Lime Plaster Guide

SAFETY FIRST: ALWAYS WEAR LATEX GLOVES AND EYE PROTECTION WHEN WORKING WITH LIME PLASTER. USE DUST MASK OR RESPIRATOR WHEN WORKING WITH DRY GOODS OR DUST.

Marmorino Venetian Plaster application is very simple even though there are many long explanations. Most people figure out how it works within 30 minutes just by playing around with the plaster on a few sample boards. You don’t have to be a professional or an artist to get excellent results. After working with the plaster on a sample board or wall, you’ll get a feel for it. One important thing to keep in mind is that the details of preparation can be as important as the plaster application itself. Simply follow the instructions below or watch our videos, and if any questions come up, please search our blogs, revisit our videos or email us.

MARMORINO plaster is made with a fine sand, lime and crushed marble. It can have a soft, elegant finish with a light natural texture or more mottled with deeper texture and variation. It compliments both traditional and modern settings depending on how applied. Marmorino can be very durable, especially with a sealer or wax. We can make your plaster more durable by special request if going in very high traffic areas. Color combinations and creative styles are unlimited. Our plasters are very environmentally friendly, healthy and its qualities will improve with time.  Lime plaster hypo-allergenic products will breath with your home absorbing moisture and naturally prevent mold or mildew growth.

WHERE TO USE IT

• well primed new sheetrock with a high grade primer
• previously existing latex paint (as long as it’s not peeling off the wall)
• well primed wood (or well primed anything)
• unsealed cementatious coatings
• unsealed concrete
• cement boards, cement blocks, and most dense ‘non-flakey’ or dusty surfaces

WHERE NOT TO USE IT 

• floors
• countertops
• unprimed joint compound
• raw sheetrock
• pools
• oil based surfaces
• unprimed yeso

Marmorino is mostly used on interiors but can also be applied on exteriors. We recommend sealing it outside. You can even use it in shower stalls preferrably over a cement brown coat.

COVERAGE

 Depending on how you apply it, a 5 gallon bucket will cover about 100-120 square feet. That’s both coats included. If you’re going over previous heavy texture, you’lll get 80 square feet per 5 gallons. If you’re doing it really thin and tight, you might get up to 150 square feet  or more per 5 gallons over a very smooth surface.

IF YOU HAVE PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE IN FINISHES

 There are several brands of synthetic ‘Venetian Plaster ‘on the market commonly found in paint and home improvement stores. Our products are not comparable. Our plasters feel like real stone because it’s made from stone. The other synthetic products feel synthetic, like plastic. There are lots of other natural wall finishes products out there. They all work a little different. So point is — try to forget everything you ever learned about other products. We don’t like using spatulas and tiny trowels to do large rooms. We don’t like sanding all day to with fine sand paper to make it look like something.  If you’re a contractor, like a drywaller, stucco guy or concrete finisher, please, forget what you know.  This is completely different…and easier.

PREPARATION

If applying Marmorino on drywall, for new construction, drywall or gypsum board should be1/2″ to 5/8″ thick. This is standard thickness. The drywall should be taped at least at level 3 or 4 for Marmorino. If you’re doing thicker coats, you can get away with level 2. This means there were three passes of joint compound on the tape joint. If you still don’t understand – just don’t have bumpy tape joint.  You can easily apply Marmorino as the final coat on top of cement brown coat. This can be a single coat or a double coat. Otherwise, over drywall, you will always do a minimum of 2 coats.

You can apply Marmorino over existing textures. Make sure that the wall (if doing interior) is well primed or well painted, When working with thicker than normal textures

Any trim around the wall should ideally be stained, varnished, lacquered or finished already. The reason for this is that when trim is worked on; chances are the painter will stain the plaster or over spray lacquer, regardless of how well they mask it. This can leave a messy line between the wall and trim, especially if the plaster will be unsealed. It’s harder to install trim on a textured / plastered wall.

PRIMING 

On new construction, you have to prime. On remodels, where there is previously existing latex paint, you don’t have to prime. The plaster will stick to previous paint.

