How to Make Venetian Plaster Look Like Polished Stone - Golden Paintworks®

A classic application of smooth polished plaster using a trowel.
This video is an introduction on how to apply a Classic 3-coat application of Golden Paintworks® Venetian Plaster using one size of trowel. See how to load a trowel and the correct positioning of the tool in laying out. The first coat is called the "bedding" coat in that it is the thickest application. Full coverage so that no original wall surface or color is visible. The second and third coats are applied as thin as possible. This is where the movement and polished shine are developed.
Materials:
Golden Paintworks® Venetian Plaster- tinted to "Ice Blue" (a GPW color).
Tools:
GPW Medium (240 x 100mm) stainless steel trowel (3.9" x 11.5")
3" spackle knife
Learn more about Golden Paintworks® products at www.goldenpaint...

[@paigeweber2184]

Thank you. This is the best explanation of trowel work I've seen so far. Useful information delivered succinctly..

[@tabathaoconnor5761]

Excellent teaching ability. I enjoyed the repairs to small mistakes that I know I will make and the flashlight shining sideways so we can see the light texture on the mock up board. We all make mistakes it's nice to know how to fix them. Thank you.

[@steveelliott3109]

I love it when plasterer do it !

[@betterworldok3802]

Great demonstration, so professionally explained

[@DougJo]

Nice job man!

[@alvarosolano6569]

Beautiful work

[@alisonorchardart9622]

Ok now I need to go buy one of those trowels to paint with !

[@simonac688.]

great tuto its simple and clear 👍 thank you ...

[@zoridezi1479]

I have been in love with venetian plaster since 2019 when I first had the chance to see it for the first time. Time came for me to paint my living room and I was ecstatic to find venetian plaster in America. My husband and I ordered it and did all the work. We applied three coats of the venetian plaster and then I took on the task of burnishing with a trowel while my husband was applying last coat on some of the walls. The walls were looking really good with some small spots here and there where the walls were not perfectly straight, (but is what we had to work with). Because of some small imperfect areas after the last coat, my husband used a sand paper here and there to fix it. Then I went to burnish it again but it didn't make it shiny like before. He even used one of those electrical tools to polish it but I had to stop him because it was leaving some streaks on the wall. He said they will eventually cover when we were going to apply the wax. We applied a thin layer of wax (that came with the plaster) and he used the electrical tool with a different soft pad to polish it but it doesn't look near as shiny as other videos I've watched. I am completely heart broken because the end result is not like what I've seen and we don't know what to do and how can we fix it? Please help us and tell us what can we do now to make it really shiny. I tried to go over the wax with the trowel but it doesn't look like there is any difference? How many coats of wax can we apply? Please, please help us. The walls now are a little shiny, in some spots they are not that shiny, some spots have streaks looking like on top and overall it looks like there is just some grease over the walls after the wax. This is a desperate call for advise. Overall look is (especially when the light hits the walls) like there are scratches on the walls and after the wax it looks like we just smeared lard over the walls.

[@Deandun101]

It is not easy to get a mirror-like finish with VP in spite of what a lot of people would have you believe. It takes a very smooth, tight coat to polish well. Sandpaper will dull it down but you can bring it back with a graduated series of grits starting with 400, then 600, then 800 grit and a final burnish with the trowel. If you used a solvent-based wax, that will have to be removed first with paint thinner before sanding. Otherwise, you can just add one or more thin coats of VP and burnish again.

[@zoridezi1479]

@@Deandun101 Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your answer. As soon as the weather warms up a little, I will try to follow your advice. Thank you again.

[@mjremy2605]

Superb video! You are an excellent teacher and know your craft. Many thanks! I wonder how that will look with two colors. Burnt orange underneath, golden ochre on top. Does this product have slaked lime and marble dust or just a thickened latex paint?

[@elrobo5364]

What are you applying this to? It kinda looks like sheetrock 😬🤔 What are the different surfaces that you can apply this to?

[@Deandun101]

Yes, that is primed sheetrock. Venetian plaster can be applied to any stable surface that will accept latex primer.

[@juandalmaud]

Good job question? What color its that, and to protect that wall you need wax ?

[@GoldenPaints]

Hello. The color is Ice Blue, pre-tinted Venetian Plaster (shop.goldenartistcolors.com/venetian-plaster-pre-tinted-colors.html)2, which can be burnished to a high gloss. If this is applied in a high traffic area or a bathroom a protective coating is recommended. Our Protective Sealing Wax (shop.goldenartistcolors.com/protective-sealing-wax-000d422-7.html) is more of a Satin finish, so it cuts the gloss a bit, but it's acrylic (water clean up). To preserve a high gloss, finish with a solvent wax, such as Liberon's Black Bison Wax.

[@garrycrothers3272]

If I am doing a bathroom area that is initially covered with insulated waterproof tile backer board. Should the backer board be skimmed with plaster first

[@Deandun101]

The wall surface should be made as smooth as possible before applying VP. Venetian plaster (along with plaster and joint compound) is not water proof so be mindful as to where you apply it.

[@gorey69]

Hi is that 3coats of exactly the same colour. Thanks

[@1skiless]

Now, instead of doing the 3 Coats. Could you just buff with carnuba wax and pollish

[@GoldenPaints]

You could certainly finish the Venetian Plaster application with a wax topcoat to provide protection and increase the shine, but we would still advise doing three thin coats, since it is the multiple layers that create the visual movement. However, if you apply one or two layers and are happy with how the finish looks, that’s fine; there’s no hard and fast rule about the number of coats needed.

[@charleygraybell1865]

Hi, I'm just wondering if you're using the same color paint/plaster for each coat?

[@Deandun101]

Same color and plaster for all three coats. VP dries 30% lighter from wet to dry.

[@davids1681]

I do wish you (and EVERY other plastering-method guy) would keep strong side-light on their work during production, as you did after the first coat. Without that, seeing a video, it's about impossible to assess the quality of the plaster profile at each stage. I'm a rank amateur at plastering, but have learned to ALWAYS light plaster and other finishing work as harshly from nearly parallel to the surface while working...because then under normal lighting, any marginal defect will be invisible.

[@MlatiMudan22]

hello , can an additional layer of plater be applied few months after , reason is i would want a bit more texture then it has now ?

[@Deandun101]

You can apply as many coats as you would like until you achieve the look you want. Within reason I mean, don't bury the millwork.😉

[@toddroy9558]

Is the plaster you are using, real plaster or synthetic?

[@GoldenPaints]

Hello Todd, not sure if the distinction is between real and synthetic - but this is an acrylic product (synthetic?) - and you can see all the technical details about it here: www.goldenpaintworks.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/TDSD364-Venetian-Plaster.pdf

[@safrizahir]

😍😍😍

[@ptolemyauletesxii8642]

Help!

[@fritz2259]

Rookie

[@mjremy2605]

I visited the website to buy Venetian Plaster Paint. I could not tell one product from another. This is a very poor website design. No technical information. What is the composition of your paints - is there slaked lime and marble dust in it, or not? I don't need fake VP thick latex, I want the real thing. Lost my business.