Do-it-yourself Venetian plaster application. How to make Venetian plaster: manufacturing features. Update: personal experience

When the choice of finishing coating falls on plaster, it is easy to get lost in the wealth of choice. Modern trademarks trying to attract the buyer's attention unusual material. Venetian plaster stands out against the background of other analogues.

Peculiarities

Venetian plaster is a finishing material in the form of a plaster mass with an unusual effect. In fact, this material is intended for interior decoration of residential and, less often, non-residential premises. The composition is characterized by fine grain. The texture is delicate and soft, it is elastic and easy to use.

Modern plaster material has been known since ancient Rome. Remains of marble-based building materials, including dust and crumbs, have found their application as new raw materials. In terms of properties and external characteristics, this material was not inferior to marble. At the same time, it was easier to work with it, because its weight was significantly lower than marble layers.

The composition of the plaster material includes granite, quartz sand and marble. The smaller the inclusions, the better the plaster. Modern brands use elastic, durable and reliable synthetic additives as a binding component. Ready-made mixtures may contain aqueous or latex emulsion, artificial pigments and acrylic-based additives. Some types of raw materials may have gypsum inclusions. Often the use of this mixture is distinguished by the realistic appearance of the stone surface.

From a practical point of view, Venetian plaster is a worthy alternative other plastering techniques. She better painting or whitewashing the bases, and also looks more interesting than traditional wallpaper. The mass used is suitable only for the finishing layer; it is not intended for leveling the base. Venetian plaster is expensive, and leveling wall and ceiling floors with it is unprofitable.

Such plaster composition Suitable for various types of surfaces. It can be used on concrete, brick, wood and plasterboard substrates. Depending on the variety, the texture of the material can be matte or glossy. The effect is explained by the smoothing of the surface and friction with the polymerization of the upper layers.

The correct application of special wax is important.

Advantages and Disadvantages

It is impossible not to note the advantages of Venetian plaster. This will allow you to understand its relevance and main qualities.

She is aesthetically attractive. This coating looks beautiful, stylish, and modern.
This finish is easy to apply. The soft texture is pleasant to work with. Due to its high viscosity, it adheres well to the prepared base.
This is a textured finish. Even with a small surface relief, it makes the background design of the interior special and voluminous.
To facilitate the work and create the effect, a special ready-made mixture with this effect is provided.
Venetian plaster is an environmentally friendly material. It can be used in the home of allergy sufferers.

Due to the unusual texture of the pattern, it is able to hide minor unevenness in the walls. However, the application layer should not be large.
Due to its components, it strengthens the base. Over time, it will not crack or peel off from the plane. During operation, deformation of the plaster mass is excluded.
The coating is resistant to ultraviolet radiation. You don't have to worry about it becoming faded over time.
Hydrophobic wax can be applied to such a coating. This will allow the use of Venetian plaster in rooms with a high degree of humidity.
Regardless of the thickness and texture of the applied layer, this finish has thermal insulation properties. Due to this, the amount of heat loss will be reduced.
It is compatible with dyes different colors. You can make the effect multifaceted by using different tones for finishing, taking into account your own taste preferences.
This material is combined with other finishes on the surfaces of walls and ceilings. Venetian plaster is compatible with wallpaper, wall panels, stretch film, drywall, laminate, painting.

To reveal the full picture of the qualities of Venetian plaster, one cannot help but talk about its shortcomings.

It is demanding in terms of application technology. If you ignore this fact, the coating will not be durable.
The correctness of the pattern depends on the experience of the master or the use of a special tool.
High-quality material is expensive. This is especially noticeable when purchasing branded raw materials for finishing all the walls of the room.
Not everyone can do this type of finishing on their own. However, calling a specialist will be expensive, so you often have to master an unusual design technique.

How to cook it yourself?

If you buy ready material If you don’t want to or the purchase is too expensive for you, you should prepare the plaster mixture yourself at home. This process is not at all complicated and involves the use of available components. All components can be purchased at hardware store. If the required proportions of each inclusion are observed, the composition will have the same properties as the factory analogue.

To ensure that home-made Venetian plaster is as similar as possible to factory-made plaster, it is better to choose components of natural origin.

The texture and shade can be selected individually to suit any interior. Fortunately, a transparent or white type of source material allows this.

You can make a Venetian from dry slaked lime, fine stone chips, colored tint and natural wax. Instead of lime, you can use regular putty. To complete the effect, you need to buy natural wax. If its purchase does not fit into the budget, the wax can be replaced with water-based varnish.

It is worth considering several methods based on different recipes.

You can mix sifted sand (3 hours) with gypsum putty (3 hours), mortar based on gypsum (1 hour), add water at room temperature until the consistency of thick sour cream.
An equally successful option is using a primer. It is diluted with water by about half, add gypsum putty. The consistency is similar to the previous recipe.
The textured composition can be made from marble chips, pigment, powdered putty and water. Water is added only after the dry ingredients are mixed and the shade matches the desired one.
You can mix marble, malachite, quartz chips with a special putty, add slaked lime and color to the composition. Then add water. The ratio of additives and putty should be approximately 1: 4 (1 hour of all additives per 4 hours of putty).

