What Is Venetian Plaster, its Advantages, and Disadvantages?

Author: Mas Construction

Venetian Plaster - prepared with lime, marble dust, and pigments. Lime has elastic properties, which prevents cracks by contraction and expansion. It is also waterproof and fungicidal.

Pigments and synthetic compounds are included in the elaboration of stucco, in addition to marble sand that provides shine and hardness. The walls to be stucco must be perfectly smooth and free of dirt, mold, dust, or grease.

In This Article

  • Types of stucco
  • Benefits of Venetian plaster:
  • Disadvantages:
  • How to apply Venetian plaster
  • A step-by-step guide to applying Venetian Plaster
  • Venetian stucco color chart

Types of stucco

  • The lime-based Plaster, which has high breathability and has a discontinuous surface color and soft and patented aspect. Formerly they were finished on fire, to give shine. It is fit for outdoor decoration and indoor decoration.
  • The Venetian Stucco, which is the modern version, uses acrylic-based copolymers. With an imitation marble finish or the famous marble effect paint, it is more attractive than the previous one. It only applies indoors.

Venetian Plaster offers a wide field of application in interior design and its useful life is very long, if you use a quality behr Venetian Plaster and it does not receive direct sunlight, it maintains its brightness and color for more than 10 years or more.

Benefits of Venetian plaster:

  • Water resistance
  • Which has good adhesive properties
  • Strength: life up to 15 years
  • Tolerates mild cleaning product
  • This does not exfoliate, unlike wallpaper
  • This eliminates the difference in seams because it does not have them
  • This is a material that does not ignite and cannot withstand fire
  • These are environmentally friendly materials
  • Does not smell
  • This has excellent decorative properties, harmoniously combining with any furniture and style

Disadvantages:

  • This does not have frost resistance;
  • Poorly tolerates temperature drops;
  • When sinking the house, a crack could kind on the surface, that can't be corrected;
  • This requires a master of a certain skill/house painter.

How to apply Venetian plaster

First of all, we have to prepare the walls to the millimeter, since the stucco is translucent and have a memory effect, therefore everything that the spatula does on the wall will be registered. And, when it comes to shining, each layer will be seen, mounted one on top of the other.

Therefore, we will follow the following steps to apply the Venetian Plaster in the following video:

A step-by-step guide to applying Venetian Plaster

  • Preparation: Cover all holes and cracks with plastic putty. If the wall is uneven or with any defect, fix it before applying the stucco. Sand lightly and clean the entire wall.
  • Primer: Give one or more (depending on the condition of the wall) coats of well diluted white plastic paint.
  • Preview: Once dry, run your hand over the entire wall to detect the details that are not seen and repair them. Reprime where we caulk.
  • Base: With a large stainless steel trowel we give the first layer of stucco as thick as possible. Once dry we sand the thickest details. If the color of the stucco is even, we go to the next step.
  • Waters: This is the most important step, I recommend using 12 cm stainless steel masking tape. You have to be clear about how you will give the waters and do it uniformly throughout the wall, without losing the reference of where you spatulate and where not.

With a very small amount of Venetian Plaster on the spatula, we are applying on the wall in all possible directions, left, right, up, down, and diagonally.

Even if you don't see it at the moment, when we shine the stucco, each one of the spatulas becomes visible. Therefore, keep the same pattern.

The more layers you give, the better it will be. And since the last layer is the most visible one, you have already taken the trick of the doll's game, it should look good.

With practice you will be able to make different drawings on the Venetian Plaster, highlighting the peculiarities of this pleasant material.

  • Shine or burned: Just as important as step 5. With the dry trowel, we rub the entire stucco but without scratching it to heat and burn it. This way we will obtain the characteristic shine. As you burn, you will see the layers revive.
  • Remember to pass the trowel in all directions, left, right, up, down, and diagonally. Once finished, with a small spatula, we highlight the drawings that we like the most, rubbing the spatula against the stucco as much as necessary to leave it as we want.
  • Wax: This step is optional. With a cloth, we wax the surface and then polish. This process will extend the life of the stucco.

Venetian Plaster color chart

The shades and colors of a Venetian Plaster can vary a lot, so it is best to show a list to get an idea:

  • Florentine lands
  • Sand effect paint
  • False stucco
  • Metallic paint
  • Rust effect paint
  • Fluffy paint
  • Gradient painting
  • Blackboard paint

Thanks for reading the article if you are finding for the Venetian Plaster services in Toronto, Brampton, Markham and Mississauga contact today the Mas Construction Painting Contractor.