Plaster Recipes

I had a recent job that required an old plaster look. With areas as though pieces were missing and visually you could see the rougher “scratch” coat, an irregular surface yet smooth with a somewhat color wash type glaze look with darker glaze hanging out in the rougher areas.

So I ordered 3 of the leading professional products to give them a “test” drive. They were expensive. To my surprise, none of them worked well in my opinion. Put them on slightly too thick and they would crack and none were that hard when cured. To the studio I went to see what I could create since having a little bit of plaster background.

For that undercoat or first random pass to create the rough look, (some of which was completely covered but it didn’t matter) I used a mix of Structo-lite with setting Joint Compound with concrete bonding adhesive used for concrete, plaster and mortar mixes. You can also skip the Structo-lite and use course sand.

The mix is:

1 part course sand or (struto-lite)

4 parts setting lightweight joint compound (45 minute or 90)

mixed well with water (cold) and the bonding adhesive (found at any store with concrete and plaster like big box stores) (also adds strength)

To about a gallon of the mix use about a cup of bonding agent. Mix thoroughly with drill and paddle mixer. (Bonding agent gives the mix a longer open time) Trowel on or use large chip brush.

You can let this set up before continuing or not. I chose not to.

My next layer was the same but minus the course material. I kept it smooth and troweled on, leaving random spots uncovered where the first layer was applied. This mixture as the first can be tinted with UTC’s or pigment powders.

Because it was tinted, I applied a coat of clear sealer (Gardz by Zinsser) then my glaze finish which was softened with a large sponge. We also used the sponge (large square one) to apply the glaze, and by lightly wiping, it would leave the deeper areas untouched but give the majority of the surface that color wash look the client wanted.

The end result was a very durable surface at a fraction of the price. It saved the client over $800 in material cost and made life easier for us as all our materials were local. This finish is in a restaurant and looks great!


	HOME
			Texture Plaster Recipes
			I had a recent job that required an old plaster look. With areas as though pieces were missing and visually you could see the rougher “scratch” coat, an irregular surface yet smooth with a somewhat color wash type glaze look with darker glaze hanging out in the rougher areas. So I ordered 3 of the leading professional products to give them a “test” drive. They were expensive. To my surprise, none of them worked well in my opinion. Put them on slightly too thick and they would crack and none were that hard when cured. To the studio I went to see what I could create since having a little bit of plaster background. For that undercoat or first random pass to create the rough look, (some of which was completely covered but it didn’t matter) I used a mix of Structo-lite with setting Joint Compound with concrete bonding adhesive used for concrete, plaster and mortar mixes. You can also skip the Structo-lite and use course sand. The mix is: 1 part course sand or (struto-lite) 4 parts setting lightweight joint compound (45 minute or 90) mixed well with water (cold) and the bonding adhesive (found at any store with concrete and plaster like big box stores) (also adds strength) To about a gallon of the mix use about a cup of bonding agent. Mix thoroughly with drill and paddle mixer. (Bonding agent gives the mix a longer open time) Trowel on or use large chip brush. You can let this set up before continuing or not. I chose not to. My next layer was the same but minus the course material. I kept it smooth and troweled on, leaving random spots uncovered where the first layer was applied. This mixture as the first can be tinted with UTC’s or pigment powders. Because it was tinted, I applied a coat of clear sealer (Gardz by Zinsser) then my glaze finish which was softened with a large sponge. We also used the sponge (large square one) to apply the glaze, and by lightly wiping, it would leave the deeper areas untouched but give the majority of the surface that color wash look the client wanted. The end result was a very durable surface at a fraction of the price. It saved the client over $800 in material cost and made life easier for us as all our materials were local. This finish is in a restaurant and looks great!

HOME