When looking to make your walls, floors, worktops, ceilings, or splash backs shine using decorative finishes such as Venetian Plaster you are faced with many possibilities.
The scope of this article is to help you understand in more detail what some of these are and how they may be applicable to your project.
Versatility and a multitude of possibilities are some of the first thoughts that come to mind when Venetian plaster installations are mentioned.
Microcement also has a wide array of options available to enhance its visual appeal with metallic additives and other creative ways to set your show-piece apart from others.
Having an awe-inspiring piece of art in your home is certainly cause creating a bit of a hoo-ha, with the right look, texture, and products being used in the best way you’re sure to achieve the effect you’re looking for.
Tasteful, opulent, dramatic, subtle shimmering or bold bling are all within your grasp should you choose to explore the world of metallics and Venetian plaster.
It’s worth noting at this stage that anything you could do on a wall using Venetian plasters or micro cement won’t necessarily hold true for floors or wet areas.
Due to the nature of the materials that are required, so it’s always worth double-checking the suitability before you commit to a design. Knowledgeable installers, such as ourselves (wink wink) will be able to advise what you can and cannot do.
With that in mind, let’s jump into the 7 main options available, which at the time of writing this I believe to be correct, yet may be expanded upon as new techniques or products become available.
To keep up to date with developments to our ranges see the finishes section here
1- Metallic included within the product – blended in
This would involve a blending of the two or more products during the application stage, within the same coat and therefore would need to be done with a wet-on-wet approach. Results for this would be a nice swirled, softly blended and feathered in almost cloud-like mixing. Great is that’s what you’re trying to achieve, the finer-grained metallic additives therefore will provide a better finish.
You could separate the material being used into different ‘batches’ so that you’re working from 3-5 pots of the same product, tinted, toned or designed accordingly, which are then used a bit like an artist palette during application.
2- Metallic as a base coat
Quite simple really as the name suggests, you’d use the metallic product as a base coat before going over it with the design coats, naturally you’ll still want to prime up the surface and ensure it’s dried before doing so.
Considerations for this is how coarse the metallic product is, whether it’s suitable to be used as a base coat, thinking ahead of what you’re planning to do afterwards.
Select a metallic here that’s too fine or very soft, then quite frankly there’s probably not much point to doing it.
However, if you decide to use a material with some grain and substance about it then go for a finer grain Venetian plaster over the top you’ll still retain elements of this.
Opting for this method and for it to work you might like to have a solid base coat of metallic but then only partially cover it with micro cement or Venetian plaster.
Stencil work in this instance would be particularly effective, and having the bold metallic background would really draw the gaze in.
3- Metallic added into the sealer
Definitely one of the more subtle options for bringing metallics into your installation, depending on the colour combinations you choose of course.
With this you’d want to include a small amount of metal powder or metallic flecks into the sealer, ensuring a well-mixed product for even distribution, once the light hits the particles it will reflect back.
This style will still give a shimmering sparkle effect and exude good taste without being too in your face.
4- Metallic added into the topcoat/design coat
Similar in approach or methodology to the metallic base coat option in point 2, when looking to include these additives into the design coat/s an approach that considers particle sizes is important.
Opting to try to blend a coarse metallic into a fine grain marmorino for a wall when you’re seeking a smooth and flat finish is probably not the best idea.
To include a coarse metallic with a product like micro cement for a floor installation, well yes this would be better and enhances the grip rating too, just be mindful that people may not enjoy walking on sandpaper!
Sure, you can sand back where needed or re-coat with another layer if desired but as with anything why do you want to create yourself more work if unnecessary?!
As with including a blend using the base or mid-design coats, you’d want to adopt a wet-on-wet approach here for optimum blend-ability.
5- Metallic painted, rolled or sponged over the topcoat before sealer
Once your design is finished using the chosen products, you’ll wait for it to dry and then apply a metallic additive, this method works particularly well when your metallic is either paint or a very fine grain product.
In the case of having a textured Venetian plaster, where you’d like to retain the style and texture of your installation without affecting it with the colours added at the end.
Can also be used to great effect when looking to achieve broken patterning or rustic styles.
6- Metallic as a standalone product
With a massive selection of metallic paints, plasters and finishes out in the market you are well within scope to just simply use these on their own, decorative metallic paints, in particular, are designed to do just that.
Combining some texture and patterning when applied will enhance the visual impact and is encouraged, either are smoother and less conspicuous versions on offer too.
Brushed, rolled or trowelled applications are all options for these products. Preference will be the main consideration and desired outcome from the finish must be considered also as each one will result in a very different end result for the micro cement or Venetian plaster.
Liquid metal is an option here and is often used on its own for worktops, bar tops, for picking out focal points.
Works equally well when combining into Venetian plaster installations and blended in.
7- Metallic waxes
Not too dissimilar to the inclusion of metallic paints or additives over a finished design, the main difference here is that the protective wax which is used to seal the design had metallic additives mixed into it.
These are particularly useful when adding to a semi-smooth or textured design as you can really work it into the material and buff it up to not only enhance the shine but make the wall pop all that more.
Also can be added to a fine grain marmorino finish, giving an extra layer of detail to the installation, which can prove very useful if the wall has been completed but feels like it’s missing something.
A silver wax over the top of a grey design works well as an example, or the famous bronze wax with a black textured medium grain Venetian plaster as taught by Andy Robinson of Stucco & Stucco.
Note- we wouldn’t advise this for flooring!
So here you have our ideas that are sure to uplift, evoke emotions of excitement, joy and pleasure from your installation, of course if you don’t feel up to tackling the project yourself then drop us an email at hello@signature-walls.co.uk where we can discuss your ideas more fully.
Our team of experts will be able to provide insights, creative styles and angles that you may not have considered, we love a metallic medley, micro cement or not.
Speak soon
The Signature Walls Team
