Fall for Walls: Venetian Plaster for Better Walls in Your Home

There are assorted things that you can do to improve your home. You can change your furniture items, renovate your rooms, or replace your paint scheme.

 

Another way to make your home better is by adding life to your walls. One way of achieving it is by Venetian plaster. Read on to know more about this wall enhancement, and how you can make this possible for your own home.

What is Venetian Plaster?

Venetian plaster isn’t exactly new because ancient people in Greece used it. It’s a stucco coating made out of fired limestone and water, which results in lime plaster. The lime plaster turns back to limestone when it dries. Venetian plaster is typically applied to walls by experts, but improvements in products allow homeowners to use it themselves.

 

Venetian plaster is sold in one-gallon cans. Assess first the amount that you’ll need before buying anything. Aside from it, you’ll need other materials for you to be able to apply it to your walls. It might take a long time for you to get it right, but keep practicing because the results will be worth it.

Types of Venetian Plaster

There are two types of Venetian plasters. It’s up to you to choose which kind will suit your needs.

Lime-based plasters

This type is durable but more expensive. It’s also harder to apply this type, but it produces better results because it resists mildew and its environment-friendly as well.

Synthetic plaster

This type is acrylic-based and less expensive than lime-based. It has the same look as the former, but it’s not as durable.  It’s more prone to damage, and it’s harder to repair.

 

How to Apply Venetian plaster

These are the steps that you’ll need to follow if you want to put Venetian plaster on your walls.

Gather the materials and clear the room

Before you begin, wear protective clothing such as gloves and goggles to avoid any irritation from overexposure to the materials used.

 

Aside from the plaster, you’ll need other tools such as a steel trowel, sandpaper, paint tray, and a topcoat (optional). Round the corners of the trowel to avoid the line and scratch marks when you’re applying the plaster. Remove the furniture from the room and put a drop cloth on the floor.

Practice makes perfect

Applying Venetian plaster to your home isn’t easy, but it’s doable. Before using this on your wall, a bit of practice can help you perfect your techniques.

 

You can try applying the plaster on drywall sheets, and experiment on ways which will produce better results. You can also play with different colours for the plaster, and see which colour and shade works well with the rest of the room.

Prepare the walls

Examine the walls and make sure it’s smooth. If there are cracks or any holes in it, fill it up with sand. If the wall surface is uneven, you can try sanding it off with a disc sander which you can find from sites like Deal Wiki.

 

Apply the base coat to the wall. You can use a similar colour to the Venetian plaster. If you’re using lime-based, a unique primer should be used, not the standard primer. Let your primer dry before you apply the plaster.

Apply the plaster

Start applying the plaster from the top corner of the wall with the trowel. Grip the trowel at a 15-30 degree angle. Don’t allow the plaster to build upon the trowel and wipe it whenever necessary.

 

Wait for at least four hours for the first coat to dry. Start from the same place and hold the trowel at a 30-90 degree angle. Overlapping short and long strokes can help you achieve texture on your walls. Make sure to cover the wall area.

Burnish the plaster

When the plaster is dry, utilize the disc sander or sandpaper to polish the walls. Rub the sandpaper to the surface and clean with a wet cloth.

Ask for professional help

If you want to achieve the look of Venetian plaster but you’re not confident to apply it to your walls, visit sites which offer services like Faux Finish and Special Effect Paint, including the Venetian plaster effect.

Takeaway

Venetian plaster is an old coating which is still used today. It comes in lime-based and synthetic types. It’s not hard to apply it to your walls with the proper tools. If you don’t have the time to apply the plaster yourself, try going for special effects painting which can still give your home the texture that Venetian plaster offers.

 

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