As you can see, the material requires simple components. Anyone can do it themselves.

It is worth paying attention to the full master class, including detailed description each step of execution.

Consumption per 1 m²

The use of textured Venetian plaster does not have strict consumption standards. This is due to the different thickness of the applied layer, the possibility of defects, the depth of the relief, the consistency of the mixture and the method of its application. Depending on this, material consumption can be increased by 2 times compared to ordinary plaster. Calculations rarely coincide with actual quantities. In fact, you will have to add at least 10–15% to the declared value.

Manufacturers claim that 1 m² will take from 1 to 2 kg. The consumption of options based on quartz chips is about 2 kg per 1 m². The mass based on water dispersions is consumed in the region of 2.5 kg per m². Plaster based on marble, granite, malachite is more economical (1 kg per m²).

Tools

Creation and application process plaster mixture With Venetian effect implies use of tools and devices such as:

plastic containers for mixing plaster;
construction mixer with a special nozzle;
rules and trowels with a wide working blade;
plaster trowel;
masking tape;
fine-grained skin;
soft sponge.

To make the Venetian effect easier, you can buy a special spatula. In addition, the fact of dust formation should not be overlooked. Will need work clothes, as well as a respirator and gloves. If, in addition to the base coating, an accent pattern or other decoration of the coating is meant, it is worth adding brushes and a small trowel to the standard set. In this case, everything depends on the artistic skills of the master.

Often, surfaces decorated with Venetian plaster with different effects are decorated with special motifs. They can be almost invisible against the general background or raised, reminiscent of sculpting elements. In both cases, color will be needed to highlight such decor.

For stylization, its color should be similar to the main tone of the coating. In other cases, it is allowed to use pigments of different shades followed by varnishing.

How to apply?

The use of any type of plaster material is subject to general rules preparation. You should dwell in detail on each stage of the technology, considering the step-by-step instructions. This will minimize the possibility of marriage.

Preparing the base

The preparation technology includes several stages.

Removal of furniture parts. After the method of creating the Venetian has been chosen and its components have been purchased, all the furniture is removed from the room. You should not leave it even when you plan to decorate one wall or a certain part of it. In the process finishing works The formation of construction dust cannot be avoided. Regardless of the efforts and accuracy of the master, it will settle everywhere.
Removing old coating. The old coating must be removed and the paint removed. If you are removing wallpaper, you should first soak it with water using a spray bottle. This will minimize the amount of dust and allow you to remove the old panels in large fragments. Subject to availability greasy stains they are not masked, but scraped off from the surface. The same is done if significant contamination is detected.
Prepare the base for the starting material. Conduct visual inspection bases for finishing. Before masking problem areas, you need to get rid of bumps and crumbling areas. Everything that does not hold well is removed from the base. Such a base will not be able to hold the plaster material for a long time. After cleaning, wipe the surface with a semi-dry sponge. This is necessary so that the starting mixture layer has greater adhesion.

Priming the base. On at this stage you can prime the base. To do this, use a primer with high penetrating ability. It is especially appropriate in cases of porous and cellular floors, as evidenced by crumbling walls or ceilings. It is preferable to use white primer. This will allow you to see where it has already been applied.
Masking of defects. After the initial treatment of the base with a layer of primer and its complete polymerization, a starting solution of a sour cream-like consistency is applied to the surface. They do not cover all the walls with it: the purpose of the composition is to disguise chips, holes and potholes. The layer of coarse-grained material should not be large, as this will reduce durability.
Sanding. After the starting plaster has dried, it should be smoothed using sandpaper. It is worth working in a respirator. After finishing sanding, remove any remaining plaster dust from the surface of the walls or ceiling. To do this, go over the surface with a semi-dry sponge.
Repeated primer. To make the finish as durable as possible, the layer of starting material is treated with a transparent primer. Due to its high penetrating ability, it will hold all layers together, including the final Venetian coating. In addition, it will bind dust particles and missed microcracks, making the structure of the base homogeneous. After it dries, a crystal lattice is formed on the surface, which will hold the finishing material.

Venetian painting technique

The technology for applying Venetian plaster involves the initial application of the composition to the floors. The layer should not exceed 4 mm. It must be applied extremely quickly, otherwise the plaster will begin to set. This will cause defects and visual differences in relief and design. Correcting such a defect will be problematic, since the design is applied with a single touch.

To do it 100% high-quality coating, they try to tint the base (starting) material in the main tone chosen for the design. This will prevent the base of the wall or ceiling from showing through. Unlike other varieties, for Venetian plaster, 2 or even 3 batches of the same color of varying degrees of intensity are mixed. The results are light, transitional and dark colors.

They are applied to the base with a trowel in small portions, alternating with each other or in a chaotic manner. In this case, you should smooth them together. This needs to be done quickly. You can use a special trowel for Venetian plaster. Light polishing is required to achieve a glossy effect. At this stage of finishing work, varnish or wax will be useful.

