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Stenciling with Plaster
by Dean Sickler
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One of the hottest finishes on the market today is dimensional plastering: use of plaster to create enough depth to throw a shadow. Dimensional plastering goes beyond faux finishing techniques which create texture with paint, because this type of finish has a solid presence and feel which appeals to certain customers. (Note: if desired, the plaster can be applied over strippable liner paper, making it removable at a later date)
In the dimensional plastering example shown here, I used Stone Fx by Adicolor for its ease of use and durability. |
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To start, I colored some plaster with equal amounts of raw umber and black universal tints (about a teaspoon to a quart) and trowelled this on for a first coat. This color was chosen mainly for contrast to show the pattern which was applied. |
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After the base plaster coat dried, I squared off the surface with a chalk snap line. You will want to shake out the blue chalk and replace it with talcum powder as the blue chalk is too hard to remove later. Square off the wall surface using the dimensions of whichever stencil you choose. Don't try to do this by eye. |
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You will want to use a thick stencil which will stand up to the plaster being pushed through it: in this example I used a thick (5mil) stencil by Polyvine called Tile Block STBL. Apply the stencil to your first squared-off section, masking off all four sides. Put the plaster on one edge of a trowel or wide knife and apply it over the stencil using pressure. It takes practice and some plaster will bleed through, but that can be fixed later. Scrape or skim any plaster off the surface of the stencil so that the remaining plaster is no thicker than the stencil. |
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Remove the stencil from the first square and then lay out and plaster through the stencil on the opposing square like a checkerboard. Then go back and plaster the rest of the stencil squares in your layout. You will want to scrape off any large amounts of bleed with some tool like a cut down Popsicle stick before the plaster dries (within two hours). |
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Now you can go back in and touch up the bleed areas. Since you know what colors you used in the plaster, use the same ones to make some touch up paint. Thin it down by 20% so if you colorwash the plaster later, it will not show. |
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The plaster is now ready to be finished off to look like tile, rusted iron, tin, lead or any variety of other dimensional surfaces. |
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