the wall and rotated half a turn. To get circles of different sizes, you need to use several sponges. To make the drawing look harmonious, you need to observe the same pressure force.
- "A rock". An imitation of the heterogeneous surface of natural stone can be obtained using a chisel or hydrochloric acid, which is used to process a dried layer of plaster.
- Sgraffito technique. The surface made in this technique has a multi-layered pattern. Several layers of plaster of different colors are applied to each other in the desired sequence. On the top layer, using a stencil, a pattern is outlined, and layers of material are removed in the right places until a layer with the desired color is reached.
- Use of improvised means. To obtain the original relief, you can use any tools and materials. It is enough to take an ordinary plastic bag and, having crumpled it, apply it to the wall. You can take leaves, feathers, pieces of cloth or canvas and leave their “imprints” on a wet surface. This will create a unique and unique finish.
- Using a relief roller. You can get a beautiful drawing even without skills and artistic abilities using special rollers with relief or embossing.
Before applying a certain technique, you need to practice on a piece of drywall or a small section of the wall in order to "feel" the material.