Effects

Knowing the basic techniques for applying Venetian plaster, you can diversify this design using available materials and tools. For example, tonal transitions will be more interesting if you use old crumpled newspaper.

To prevent the mass from sticking to it, cover it with cling film. In this case, there is no need to customize the design: the decor will be even more interesting.

The drawing is not created immediately after applying the plaster mixture to the wall or ceiling. You need to level it and only then start decorating. At least a few minutes must pass, otherwise, instead of forming a relief, you will smear the mass from the surface. An excellent solution would be to use crumpled coarse polyethylene. If you want the pattern to repeat, you should attach such polyethylene to a paint roller.

For decoration, you can use a round hard sponge for washing dishes. However, you should not use it to create too deep a relief. A hint of unusual shape. Sometimes it makes sense to design the relief according to the “fur coat” technology, using a roller with short pile.

In this case, excess depth will have to be removed by grinding. But the effect of shade transitions will be quite interesting.

In addition, you can recreate the effect of surface cracking (craquelure) using a special varnish. Some people like the imitation of stone blocks or the structure of rocks (Marseille wax). Due to the transitions of shades, such decor will be especially harmonious in the interior of the home. Sometimes the drawing technology involves applying a film to the surface to be finished for a day. Can be used various devices, including rollers wrapped in mesh, clothesline, textiles and even embossed wallpaper. In some cases, Venetian plaster is applied in several very thin layers.

To ensure that the homemade plaster coating lasts a long time and pleases with its aesthetic appeal, You can take note of a few simple recommendations.

Modern building materials help create a wide variety of interiors; with their help, it is easy to implement specific tasks. For example, applying Venetian plaster allows you to turn an ordinary standard apartment into a luxurious palace. The technology for creating an original coating is extremely simple. You can master it yourself if you wish. There are several ways to apply decorative coating. It makes sense to get to know each of them. Then it will be easier to choose the most suitable option and make repairs in the apartment with your own hands

How to apply Venetian plaster

Before you start working, it is important to take into account one circumstance: different methods of applying Venetian plaster to walls help create different decorative effects. The technology is based on the same stages of work, and only the finishing layer can be carried out taking into account existing expectations.

What is Venetian plaster? This is a multi-layer coating that helps imitate surfaces created by different natural materials. You can create on the wall the effect of natural marble, the wall of a farm hut, balsa wood, or a complex textured volume. The color of the new coating is created using a tint. The finishing layer is often additionally treated with wax or mother of pearl. These components help enhance the decorative component and make interiors exclusive.

In order for the new finish to serve for a long time, it is important to follow all technological steps. It will help to do this step by step instructions, which tells how Venetian plaster is applied.

Surface preparation.

To prevent the multilayer coating from cracking or crumbling in the future, the walls must be carefully prepared before decorating. The order of work is as follows:

First, we carefully dismantle the previous finish.
The walls are cleaned with a spatula.
Then they are plastered.
They putty.
Processed sandpaper.
Primed.

Pay attention! Leveling the walls helps to save on the consumption of the finishing decorative coating.

Today, Venetian plaster is quite expensive, ignoring the need preliminary work with the surface leads to the fact that the consumption of multilayer plaster increases three times.

Tinting Venetian plaster

Venetian plaster itself has white. If necessary, give it color shades color is used - special coloring additives. They are simply added to the already prepared diluted solution, after which the mixture is thoroughly stirred using a construction mixer. Stir the color evenly without it manually will not succeed: it will be difficult to achieve a uniform color mass.

Applying Venetian plaster to walls

Any Venetian plaster helps to create or imitate the cut of natural stones or any other natural materials. A certain finishing layer technique helps to create this or that effect.

Marble effect

The marble effect is created as follows:

Using a wide spatula and sweeping movements, apply the first layer.
After ten minutes, take a special trowel into your hands and use it to form the required relief.
Two hours after this, a second layer is applied to the wall. It is done with a wide spatula. A multi-colored composition is laid out on it, stirred until smooth. The video lessons published in the article will tell you what colors to use to create a marble pattern. The multi-colored mass is applied to the dried first layer using pulling movements. In this case, the Venetian should lie in different directions. About five minutes after finishing the work, the applied plaster is leveled with a trowel.
The applied layers must dry for 24 hours, then the new coating is sanded with a special grinder, and then polished with a stainless steel spatula. Applying wax to marble Venetian plaster helps to enhance the decorative effect.

The following video helps you see in more detail all the stages of creating the marble effect.

Classic Venetian effect

The effect of a classic Venetian is created a little differently. To form it, it will be necessary to apply several layers of textured putty (from three to five) to the wall. Moreover, each layer has its own color or shade.

Pay attention! Since even professional decorators cannot repeat the selected color combination twice, it is important to prepare in advance the entire required volume of Venetian plaster and dilute different colors in different containers.

