Structural plaster is classified as inexpensive and original facing materials. It is distinguished by excellent performance, good adhesion to surfaces, a variety of textures, a rich color palette, and an aesthetic appearance. This material is a heterogeneous mixture consisting of many components and is used to create decorative wall coverings in living rooms, kitchens, bathrooms, toilets, and balconies.
Material Advantages
An important feature of structural decorative plaster can be called excellent adhesion to any surface:
- concrete;
- brick;
- cement;
- metal;
- wooden;
- drywall;
- OSB and chipboard.
Structural mixture properties
In addition to highly artistic qualities, such decorative coatings are distinguished by such features as:
- strength;
- the ability to mask minor surface flaws;
- no pungent odor;
- immunity to ultraviolet radiation;
- ability to pass air;
- water resistance;
- wear resistance;
- plastic;
- non-susceptibility to the formation of mold fungus and any varieties of microorganisms;
- vapor permeability;
- resistance to temperature extremes;
- ease of care;
- suitability for the use of aggressive detergents;
- long service life.
Depending on the type of structural mixture, the surfaces retain their characteristics and impeccable visual qualities from 10 to 25 years.
Structure plaster composition
For structuraldecorative plaster characterized by a variety of types and textures of finishes, which is achieved due to the fine fractions included in the composition:
- marble or granite chips;
- wood or textile fibers;
- fine and coarse sand;
- fragments of river and sea shells;
- cellulose;
- foil;
- crushed fragments of mica, quartz, perlite.
The material consumption is directly related to the size of the fractions, which varies from 1 to 3 kg per 1 sq. m.
Variety of textures
Depending on the filler of the plaster and the method of application, the surface may look like:
- sand wall or dunes;
- orange peel;
- elite dressed or cracked leather;
- fish scales;
- various reliefs;
- reptile skin;
- smooth or fleecy fabric;
- antique;
- cracked stone surface;
- valuable rocks.
A special sophistication of the interior provide bas-reliefs, which can be applied to a dried plastered surface.
Material types
There are the following options for structural plaster for interior work, the price of which depends on the composition:
- Mineral, which is a dry white substance based on lime and cement, is the most budgetary type of coating. Immediately before application, it is diluted with water in the proportion indicated in the instructions for use, and stirred with a construction mixer or a drill with a whisk attachment. At the same time, color should be introduced or the surface should be painted in the desired color after the layer has dried.
Mineral plaster is environmentally friendly, fireproof, resistant to mold and microorganisms, but not elastic and may crack over time.
- Synthetic mixture for walls based on acrylic resin is elastic, durable, environmentally friendly. Sold in ready-to-use form.
- Silicone, made on the basis of polymer compounds. It has excellent performance characteristics, such as water resistance, plasticity, strength, durability, vapor permeability, UV resistance, wear resistance, ease of application and maintenance.
Silicone compound is sold as a tinted, ready-to-use mixture and is more expensive than other types of finishing materials. However, the high price pays off with a long service life (more than 20 years) and impeccable visual qualities.
How to apply
Most mixtures are highly plastic, which greatly simplifies the work.
Tools
Before proceeding with the decoration, you need to check the availability of the necessary fixtures. Missing ones should be bought. You will need:
- construction plumb;
- level;
- rule;
- scoop for plaster;
- trowel for finishing work;
- spatulas - narrow and wide;
- construction hammer;
- pigments or acrylic dyes;
- hard brushes with bristles of different lengths to create texture;
- textured roller;
- roller with a pattern;
- foam and rubber sponge;
- spray gun or texture plaster gun if large areas are processed.
Surface preparation
Preparation for applying the structural mixture for interior wall decoration does not take much time. Enough:
- remove the old coating, having beaten off especially strong fragments with a hammer;
- using putty and a file, remove noticeable defects - cracks, bulges, bumps;
- thoroughly clean the surfaces with a damp cloth (possibly using detergents) from dirt, dust. Grease stains are removed with acetone and degreasing compounds;
- apply a coat of primer to the walls.
Note! It does not make sense to achieve a perfectly flat surface, since a decorative layer of plaster will mask minor flaws.
Sequence of work
Before you start plastering, you need to introduce pigment into the mixture and mix thoroughly or use a white composition.
Colored silicone plaster has the advantage of a faster and more efficient finish.
- Ready-to-use tinted mixture should be applied from above, along the ceiling line or slightly below. The plaster is sprayed or thrown onto the walls with a shovel and spread with a trowel or spatula from top to bottom.
- Corners and cornices are made with a narrow spatula.
- Leveling the base layer should be carried out with smooth movements from top to bottom, without pressure.
- After applying the first layer, it is necessary to stop working for some time - from several hours to two days - until the mixture sets.
- The second layer is applied to the dried surface and leveled with a textured or patterned roller. You can create a texture with arbitrary movements - wavy, broken beveled lines, circular and intermittent.
Figured influxes and streaks, patterns, abstract drawings look spectacular. The surface with small or large fractions of marble chips or perlite looks original. To create additional effects, brushes with hard bristles are used, with which you can draw furrows, a foam rubber sponge for scuffs. A few more ways are shown in the next photo.
- Plaster niches and recesses in the walls.
Extremely popular are all kinds of drawings created with the help of structural material - real and fantastic colors, hieroglyphs, placers of stars. For such images, it is necessary to cut out the necessary figures on a piece of rubber and attach it to the roller.
Finishing
Depending on the weather, temperature and humidity in the apartment, the thickness of the applied layers, the structural mixture can dry for about two weeks. Then carefully remove dust from all surfaces with a soft cloth, process with fine sandpaper, clean again and start applying paint if a white composition was used.
You can not disturb the texture when painting with a rubber sponge impregnated with a coloring composition.
The dried walls are covered with a layer of wax.
Do-it-yourself wall decoration with structural plaster is especially attractive for creative individuals with extraordinary artistic imagination and a penchant for experimentation.
You can watch the application of plaster by a specialist in the following video.
How to make a mixture with your own hands
If desired, decorative plaster with a pronounced structure is made by hand, for which you will need:
- dry putty - 6 kg;
- water - 2 l;
- glue that will act as a plasticizer - 0.2 kg;
- fillers - pebbles of different sizes and shapes, glass fragments, beads, finely chopped pieces of foil, sand, fragments of tree bark, etc.
Preparation method:
- In a large plastic container with a construction mixer, mix the putty with water.
- Add glue and filler, mix thoroughly.
Having no experience in applying a decorative plaster mixture, it is better to use the composition on one wall in a small room - in a corridor, a small pantry. If it is not possible to immediately create a high-quality coating, the wall should be cleaned and a new layer applied.
