Plaster Maintenance

How to care for your Venetian Plaster project

Cleaning:
If the plaster, Marmorino or Veneziano is unsealed without either Olive Oil Sealer or Acrylic Sealer and gets dirty, first use:

A rag and warm water. Gently rub out the dirt. If that doesn't work, use:
Rag, water and a touch of soap, or;
400 grit sandpaper over the blemish, then 600 grit to polish out, or;
Wet the area, then use the sandpaper
If an oily spot is stubborn to water and soap, use clear spirits, not oily spirits like Turpentine (test a small spot first.)
If all else fails, add water to the same color plaster as used on the wall, making a slurry or paint out of it, then dab the troubled area with slurry.

Always use white cotton to clean; otherwise colored fabrics can bleed onto the plaster.

If the plaster is sealed with olive oil sealer, wax, saddle soap or other natural sealers, use that product to try to clean. If that doesn't work, try the same methods as listed above for unsealed plaster, then be sure to reseal the plaster with the same product.

If cleaning acrylic sealed plaster, use the same methods (with the exception of cleaning it with acrylic sealer), then reseal the spot if it had to be sanded.

If cleaning Lime Paint, clean with the same methods as above. If all else fails, dab it with the same color of Lime Paint.

Patches, dings, nicks, and holes:
The most important thing is to fill the hole leveled to the rest of the wall. Before doing anything else, clean the area around the hole. In some cases, sand the area around it, remove any waxes with solvent, and gently rub out any other water-soluble sealers. After cleaning, mask the area around it.

If you have a hole larger than 1" x 1", use spackle, drywall mud, caulking or anything else that won't crack. If you have a larger hole, like 5" X 5", use spray foam. For anything larger, you might have to re-sheetrock the hole. The reason you don't use Venetian Plaster is because it can crack if applied too thickly. You might have to fill the hole several times with spackle, or other medium. Use Venetian Plaster on the last two or three layers of the patch. On the last layer, take a damp cloth and remove any excess Venetian Plaster around the patch. Allow 24 hours to dry, sand it and reseal (if there was sealer.)
If you have a nail hole, use Venetian Plaster as filler. If there is excess plaster, wipe with a damp rag. Let dry then sand the patch with the appropriate sand paper grit (400 -600), and reseal with original sealer, if any.
For scratches, minor dings, etc.; either re-seal with original sealer, or make paint out of plaster, then dab the area with brush or rag. As always, use your best judgment and test small samples if possible.

Sealers:
There are several types of sealers: Natural sealers, acrylic sealers, various waxes and glazes. Sealers are obviously made for extra protection against dirt, mold, mildew, water and other undesirables. Each sealer has pluses and minuses.

Natural sealers, such as Vasari Olive Oil Sealer, is most commonly used in general areas including the kitchen. It can take dirt, wine spills and oil spills. It's easy to apply, odorless, it breathes, is easy to fix or reapply, can be colored for glazing and enhances the color, and richness of the wall. It will also deepen the plaster color by as much as 50%, so you can use less pigment. It is easy to polish to a high sheen, feels very nice and is very easy to clean. It is removable with water, which is advantageous for patches or changing the wall color. Lastly, it is completely natural.

Olive Oil Sealer might be the best all-around sealer for interiors. It is not recommended for wet areas, like showers or exteriors.

Acrylic sealers, like Vasari Acrylic Sealer, are meant for very water prone areas, such as near sinks, baths, near showers, toilets, etc. We don't recommend putting plaster directly in front of water, such as shower stalls. With direct and frequent water contact, the plaster would need to be reapplied every 5 years or so and if this is neglected, it could be trouble depending on the substrate. The Acrylic Sealer is essentially a coat of plastic. If the look is too synthetic, you can easily mask it by applying wax, such beeswax or carnauba wax. Two coats of Acrylic Sealer will make the plaster extremely durable to the elements. This can technically protect exteriors, but we do not recommend it because of liability. Contact us if you want to try it.

Marmorino plaster can take some water. Veneziano cannot. It gets water spots if sprayed excessively. We highly recommend Acrylic Sealer in Veneziano water prone areas.

Waxes are very beautiful and the traditional way to go. Real waxes like beeswax and carnauba can add protection and give the wall a marvelous luster that is difficult to duplicate. Colored waxes are also ideal for a glazed effect, such as the traditional black wax on red plaster. There are two big drawbacks with wax. The first is that they are hard to work with due to the incredibly bad odor. They actually cause nausea and dizziness. This is because real waxes have to use toluene, which is a very harsh solvent. There have been some recent developments in wax technology, so things are changing. The other big problem with wax is that it's virtually permanent, and repainting or re-plastering the walls afterwards is almost impossible. Nothing sticks to wax except more wax. Lime plaster really sucks up the wax. If you want to remove it, you have to vigorously scrub the walls down with toluene several times, sand them and then prime them. Even this is no guarantee that the primer will stick. Additionally, wax is not very water resistant.

Other sealers are available, including various glazes and synthetic sealers. These are mostly similar in chemical composition and durability. They differ in viscosity, color and price. We believe if you're going to use something as beautiful and natural as Venetian Plaster, a natural sealer is best (unless the surface needs to be waterproofed.)

One last thing to remember about water resistance is that Marmorino, with or without Lime Paint, is relatively resistant to water. It absorbs easily and leaves very few watermarks, if any. Veneziano, because it is so thin, has a tendency to leave water spots if excessively sprayed with water.