For new construction or damaged walls, use a water based / acrylic / latex high grade primer to prime the drywall. Primer should be used on other substrates, such as wood, glass, metal or almost anything that latex primer will bond to. Not only do you want the primer to adhere extremely well to the wall, but if there is ever a leak from plumbing or rain, the primer will create a modest barrier between the plaster and the leak. Mask before you prime. Also, when using most stain blocking primers in smaller confined areas with little ventilation, consider wearing a respirator (not a dust mask). Some primers have styrene, carbonized chlorine and ammonia. Ask your paint store for low VOC primer. With Marmorino, good priming is crucial, especially on new construction. Since you will be applying layers of plaster, make sure there is absolutely no taping mud/gypsum mud showing through. This will crackle or discolor  the plaster and make for very poor adherence. In fact, priming twice is best.

REMODELS AND OLD WALLS

Light orange peel texture is fine as long as you use have a thicker first layer.  For really thick  walls, sand with at least 80-grit or lower sandpaper, preferably with an orbital sander. Then dust off (clean) and prime the walls with an above-mentioned primer. Remember that even if the existing walls aren’t perfect or totally smooth, and you’re not going for a shiney smooth finish with plaster, your walls will still look natural and the way they’re supposed to be.

Use your best judgement on applying over really old walls in bad shape. Try a small area first. Let it dry and make sure it sticks. Marmorino will breath with the wall. It won’t allow for mold growth.

PLASTERING OVER WALLPAPER

If there is wallpaper, strip it, then prime the wall. If you are willing to play it less safe; be certain that it is firmly attached to the wall before applying plaster over it. Find a corner of the wallpaper and try to strip it dry. If it comes off with ease, is old and peeling, or has several layers it is best to strip it. If the wallpaper is on the ceiling; pay special attention. It is always best to strip the ceiling of wallpaper; gravity will not be your friend. If the wallpaper adheres well to the wall, prime it with an oil-based primer, such as Zinser’s or Killz oil based primers (these primers can be messy and hard to clean). If it bubble when it dries, cut out all the bubbled paper out of the wall and re-prime that spot. Afterwards, prime with latex primer so the plaster can stick to that. Consult your local paint store for further advice.  Make really sure that you explain to them what you want to do as long as there is latex on the last coat before the plaster. In any case, stripping wallpaper is the best practice.

PLASTERING

 IMPORTANT: Do this on at least a 2 square foot sample board before committing to the real thing.  It’s easy once you figured it out.

Marmorino can be applied soft and subtle for an elegant larger scale application. It can be applied with more texture, or thinner final strokes for higher sheen and variation of color. Check out other possibilities of applications in artistic techniques videos and text.

Our plasters are much darker when wet. Don’t be surprised when opening the bucket. The Marmorino will dry lighter.

REMEMBER: IT’S A 2 COAT APPLICATION. APPLY THE 1ST COAT, LET IT COMPLETELY DRY, THEN DO THE 2ND. EACH COAT TAKES AT LEAST 1 DAY TO DRY.

BASIC EXPLANATION

1. Trowel on a buttery coat of plaster. Don’t scrape it on. Apply it so at least doesn’t chatter, meaning make lines as a result of scraping the sand in the plaster. The more texture you have the more variation you you will get on your final coat. Let it completely dry. It will take at least a day.

2. On your dried plaster coat, apply the 2nd coat as you did the 1st. If anything, you can go thinner. Again don’t scrape and chatter the plaster. You can make it very subtle, or burnish it for more drama.  Burnish it only when the plaster is at a clay like consistancy-not sticky and not totally dry. Let each area set up a little before you apply another thin layer and burnish it.

3. When the second coat is totally dry, you can unmask, leave it alone, or you can wax it or seal it. For the unburnished less dramatic method, we recommend sanding it with a worn fine sanding sponge or something similar, then wiping the excess dust off with a damp rag. This will slightly sand it, feathering out any unwanted microtexture, and this will help accent the wall with giving more color variation. You can sand out corners and other troubled areas with a a sanding sponge, or similar. You can apply more layers of Marmorino for more durability or different look. Always let coats completely dry before the next.