The operating procedure is as follows:

The first layer is applied in random strokes using a wide spatula.
After ten minutes, the necessary relief is formed with a trowel.
After two hours, the convex ridges are cut off with the same tool and the first layer is leveled.
The second layer, like all subsequent ones, is applied using the same technology after completely dry first layer.
At the very end, the surface is sanded using fur cloth. To add shine, Venetian plaster is treated with wax.

Demonstration application lessons help to clearly see how classic Venetian plaster is implemented.

Cork effect

The method for creating the balsa wood effect is quite simple. But you can master it if you wish. If you need to apply Venetian plaster to the walls without a professional with your own hands, it is important to realistically assess the potential. Otherwise, any rework will be very expensive.

The effect of creating imitation balsa wood begins with a selection the right colors. As a rule, there are several of them: brown, coffee with milk, gold, bright burgundy. The first layer is applied with a mixture of these colors (note that they do not need to be pre-mixed for a homogeneous mass).
The first layer of Venetian plaster is applied quite thickly.
The secret to creating the effect of balsa wood is to use forced drying of the Venetian. Therefore, immediately after application, we take a hair dryer in our hands and use it to dry the first thick layer of coating. At the same time, the nozzle of the hair dryer is periodically brought close, then moved away at a distance.
When exposed to heat, Venetian plaster will crack. It is the cracks that help imitate the surface of a cork pattern.
After treatment with a hairdryer, the wall surface is left to dry. The Venetian plaster will finally dry in two days.
After the specified time, the second layer is applied. Water-dispersed materials are used as it. They are tinted in a different color (it is better to choose bronze or gold). Apply in a thin layer.

The surface dries for a day, then it is processed with a grinding machine. Only after this the finished Venetian plaster with a cork effect is treated with wax (it must be applied with a soft cloth). The following video clearly demonstrates the above description.

Textured coating

Today, Venetian plaster allows you to apply a special textured layer to the wall surface, which also looks very decorative. But it is performed somewhat differently than the technologies described above.

After leveling, the walls are first impregnated with a primer deep penetration, and then after it dries, they are treated with a covering primer. Repeated surface treatment helps improve the adhesive properties of the substrate. This impregnation dries within an hour and a half, after which you can begin laying the Venetian plaster solution.
The material is applied not with a spatula, but with a roller. It allows you to form a thin layer. It dries for two hours, after which the surface is treated with a spatula. The main task is to remove the sharp protrusions of the frozen layer.
After the first layer has dried, you can arm yourself with a trowel. It and the prepared solution form a relief that looks like a collection of small islands. The thickness of the second layer should not exceed one millimeter. The lumpy surface takes five hours to dry.
We take the spatula in our hands again and clean off the protruding parts.
As a finishing layer, Venetian plaster is applied to which a special finishing varnish is mixed.
The final stage is ironing - processing using a special trowel. This operation helps give the finish a metallic shine.

And this video will allow you to see how you can create the effect of wet silk using Venetian plaster

Conclusion

As you can see, Venetian plaster is a fairly pliable material, the application technology of which is easy to master on your own. Different application methods help solve different design problems.

Italy is far away, but sometimes you want to feel like a rich Doge in a small personal palace. There are many modern materials for wall decoration. They all differ in quality and have their own specific characteristics, such as Venetian plaster. Let's figure out what application techniques exist, because decorative coating can be performed in different ways, and consider the most common and simple ones, which will still give the desired effect.

Preparatory stage

Even if you have long been eyeing a container with the mixture in the store, and, having decided to change the design of the premises, rushed to the store and made a purchase, this does not mean that when you come home, you can immediately start decorating. The most important part of the job is preparation for it. The surface of the wall must be thoroughly cleaned of any old coatings, including plaster, if it is not held securely and has cracked areas. After this, we inspect the walls for unevenness.

It is better to smooth out very noticeable protrusions using an grinder's abrasive disc, since this is only suitable for ordinary finishing. If cracks are found in the walls, we repair them diamond blade and cover with cement-sand mortar; small cracks can be covered with putty, which, in general, is suitable for preparing the surface. The main thing is that after applying each layer it is necessary to use a primer impregnation, applying it with a brush.

If the base is in order and fairly level, minor roughness will be easy to hide directly with decorative plaster. The only thing that should be done if you have a good base is to thoroughly clean it of foreign particles such as dust and other contaminants, degrease it and impregnate it with a deep penetration primer. The last action is necessary to increase the adhesion of the coating. When the putty, primer and other preparatory compounds have dried, you can worry about the problem of how to apply Venetian plaster.

Photo gallery: finishing options

Application methods

Even during the Renaissance, noble Italians ordered the decoration of walls in mansions not with carved wooden panels, as was fashionable earlier in knightly times, but with the thinnest layer of plaster. The mixtures were made from finely ground marble and gypsum mixed with lime. Other binders were added to them, according to recipes that were kept by ancient masters and, unfortunately, are mostly lost. But today this unique material and the methods for applying its solution have been restored, while modern mixtures are used as binder fillers.

