Building a house is a complex, multi-step process. According to the masters, it’s easy to erect walls, but finishing takes a lot of time and effort. In addition, everyone wants to end up with quality work from modern materials. The material for the walls can be anything, but at the same time inexpensive and high quality. Venetian plaster is able to satisfy the needs of even the most demanding owners.
After application, it gives the whole room its zest and looks like marble. After the main layers, the wall is covered with wax, so the surface is easy to wash. Unless specially scratched, it serves for a long time, suitable for a wide variety of surfaces. This is one of the perfect finishing materials.
As usual, among the many advantages there are also disadvantages. The first is a great cost. The second - without experience it is difficult to create the desired surface. Although there are people who, having understood how to do everything, cope with the task themselves. If you want to invite a master, then you should find out the reviews and evaluate his work, because he can also do something wrong.
What is a Venetian?
When there are no seams on the wall and the surface is comparable to marble, a Venetian was done with her own hands. Oddly enough, but such a finishing material appeared many years ago and began to be in demand only now. To do this, mix marble dust and slaked lime. On the walls it looks beautiful and rich. To make the picture clear, dyes were added to it.
The most interesting was obtained by dissolving in the composition of clay. Depending on the color of this substance, the walls acquired a pink or red tint. It was necessary to apply in the form of stains. This is the main difference between marble and other materials. For all this to last a long time, wax was spread on top and polished. The result was an ideal surface on which there is not a single seam.
Many years later, such plaster appeared in Venice, where it began to replace marble. Of course, the application process is not easy, but it is easier than working with real marble slabs. Many have learned to apply the Venetian with their own hands. And so it happened that the finish is in demand.
Where is it used?
She appears on a variety of surfaces:
- The walls.
- The ceilings.
- Columns in palaces, etc.
Such a coating serves for a long time, without responding to humidity and temperature changes. Everyone knows that in Venice there is high humidity, so they began to use such a composition without exception. In addition, it is easier to produce marble dust than marble itself. Everything else could be found easily and create something special. The fame of this miraculous stucco quickly spread throughout the world. As a result, the marble-made Venetian made it so relevant.
Structure
Oddly enough, but so far this plaster has a single composition:
- Marble dust.
- Slaked lime.
- Dyes.
As a result, the composition is completely environmentally friendly for humans and suitable for everyone. Although there is a Venetian with chemical constituents on the market today, modern binders are used instead of lime. It is worth understanding what to choose. In addition, rubber tree sap can be used. But it depends on the manufacturer which additives are present in the total mass.
The only thing that is inevitable is the use of marble dust. Before deciding on such a finish, you should know the application technology. Because making a Venetian with your own hands is not so simple. Although there are experienced craftsmen who are ready to do any project.
Application Method
Do-it-yourself venetian plastering is a complex process. If in general, then the procedure is close to creativity, because you can find many methods and compositions. When different movements are performed along the wall, then the pattern becomes individual. Without experience, to understand what will ultimately come out, definitely will not work.
What movement to do and what will be the result? Nobody knows right away, you can do a trial application and then apply it to the main wall. Gaining experience in this way will be too expensive. But why? Such finishing material is expensive on the market, and not everyone can afford to spoil it. Although some make Venetian stucco with their own hands from putty.
It should be noted that this method will allow you to learn simple actions. The application technique has several options, as a result, the pattern becomes diverse. You can do this: on a flat primed surface with an area of approximately one square meter, try to apply the plaster and sand it. This is a little experience, and you can just feel what exactly needs to be done.
It’s not worth starting decorating right away without experience, otherwise you will have to remove the defects, and this is the money and effort spent. There are master classes in which people learn. In addition, there is a large assortment of self-made Venetian photos. It is easy to understand from them how walls or something else will visually look.
What is the first step?
To make it beautiful, the base on which the plaster will be must be perfectly even. To make the venetian made of putty with your own hands smooth, it is polished. Latex is perfect, as several layers are applied and eventually coated with wax. But any errors will be visible on it, which will completely ruin the view. Having reached evenness, we get the possibility of small use of putty composition. Sometimes work is done with the base layer in order to achieve smoothness, but it will hit the wallet.
Primer
When the wall became perfectly smooth, a strong penetration primer is passed over it. It’s best in two layers - this is the only way the marble Venetian will turn out. Thanks to maximum adhesion, work will go faster. When the primer is completely dry, work can continue. Do not do this ahead of time, as applying on a damp wall is just a waste of time.
What's next?
It is clear that for training, the Venetian is first made from ordinary putty with her own hands, after which the main material is already taken. On sale there is such a plaster in buckets, it looks like thick sour cream.
Base in white. To create your own style, add color. To achieve an unusual effect, various components are on sale - gloss and mother of pearl.
