It is hardly possible now to find a person who would not know what putty is. Everyone who has visited a hardware store at least once in their life or thought about repairs knows what it is about.
Putty or putty is a widespread building material in the form of a paste or powder, designed to level the surface with the further use of finishing finishing materials (wallpaper, paint).
With the help of putty, both the most insignificant and rather large irregularities on almost any type of surface can be leveled. Let us consider in more detail the most popular types of putties for finishing apartments, compare their capabilities and application features.
Classification of putties: purpose, pros and cons
For interior work, three basic types of putty are used:
- Cement putty.
- Gypsum.
- Ready-to-use mixtures.
Cement-based screed
Cement putty, sold as a dry mix, is universal, it can be used both for interior and exterior work. The solution prepared for puttying is a mixture of sand filler, binder (cement) and solvent (water).
Its main advantages:
- Good strength indicators.
- Excellent moisture resistance.
- The ability to eliminate irregularities of more than 1 cm.
- Low price.
Main disadvantages:
- More granular than other putties, structure.
- The applied mixture, after drying, often shrinks, which is why it is necessary to make a second layer.
- Cement putty is inelastic, microcracks may appear on it over time.
- Cannot be used on wooden surfaces.
- Difficult to process.
- Has a yellowish tint.
Gypsum-based putty
This type of putty, due to the physical characteristics of gypsum, is used only for interior decoration - processing walls and ceilings.
Gypsum putty is an excellent material for finishing an apartment. It is a mixture of gypsum, polymer additives and mineral fillers (quartz sand or marble dust).
Gypsum provides natural moisture regulation: its excess is absorbed, and when the air is dry, it is given back.
The main advantages of gypsum putty:
- Allows you to get a completely smooth, rough surface.
- Ideal for preparing walls for painting.
- Good thermal insulation and fire resistance.
- Fast drying.
- Has no foreign smell, does not cause allergies.
- Environmentally friendly, no synthetic additives.
- Profitability - consumption is 2-3 times less compared to cement putty.
Main disadvantages:
- Not suitable for rooms with large temperature differences and high humidity (bathroom, kitchen)
- Easily damaged.
Ready mixes
Another popular type are ready-made mixtures, or the so-called liquid putty. It can be recognized by voluminous, tightly sealed buckets. Liquid putty has a creamy consistency and is very easy to use, because due to special additives it does not dry out until it hits the surface to be treated. These properties make it the best option for beginners.
Depending on its composition, liquid putty can be:
- acrylic;
- latex;
- polymer.
All these types of liquid-based putties have their own characteristics.
- Acrylic putty is used for final finishing of walls or ceilings for painting. In fact, this is the final layer of surface finishing in the room. Its thickness is no more than 1 mm, the end result is an almost glossy surface.
- The latex mixture is very plastic.It is used for processing drywall, seams, niches, arches. Suitable for filling surfaces before painting with oil or water-dispersion paints.
- Polymer putty is a leader in terms of elasticity, it is very easy to use and gives a guaranteed high-quality and durable result, but compared to other compounds it costs significantly more.
The main advantages of ready mixes:
- Wide application. Can be used for finishing walls and ceilings of a wide variety of materials, suitable for processing, wood structures, steel and aluminum parts, drywall sheets.
- High moisture resistance, resistance to aggressive environments.
- Elasticity, economy.
- self leveling effect.
- Short drying time, saving time when working.
- No need to measure and mix components yourself putty mortar.
- Durability, strength (the material does not crumble, does not crack).
All types of putties sold in finished form have one common minus - high cost. However, the high price compared to dry mixes for liquid putty is offset by significantly higher quality properties.
Please note: the shelf life of different types of putties is approximately 6-12 months. After this time, the mixture begins to lose its properties. However, if a little time has passed since the expiration date, the putty mixture was stored in a dry, cool room and did not change its appearance (dry - did not dampen, did not gather into lumps, liquid - did not change color), it can be used.
Other types of putty
There are several more varieties of ready-made putty mixtures:
- Oil putty, consisting of drying oil, chalk and drying accelerating additives, is used to work with wet surfaces.
- Adhesive and oil-adhesive putties are indispensable for interior work with surfaces intended for painting with enamels and oil paints.
Varieties of putties for their intended purpose (according to the size of the fraction)
There is another conditional classification of putties, taking into account the particle size of the mixture. This indicator affects the purpose and order of use of the finished solution. According to him putties are divided into starting, finishing and universal.
Starting
Serve for rough leveling of the surface and are the basis for subsequent finishing puttying.
If thick wallpaper will be glued to the wall, you can only get by with the starting putty.
They have the following features:
- They have a larger particle size compared to finishing mixes. Harder to give in grinding, as they create a rough surface after solidification.
- They have good adhesive characteristics.
- They are a solid basis for further work with any decorative materials.
- Apply in a layer of 0.3 to 2 mm.
Finishing
Their purpose is to create the final substrates for demanding finishes (paint, textile wallpaper). Such mixtures have a number of features:
- Creates a smooth surface for the use of decorative materials.
- Used on a surface previously leveled with the starting composition.
- Apply in a layer from 0.1 to 0.4 mm.
- Easily sanded.
- Less durable compared to starter mixes.
Universal
Combine the main qualities of starting and finishing mixes. They are popular with non-professionals because they can be successfully used for surface leveling, minor repairs and creating a high-quality smooth surface.The price of universal compositions is not the lowest, while the final quality of the resulting layer of universal putty is inferior to standard technology using starting and finishing mixtures.