As for working with this finishing material, the methods of working with it are strikingly different from covering walls with conventional leveling compounds. Apply decorative mixture thin layer and therefore completely unsuitable for smoothing out serious unevenness. Moreover, in most cases, each layer, except the first, is finishing in its own way, that is, it can be final, with the exception of single-layer options. Compositions are also produced that require 4-6 layers of coating to obtain the desired effect.

The main method of covering walls is with strokes, like those left by artists on canvases, but somewhat larger, and made not with a brush, but with a smooth steel trowel. But this technique is only appropriate when you are working with compounds for multi-layer finishes. First, a section of the wall is covered with scattered strokes, then new ones are placed on top of them, overlapping the previous ones, and so on, until you decide that there are enough layers and you can move on to polishing and applying wax for more gloss.

Video: sequence of actions when applying Venetian plaster

Single-layer decorative compositions are easily applied with a roller, and you can use both regular foam rubber and textured or shaped nozzles. In most cases, the consistency of “Venetian” and liquid wallpaper, which also belong to finishing finishing materials, looks like thick sour cream and is easily grabbed with both a spatula (and then a trowel) and a roller. The latter can also be used to structure two-layer plasters by first applying a starting coating.

Photo gallery: examples of interior decoration

How to apply Venetian plaster: step by step steps

As a rule, the result of the work always differs from the desired result, for better or worse, and beginners seeking to achieve the effect of stone when decorating walls with decorative plaster are sometimes disappointed. The thing is that the smallest errors overlap each other during the work process no worse than strokes of the mixture, and it is impossible to correct the flaws once the work has begun unless you redo everything from scratch. We will try to follow all stages to eliminate possible mistakes.

Don't be surprised that too much emphasis is placed on this stage. The most important thing is that the base to be processed is perfectly level, since decorative finishing materials not only do not hide defects on the wall, but also emphasize them. Therefore, we carefully putty the recesses, remove the protrusions with a grinder or sandpaper, clean the surface and cover it with at least a double layer of primer (after the first treatment, you must wait until it dries).
After the soil has completely dried, we begin to apply strokes of the mixture in scattered strokes onto a clean plastered or puttied surface. It is not at all necessary to maintain the same distance between the “blots” of the Venetian composition; it is enough to cover the wall more or less evenly. We make arched or winding movements in any direction, trying to press the trowel more tightly to the base, giving the strokes a high density. Next, wait at least 8 hours until the coating dries completely.
We continue finishing using the same technique, that is, we apply the mixture with smooth, rounded movements, only shorter ones, this time placing portions in the spaces between the previously made strokes. It is better to replace the trowel with a spatula and use it crosswise, that is, apply the mixture with a pass in one direction, and remove its excess with a reverse movement. This method is called "butterfly". By laying new portions overlapping, taking into account individual fragments of the lower layer, we get the illusion of veins. A good solution would be to separate a small part of the solution and add pigments to it to change the shade by one tone. Occasionally using a different coloring, you will get much closer to imitation stone.
It is better to immediately choose the direction from left to right; it is not necessary to focus on the window when layering strokes; on the contrary, the play of light and shadow from the resulting folds will give more resemblance to stone.
When the applied mixture hardens after 4-6 hours, we create a gloss effect by polishing the surface with zero-grade sandpaper. Some areas can be left rough, which will create the appearance of moire, that is, a subtle shimmering pattern.
Take a sponge. We dip it in a special wax composition for decorative plaster and rub into the surface with soft circular movements. After drying, you can wash the walls with soap dissolved in water. Products containing solvents are not recommended for use under any circumstances. Once upon a time there was a profession of floor polisher, whose duties included figure skating parquet floors with brushes placed on the legs, regularly dipped in wax. You won’t be able to ride on the wall much, but the result is just as brilliant, the walls begin to reflect the surrounding environment, like a mirror. Muddy and blurry, but reflective, and when light falls on them, a transparent effect occurs when you bring your palm to the wall and find it difficult to determine when contact will occur.

Venetian plaster is a special type of decorative finishing materials. It is used exclusively for decorating the room, since the starting layer will require large number material, and its price is quite high. Therefore, leveling walls with such plaster is unprofitable. Do-it-yourself Venetian plaster must be laid according to certain rules and taking into account climatic conditions, the material of the surface being treated and many other factors. Therefore, if you do not have confidence in your abilities and experience in carrying out such work or the qualifications of a finisher, it is better to contact a specialized company.

Main advantages of this material are the following:

"Glow effect" After drying, Venetian plaster reflects light well.
Environmentally friendly. The substances used in the manufacture of Venetian plasters do not emit toxic compounds. The main component here is absolutely safe flour made from natural stone.
Resistant to water. Thanks to this feature, the material can be used for finishing surfaces in bathrooms.
Venetian plaster does not burn, does not support combustion and does not smolder.
Possibility of tinting. During preparation, coloring pigments can be added to the mixture to obtain the desired shade of the surface.
Long service life. The surface will retain its original color and texture for 25 years.