To enchant means to mix in the dye. Sometimes this is done in the store, but at home it will work for everyone. To do this, you need to have at hand any tool with a nozzle, for example, a drill. It also happens that after opening the can there is water on top. It is able to prevent the mixture from drying out. In this situation, you just need to merge the top layer. Then everything is mixed until a homogeneous composition. Further, color is added to the resulting mass and carefully work with a drill with a nozzle. This requires at least 10 minutes.
A lot is going near the walls - this leads to the fact that the color scheme will not paint over everything. To do this, the nozzle is removed from the tank and the mass is scraped off with the help of a spatula. It is worth trying and painting the entire putty evenly. You can walk through inaccessible corners several times and tear with a drill.
There is always detailed information on the package, it is worth exploring it fully. Some manufacturers recommend waiting until 11 hours after staining. And one more important point to consider if there is no experience. When the paint dries, the color may change. In order to know exactly what will turn out in the end, you can make a couple of strokes on the working surface and wait for drying. As a result, it will be seen whether a dye or the mass itself is required.
Important point
When a person himself mixes all the components, it is worthwhile to understand that after making the same color will not work. The way out of the situation is simple - apply as much putty as you need. Let it be better than little. Before Venetian plaster on the walls with your own hands will be applied, you need to remember these rules.
How to apply layer by layer
How many times can I apply? According to experts, at least two, and a maximum of ten. This is decided depending on what the owners desire. If you practice and use the instructions, then you can turn the desired into reality. So diligence in this situation is necessary.
Each layer is applied by different methods, but the layers must dry out, and only after that the process is repeated. And do not forget to grind. As soon as all layers are completely dry, you can begin the finishing application. To do this, take wax, one of the options:
The first will create a glossy surface, and the second - a fashionable matte. When the choice is made towards synthetics, the surface acquires additional advantages - it does not perceive moisture and water. So, in the bathroom, synthetic wax for the Venetian, made by hand, will be appropriate. This is an important point for every beginner, because everyone wants to realize what they want.
First layer
As noted above, the application of the base layer is performed in the first step. Uniformity is important. They work the same way as with simple plaster. Previously, you can use dyes, but without them, the work will not spoil. But sometimes you don’t see what became the base, so the owner decides whether to tint or not. Much depends on which composition is selected.
Second and subsequent layers
The first one must lie down neatly, and the second and the next ones are distributed on the surface in a chaotic manner. For this application, you need to take a not too thick and large spatula or a special trowel. The mass is applied to the end of the instrument and scatter strokes begin to work along the perimeter. We must try to make it turn out carefully and the first layer becomes invisible.
At the same time, it is not necessary to create uniformity, because the Venetian, made with plaster of her own hands, should turn out to be diverse and unusual. It is compared with natural marble - this should be an example to follow.
Depending on the selected composition, 10 hours are enough for complete drying. All this information is on the packaging, so you should carefully read what a person gains before buying. What happens next? When the completely processed surface has dried, you need to walk along it with a trowel, as if peeling. Because there will be differences and they need to be removed. After this, another layer is applied, and then drying and mashing is also done.
This process is done until it is possible to create the desired picture. It turns out interesting and unusual - another layer passes through one layer, making the shape of the smears unique and inimitable. The brightness will be related to how many layers have been fixed. So you can perform up to ten applications. This work is not yet completed.
The finish
After that, a thin layer of finishing putty should be applied to the common surface. To do this, a small amount of mass is taken with a spatula and rubbed until a thin coating is obtained. It is now necessary to try and create the most even surface. Small indentations will be removed when grouting begins. But you should try, otherwise the presence of differences will spoil the whole view.
Ironing is next. This takes up to one hour. It is in this process that it is important to know the drying time, it is better to find out from the manufacturer. Then grout the dry clean surface. This is done carefully so as not to cause scratches or other defects. It is necessary to create a flat surface to achieve this, there should be no traces of sand on the trowel.
Waxing
Once the plaster has completely dried on our surface, you need to apply wax. In order not to be mistaken, let 24 hours pass. It should be as thin as possible, otherwise after a while it may peel off.
After 30 minutes, the polishing process begins. To do this, use a soft nozzle on any tool. High revs are not allowed. You need to do this until a gloss appears.
To summarize
So, we found out what the Venetian is and how to properly apply it in various ways. There are many application techniques, and it is worth choosing the right one. As already noted, the material is expensive, and experimenting is not so simple. But if you practice a little, it will work out well. The application is chaotic, otherwise it will not be possible to achieve the desired result. The angle of application can be very different. It’s worth picking your own and working all over the surface. Difficulties should not arise if the work is carried out strictly according to plan.