Colorants/Tinting

The possibility of colors is truly endless

We are currently working on a standard color palette for ordering plaster. We promise to have the most extensive color fandeck available. For the time being, we can match any color on any fandeck from any paint company.

"Pigments," "colorants" and "tints" all refer to the same thing: that with which you color your plaste, paint, etc. There are essentially two different types of pigments, natural and synthetic. Synthetic pigments are made from chemicals. Natural pigments are made from crushed minerals. The important difference is that synthetic pigments, are anamorphic in their molecular structure and natural pigments have a crystalline structure. An anamorphic structure means that the molecules have no real structure, so they do not uniformly reflect and refract light. A crystalline structure means that the pigments are like miniature crystals, so they reflect and refract light like crystals. Natural pigments are not only timeless in their beauty, but they are resistant to fading from UV light or lime 'burning' out the color.

Vasari Plaster uses zero VOC low odor pigments to create an infinite palette of infading colors. We usually tint your plaster according to the desired color, or we can also provide the tint by itself so that you can tint your own plaster (if you buy dry mix or unitnted).

The possibilities of color are truly endless. By combining Marmorino, Veneziano, Lime Wash, waxes and numerous sealers, you can create virtually any texture and color effect imagineable.

Powdered pigments:

Powdered pigments in used when you are looking for a very particular historical color that is hard to reproduce with the standard combinations of tints. They are mostly effective in Lime Washes and artistic applications.These maybe certain blues, greens or oranges. We do not sell these pigments but you can checkout www.sinopia.com. Here are the most important things you should know about these pigments:

Not all powder pigments will work in plaster. Some pigments, like water insoluble irgazines are unusable.
When adding pigments to plaster, always, always, dissolve pigments into water first and fully; making a paste or thick slurry. Otherwise, you will get hundreds of dry particles that will leave harsh streaks of color in the wall.
In Mormorino, the dried plaster color will be about 50% less vivid than the wet plaster color. In Veneziano, 30%. Lime Wash 20%. These are rough estimates.
A few pigments are coarser than others; making them difficult to use in Veneziano, were they can leave scratches.

Mixing colors:
As mentioned, never put dry pigment into plaster (although you can do this with Lime Wash). Always dilute your pigment in water, then add it to your plaster. Otherwise you will have high contrast streaks of undiluted colors. (This may be a desired effect, but in small doses). Contrary to what you learned in grade school art class; you cannot mix any blue and red pigments to make purple. It has to be a specific blue and red.

If you want to get serious about color mixing; consult various art books of the subject.