Venetian plaster – “Glow effect”

The main disadvantage is the high cost of the material. In addition, it is quite difficult to work with, and before applying Venetian plaster, the surface to be treated must be perfectly leveled.

Composition and features of plaster

Venetian plaster is made from 3 main ingredients: crushed natural stone (quartz, onyx, granite, marble), binder and color pigments. Previously, slaked lime was used as a binder, but now acrylic resins are increasingly being used instead. Synthetic or natural substances can be used to tint the composition.

This plaster can be laid on surfaces made of brick, concrete, natural stone or wood. Main feature The composition is its transparency, due to which the effect of highlighting surfaces is obtained. Even minor defects are visible under a layer of translucent finishing, so they must be carefully hidden with starting plaster, putty or drywall.

Venetian plaster is very capricious, so the walls must be perfectly smooth

Types of material

There are 4 main types of Venetian plaster:

Veneto. Using this plaster, an imitation of polished marble is created. It is inexpensive, and working with it is not difficult when compared with other types of “Venetian”. The coating is also easy to care for: it can be washed with water and a sponge.
Trevignano. This type of plaster involves applying several layers (up to 12 pieces). Polymer compounds are used as binders. This coating is suitable for interiors in baroque, classic or vintage styles.
Marbello. Using this type you can create a matte finish with a small amount of glossy inclusions. The technology for applying Venetian plaster involves the use of multi-colored mixtures. Typically, polymer components are added to such compositions to increase water-repellent properties.
Encausto. After drying, the surface becomes granite-like in color and texture. The coating can be either semi-matte or glossy. After drying, it must be treated with wax.

Main types of Venetian plaster

How to choose a Venetian

Before purchasing Venetian plaster, it is important to decide what type of coating is planned. The material can imitate marble surfaces, malachite, onyx, quartz, pearl and so on. Some types of "Venetian" can imitate the texture of fabric, genuine leather or wood. It is also important to decide whether a matte or glossy surface is needed.

Venetian plaster: imitation of fabric, leather, stone, wood

Also, when choosing, you need to take into account the features of the interior and the purpose of the room where the work will be carried out. For example, it is better to decorate surfaces in bedrooms with pastel-colored materials. Dark or rich colors are suitable for living rooms. For children, it is recommended to use variegated mixtures. Also, before purchasing, it is better to clarify all the nuances that are associated with the operation, application of Venetian plaster and the features of caring for it.

Venetian plaster consumption

Calculating the consumption of this material is quite simple. First you need to calculate the total area of all treated surfaces, and you need to round up. Layer thickness and material consumption per square meter indicated by the manufacturer on the packaging. Provided that the layer of plaster recommended by the manufacturer is applied, the formula for calculating consumption is as follows: N = R x S x K, where N is the amount of material, R is the amount of material per square meter, S is the total surface area, K is the number of layers.

Required tools and materials

To finish surfaces with Venetian plaster you will need the following:

plaster mixture;
primer;
wax;
suede;
putty;
trowel for Venetian plaster;
wide and narrow spatulas;
sponges, rags;
electric drill with mixer attachment;
container for mixing the solution.

Preparation for finishing work

Preparatory work includes the following steps:

The first step is to remove the old coating: paint, wallpaper, plaster, and so on. Then the surface is cleaned of oil stains, construction dust and other contaminants.
All large cracks or potholes are sealed with cement-sand mortar, and minor defects are corrected using putty.
Protrusions are removed with a grinder with a diamond wheel, and roughness is removed with sandpaper with different degrees of grit.
After this, the surfaces are treated with starting putty, and after it dries, they are finished with fine-grained finishing putty. Then the surface is treated with sandpaper.
Next, the walls must be impregnated with a primer to increase surface adhesion. This procedure must be carried out twice at intervals of 3-4 hours. Sometimes a third layer is required, which is tinted to match the Venetian plaster.

How to prepare the solution

If the dry mixture was purchased at a hardware store, then the manufacturer will write on the packaging about how to make Venetian plaster. Usually the mixture is poured out of the bag and diluted with water, only after that color is added, if necessary. For stirring, use an electric drill with a mixer attachment. Consistency ready mixture should resemble sour cream. After preparation, leave the composition for 10-15 minutes and then mix again.

Preparation of Venetian plaster solution

Something to remember! The air temperature during preparation of the mixture should not be lower than 10°C. One portion of the solution should be enough to treat the entire wall, otherwise the boundaries of materials from different batches will be clearly visible.

Now let’s talk about how to make Venetian plaster yourself. To do this, you need to mix flour from natural stone (marble, malachite, quartz, granite or others) with slaked lime in equal proportions. Then add a little soap to the mixture, then mix the ingredients as indicated above. At the end, color is added.

