concrete

Try Plasticote suede paint for concrete



Hth

Jim

An update on the concrete surface for the industrial area.An absolute disaster i'm afraid.I think i put it on a bit thin and it cracked,but not small cracks,it actually lifted.It looked like a dry river bed.I'll try again tomorrow and use pva to the mix.Oh well onwards and upwards.All good fun i suppose.

[user=1033]spurno[/user] wrote:

An update on the concrete surface for the industrial area.An absolute disaster i'm afraid.I think i put it on a bit thin and it cracked,but not small cracks,it actually lifted.It looked like a dry river bed.I'll try again tomorrow and use pva to the mix.Oh well onwards and upwards.All good fun i suppose. 

Hi Alan.

Maybe I should have mentioned it, and If I didn't I apologise after all the work that you must have put in - yes,mix in PVA glue next time and that should hold it firm - however, may I suggest that you try it out on a test section first?

My apologies.

Allan.

Hi Allan,i did do a test piece earlier and it was ok.The only difference is that the test piece was on bare ply and the other was on painted mdf.

Hi Alan - this is the second time I've typed this message so you might get two versions of the same thing - christ knows what happened to the first!

Anyway, maybe when you tried it the first time you tried it on an absorbant surface where it would have drawn most of the water out of the mix.

However, since you've now mixed PVA in with and primed the surface, it should turn out just fine - 'stick' with it and please let me know how you got on.

Cheers.

Allan.

Groan :roll:
I've used water putty to good effect before now. But the cement/PVA mix has my interest, looking forward to seeing the results.
Marty

[user=1033]spurno[/user] wrote:

……………………………………………….It looked like a dry river bed……………………………………

That could be something many of us tried to achieve without success Alan. :shock:  Did you photograph it ?

Hi Peter,no i didn't but it curled up by at least an inch.I've tried again today and that has cracked but not curled up.I'm not going to give up on it just yet though. I'll sand it and see if i can rescue it.I start work tonight so will not get a lot done until sunday.

The concrete effect on this coaler was achieved by the method described - a coating of actual cement brushed across and down where appropriate to represent the wood graining of the shuttering when it was being built.

 


 

Just a further point if I may guys regarding this, but how thick were you laying the cement mix down Alan?

I ask this because all you really need is a single coat no thicker than a coat of emulsion paint say and this shouldnt crack and even if it does, it will only be hairline cracks at the most.

Curling up is quite normal and you should be able to glue this down to the sub surface either using Impact adhesive, or PVA weighted down.

Best regards.

Allan.

Hi Allan,about 1/16" which is about as thin as i can get it.It's a bit difficult to get it thinner as it drags up on the scraper.

Those are the lines I was thinking along Alan and Allan. :roll::roll:

I'd have thought you ought to use the cement powder in the same way the talcum powder is used - i.e. "brushed" on like paint with texture in it rather than "laid" as a thin screed.  It would almost certainly crack as a screed but as a "texture" in paint, it ought to be OK.

I'm not sure if this would work, but if you painted the surface with PVA first, then painted a slurry of cement/water/pva on to the PVA suface, just to stop it from retracting… Or paint down PVA first, then brush in dry cement dust into it, follow that with a wetting down with water via a atomiser with a touch of detergent…

Just a thought !

Cheers, Gary.

all ideas gratefully accepted. will try again Sunday.

[user=1033]spurno[/user] wrote:

Hi Allan,about 1/16" which is about as thin as i can get it.It's a bit difficult to get it thinner as it drags up on the scraper.

Hi Alan.

All I can suggest is that you use a wide brush to spread the mix instead of a scraper and just keep wetting the brush. As the slurry dries, it should level itself out. A light wet stippling will also help to level it which can then be sanded down after it has dried.

Now I think that there are, or were,  different coloured texture paints available - tarmac, concrete etc -  which in effect are ordinary emulsions impregnated with fine grit which were made for this very purpose - textured ground effects.Or, and as more or less already suggested by the guys, you could try mixing the cement powder with white emulsion which might spread a lot easier without clogging up.

Anyway Alan, keep us all informed - I can see a massive modelling breakthrough in the making here ! 

Allan.

Another update guys.I was not happy with the final laying of the cement mix,it lifted and wouldn't have lasted any length of time so i'm going to try brushing it on,also the colour was a bit dark.Any ideas on how to lighten it?,possibly adding some light colour emulsion?.I've also downloaded some cg textures but wasn't happy with those either.If the brushing doesn't work i might try the suede paint suggested by Jim s-w.

Hi Alan.

The thing to remember about concrete is that it gets its colour from the sand and aggregates used, not from the cement itself which, as you've probably realised, gives a greenish colour. I would suggest you go out and take some photos of the sort of concrete colour you want. I find the best way of reproducing concrete is to use plaster of paris with either powder paints or artist's acrylic paints mixed in to get the sandy colour you need to match your chosen photo.

I was going to suggest mixing the cement with powder paints.  You can get white cement rather than grey but finding a builder who is using it at this very moment might be difficult.  I suspect a 35kg bag might be more than you need ………………

I hadn't thought about plaster of Paris - cheap and sets before you can blow your nose ……….but very brittle unless it's well supported:thumbs

Have you tried exterior "stone paint" ?  It's exterior wall paint with very fine aggregate mixed into it to give some texture.  Again, for the tiny quantities you need, probably not a practical solution. :roll:

In respect to what Peter has said above, why not mix fine sand (silver sand ?) with paint to form a firm slurry. This way you know what colour it will be.

Cheers, Gary.

Thanks for your thoughts everyone.I can't get to the diy shop at the moment due to my son using the car so i'll try a cement/light coloured emulsion/pva slurry brushed on this time  and post the results later.