Sunday, March 09, 2008

More Earthen Plaster Finishing When I repaired the plaster on the south wall back in November, it was better but still not where I wanted it. Being the south wall of course it gets the most sun and that means that any plaster work done will dry very quickly and the thinner the layer, the faster it dries. Not always a good thing for plaster. It dried with some pits and cracks that could cause problems down the road. When I got up Saturday morning it was cloudy but not threatening rain, the perfect day to work on this wall so to work I went. I mixed up a fine clay with a small amount of sand. To that I added water mixed with Acri-Soy purchased at Originate. This is a bit of an experiment to see if it makes the wall more weather-proof. I know some purists out there will say that with a good plaster this wouldn't be necessary but I'm not a professional plasterer so purists, get over it. I will also use this on the west wall. This mixture goes on like a thin latex and application is not a neat process. The stuff flies everywhere. Once it had time firm up a bit, I polished it with a disc cut from a whipped topping container and the finish is smooth and beautiful. The Acri-Soy did not change the color of the clay, which was a concern. We'll see what happens in the summer monsoon.

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