Basic rules when working with Venetian plaster

There are some rules for decorating walls with Venetian plaster. The technology for applying the material is as follows:

The first layer should be as thin as possible, but at the same time completely cover the entire treated area.
Subsequent layers are applied with rubber spatulas using arcuate movements to obtain the desired pattern.
Between applying layers it is necessary to pause for the material to dry.
The minimum number of layers is 4, the maximum is 12.
Each layer should be different in tone from the previous one. It is also acceptable to use mixtures of contrasting colors.
Finally, the surface must be treated with wax.
Depending on the characteristics of the material, it can set in 20-40 minutes, and you can touch the coating only 6 hours after completion of all work.

It should also be noted that Venetian plaster dries quite quickly, so it is not recommended to carry out work on the entire wall at once - it is better to limit it to an area of 1 square meter.

When applying Venetian plaster it is necessary to work with small sections of the wall

Material consumption largely depends on the number of layers, as well as the desired effect. Most manufacturers give an average figure of 0.5 kg per square meter. meter. Colors for also differ in some features: after drying, they can retain the shade, darken or lighten by several tones. Therefore, it is recommended to clarify all the details with the supplier or seller in advance.

Various material application techniques

There are different techniques for applying Venetian plaster. Let's consider only the most popular options.

Imitation marble

The mixture is scooped onto a spatula and applied to the wall with chaotic strokes, it is important to treat the entire area without gaps. Without waiting for the solution to dry, the surface is given texture using a trowel. After this, work is suspended for 2 hours. Now you need to prepare 2-4 types of solution, using different numbers of colors. They are collected in small portions onto a spatula or trowel, after which they are applied in long arched strokes. After treating the entire surface, it is left to dry for a day. If necessary, repeat the above procedure 2-3 times, with each layer requiring at least a day to dry. The dried surface is treated three times with a grinder, changing attachments each time. At the end, the so-called “ironing” is carried out - processing with a trowel, during which the tool is pressed forcefully to the surface. The last procedure is waxing or varnishing.

Venetian plaster allows you to create a marbled pattern

Classic version

First, apply the first layer in the same way as in the case of imitation marble, after which it is left for two hours. Using a trowel, all excess material is removed, and then ironing is carried out until the surface acquires a metallic sheen. Then prepare a single-color plaster and apply it in a thin layer, after which ironing is carried out again, but now it is enough to wait about 40 minutes. All subsequent layers (no more than 10) are applied using the same technology. After the coating has completely dried, it is treated with a grinding machine with three different attachments, and finally coated with wax or varnish.

VIDEO: applying Venetian plaster

Craquelure

Translated, this word means “antique”. The technology for applying Venetian plaster involves using a spatula, and the layer should be thick and the movements should be chaotic. Then turn on the hair dryer and heat the surface. Due to a sharp increase in temperature, the plaster will crack. Upon achieving the desired effect, heat treatment stop and leave the coating to dry as usual for 24 hours. Next, a final thin layer of a different color is applied, and at the end there is standard three-stage sanding and “iron plating.”

Craquelure – artistic cracks or artificial aging effect

Balsa tree

To achieve this effect, the first layer is made in different colors. Making this type of Venetian plaster with your own hands is quite simple. First you need to prepare 2-3 portions of a solution of different tones, then mix them, but not completely. The mixture is scooped onto a trowel or wide spatula and laid in a thick layer on the surface. In this case, applying the composition is not enough; you also need to dry the coating construction hairdryer. Keep the device at different distances from different sections of the wall to create a non-uniform texture. Characteristic cracks should appear on the surface. Then the coating is left alone for 48 hours to allow it to dry naturally. Next, apply a second layer of plaster of a different shade. Finally, the surface is treated with a grinding machine or sandpaper, and then waxed or varnished.

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Before plastering with this type of “Venetian” plastering, you need to coat the wall with a penetrating primer, and after it dries, treat the surface with a covering primer. After 2 hours, the main work begins. To carry them out you will need a fur roller. With its help, Venetian plaster is stretched thin across the wall. even layer and left to dry. After 3-4 hours, when the material has set, it is necessary to “go” with a narrow metal spatula over the most protruding places and cut them off. To apply the next layer you will need a trowel. After completing the finishing work, you need to give the wall 6 hours to dry, after which all protruding fragments should be removed again. Venetian plaster is then mixed with a small amount of finishing varnish. To do this, you will need a drill with a mixer attachment. After applying the composition to the wall, you need to wait 6 hours again. At the end, ironing is carried out with a trowel until a metallic sheen appears and wax is applied.

Applying Venetian plaster is a rather complex undertaking that requires certain qualifications and experience in carrying out plastering works. Therefore, if you are not sure about own strength, it is better not to try to save money, but to immediately hire a team of specialists in this field, or at least get a master class on Venetian plaster.

If you are determined to master the technique of decorating walls with Venetian plaster, this article will be very useful. In it we will talk about the basic techniques for working with Venetian and help you choose the right colors for the finishing material to create an original artistic composition.

What is special about working with a Venetian woman?

Venetian plaster imitates a polished cut of solid marble. Thanks to the translucent effect, you can achieve almost complete identity with natural marble: a glossy surface, translucent layers and veins of different shades.

There are two main directions in working with such finishing: artistic and imitation. For each, there is a special working technique, which allows, in the first case, to create a highly detailed drawing with a wide variety of shades and uneven gradients. The second type of application creates a picture that is much less variegated, but perfectly imitates a glossy surface and the translucency of veins and layers of different colors, just like in natural marble.

Selection of the color scheme of the composition

For artistic techniques, it is recommended to have one pure composition without dye and one with medium tinting. Please note that some areas of the coating will not be mixed at all; match the contrast of the selected color relative to white in accordance with the interior style.

The imitation technique uses more muted patterns; to create the main pattern, two compositions with approximately the same color will be required, one 3-4 tones darker than the other. If you want to add dark veins and inclusions to the marble cut, purchase a third composition with a much brighter and darker color.

You can tint the Venetian yourself by adjusting the level of mixing and the presence of stripes in the composition different tones. Mixing plaster with color in a vibrating apparatus will result in absolute dissolution of the paint, in this case the range of shades will be less rich, and the pattern itself will be more washed out and uniform. Please note that when drying, the plaster loses 3-4 tones in brightness.

Surface preparation

Venetian plaster is applied only to a specially prepared surface. Plastered walls are reinforced with mesh under a layer of starting plaster. If we are talking about gypsum board surfaces, the joints are cut at 30° and two layers of serpyanka are applied.

The surface must be treated with a deeply penetrating primer until completely saturated. Next comes coating with a special primer for the Venetian or painting the wall water-dispersion paint, white or painted to match the future coating.

Applying the base

Venetian plaster is one of those materials that need to be felt. Before you start finishing the walls, practice several times on pieces of drywall, get used to how the material behaves with different movements of the tool.

The Venetian is applied with a trapezoidal trowel and spatulas; the tool must have rounded corners. The first layer is applied with a thickness of 0.2-0.5 mm to create a strong base. Place a small amount of the compound on the trowel and distribute it evenly. Place the tool flat against the wall and make several rubbing movements.

The color of the base should be uniform, but you will immediately notice that you are creating the contours of the future design. Large strokes can take the form of spots, smooth or rounded strokes, or chaotic strokes. In the future, adhere to the resulting contours and repeat them on a reduced or enlarged scale for the most harmonious combination of shapes. After applying the base coat, you need to wait 36-40 hours for complete drying.

Choose the color for the base that will prevail in the finished drawing. The consumption of plaster for the first layer is approximately 30-50% more than for subsequent ones. Please take this into account when purchasing material.

Techniques for applying a texture-forming layer

It is important to understand the ability of plaster to mix colors. In the liquid state this happens relatively easily, but if the coating has already been applied in a thin layer, the polymerization process begins instantly. The color can be completely covered only after applying 3-4 new layers. It turns out that mixing occurs only when the spatula moves; any applied pattern will most likely remain unchanged.

If you take two contrasting compositions on a spatula or trowel and smear them on the wall, you will first get a large and contrasting pattern. The longer you hold the tool, the more the border blurs and the colors blend.

If the compositions are pre-mixed on a trowel wooden stick, the drawing will be smaller and more detailed. You can also add a single color in dots, stripes or zigzags, either way the final look will be noticeably different.

The texture is applied in the thinnest possible layers, so a translucent effect appears. IN artistic technique Thin, short strokes are used. Take two compositions on a trowel different colors, mix them in different ratios and apply the plaster with a 30 or 40 mm wide spatula.

The imitation technique involves the use of wide and long strokes; only one color or shade is used in each layer. You need to apply the plaster with the wide part of the trowel, stretching the composition as wide as possible. With each subsequent layer, areas of increased saturation and overlapping colors will appear.

The optimal result can be achieved by applying two layers with the artistic technique and 4-5 with the imitation technique. It is recommended to let each layer dry for a day, but if you work carefully, the drying period can be reduced to 6-8 hours.

Matting of the coating

If the pattern is too contrasting or you need to add some matte to the coating, use white plaster for this, applied in as thin a layer as possible. The angle of the spatula relative to the surface must be at least 45°. Each movement is firm and with effort, rub a small amount of the composition as finely as possible.

Often, for matting, white plaster is used with a dark color added, but not completely mixed. This technique enlivens the composition a little, and it does not look downright dull.

Glazing and metallization

In addition to color texturing, there is another way of texturing. It consists in highlighting the relief of the coating with small differences in height. After drying, the surface is rubbed with a metal spatula applied to the surface at an angle of 25-30°. Direct each movement towards yourself, do not put too much pressure on the instrument. This technique will create areas with different glossiness. It is useful to do this both upon completion of application and after each applied layer.

If you apply the spatula at a sharper angle, almost flush, the surface can be rubbed. This is done to give the thin edges of the strokes a darker outline. This method is great for adding extra texturing to each layer.

When the wall covering is ready, it can be protected from moisture special wax, which is rubbed in with lint-free wipes. Finally, it is advisable to polish the wax layer with a fur wheel for a drill or angle grinder.