Liquid wallpaper is a beautiful design, original structure, good performance, the possibility of self-production and simple application technology, which contributed to the widespread dissemination of this finishing material. At the same time, liquid trellises, after applying them to the surface, hide small flaws in the form of cracks and traces of old fasteners.
Constituent components
The composition of liquid wallpaper is fundamentally different from decorative plasters in that they do not use materials such as cement, lime or sand. As a filler for factory formulations can be used:
- cellulose;
- cotton;
- silk fibers.
Cellulose, as the basis for the manufacture of liquid wallpaper from paper, has become widespread due to the low cost of the component. The white color of the fibers and their small size subsequently allow you to get bright and rich color tones.
To obtain a volumetric surface texture, stiffer cotton fibers are used. Compositions prepared on the basis of cotton well hide most of the defects present on the surface.
To prepare a mixture of wallpaper with fibers of natural silk, take a barrel - a grade of material that is not used in the textile industry and has a low cost. The material has an unusual structure and high performance.
At home, paper, wood chips and textile fibers are most often used. As a binder material providing the necessary adhesion, an adhesive mass based on PVA or Bustilate is used. To obtain the desired color shades, the composition of liquid wallpaper includes mineral pigments. In addition, some formulations may contain gypsum and special decorative additives.
Composition of liquid paper based on paper waste
To make liquid wallpaper from paper with your own hands you will need:
- 3 kg of waste paper;
- 1.5 kg of PVA liquid glue;
- 1.5 kg of gypsum;
- coloring pigment of the desired color;
- 12-15 liters of pure water.
As an additional decorative additive, you can use silk or cotton fibers at the rate of 0.5-1.0 g / m2.
Shredded wood wallpaper
Shredded wood for the preparation of wallpaper trellis must be a certain size. Small sawdust resulting from sawing cannot be used. On this basis, only a pasty mixture is obtained that has no texture. The correct basis will be the material, which can more likely be called small chips. It is easy to obtain after mechanical grinding of wood shavings or other wood waste.
To prepare liquid wallpaper with your own hands at home, on the basis of wood, take one volume part of glue and gypsum. They add 2.5 parts of crushed wood, a coloring pigment and a little plasticizer or detergent. To increase the strength of the finish coat, it is recommended to add reinforcing polymer fibers.
Liquid wallpaper on textile fibers
Silk and cotton fibers, linen, wool, polyester, and synthetic winterizer are referred to textiles for preparing the finishing mixture. As a result, the large number of published recipes on how to make liquid wallpaper with your own hands from textile fibers is explained by the variety of materials for the base with different bulk weights and particle lengths.
Therefore, when compiling the working mixture, you have to choose the best combination of components empirically. And you need to start with an equal volume ratio of fibers and liquid glue, gradually increasing or decreasing the amount of one of them.
After obtaining a good result, coloring pigments, plasticizers and other materials are added on a working basis. Gypsum when using textiles as the main raw material is practically not added.
Dyes
For the preparation of color solutions for wall surface finishing, mineral and synthetic dyes are used. They can be sold in powder form, thick paste or concentrated solution. However, only water-based formulations or those designed for dissolution with water may be used for work.
Original color shades are obtained by mixing pigments of various colors. The dye concentration is determined by the level of necessary color saturation, but it should not exceed 1.5% of the total volume of the finished mixture.
Decorative additives
As additional decorative materials in liquid trellis add:
- fine quartz chips, but not sand;
- crushed mica;
- various crystals and marble chips;
- rhinestones and other particles.
By adding such materials, you can change the aesthetic qualities of the finish. However, it should be borne in mind that their number should not exceed 20% of the total volume of the working mixture.
Plasticizers and antifungal drugs
The addition of plasticizers makes the working mixture more ductile and facilitates the process of applying it to the wall surface. Special solutions available on the market can be replaced with liquid detergents or even a simple soap solution.
As an antifungal agent, you can use liquid glass (sodium silicate) or purchase special chemicals in the store. Protection against the formation of fungus may be required when finishing the internal corners of external walls, places of abutment and other places of possible cold bridges. No antifungal agents are required for work on interior walls.
Instructions for preparing working solutions
The manufacturing technology of mixtures for applying liquid trellis on the walls is not particularly difficult, but it may take time. Sometimes it takes from a day to several days to get the right fibers and a quality foundation. Below are instructions for processing raw materials and making high-quality mixtures.
Paper waste and waste paper
To get the basics, paper, cardboard, old newspapers and other similar materials must be dissolved into separate fibers. For this, raw materials are cut or torn into the smallest possible pieces. After that, the pieces of waste paper are weighed and poured with ordinary water in a ratio of 1: 5 by measured weight.
Duration of soaking paper lasts at least 5 hours. After that, with the help of an electric drill with a mixer installed on it, at which the edges are sharpened, the mass is additionally crushed to obtain a homogeneous composition.
Before adding coloring pigment, the paper must be bleached, since the printing ink clearly creates a gray tint and damps the saturation of the color shades.
To do this, use bleach bleaches such as "White" or special oxygen compounds. The operation is carried out several times, but there is still no guarantee of achieving exceptional snow-white. Therefore, the choice of feedstock should be approached with special attention.
After the bleaching procedure, the paper pulp must be washed with clean water, add colored pigment and half the necessary PVA glue. Now the resulting composition should ripen. To do this, it is transferred to a sealed plastic bag and placed in the shade for 12 hours.
After such a peculiar ripening and before applying to the wall surface, gypsum, the remainder of the glue, decorative additives, plasticizer are added to the prepared mass, then they are thoroughly mixed. The proportional composition of liquid paper-based wallpaper was given above.
Shredded wood
The manufacturing process of liquid trellises from small wood chips consists of the following sequential operations:
- dry and weigh the crushed and purified wood from contaminants;
- put in a container and pour water in a ratio of 1: 5 by weight;
- leave for 10-12 hours for impregnation and swelling;
- add half of the necessary glue, dyes and decorative additives;
- leave the mixture to ripen for 12 hours;
- before applying to the wall add the second half of the adhesive, gypsum, plasticizer, mix well.
Preparation of the working solution is done in small portions, which can be worked out at a time. The presence of gypsum leads to a reduction in setting time, which, in turn, leads to hardening of the working mixture until it is fully developed.
Preparation of liquid wallpaper based on textile fibers
The process begins with chopping the fibers into short pieces. After that, they are mixed with glue in a ratio of 1: 1 and mixed well. Pigments and decorative additives are reported, mixed and left to stand for at least 8 hours, depending on the type of textile used.
If the wallpaper paste is too thick, you need to add water and mix again.
The addition of the remaining components occurs just before the finishing composition is applied to the wall. note that the presence of gypsum leads to an increase in the density of the solution and a reduction in the time of its hardening.
Drawing liquid wall-paper on a wall
There are several technologies for applying a working solution to a wall. It can be done:
- a wide paint brush or roller;
- pneumatic sprayer;
- putty knife, trowel or just a hand.
Before processing, the surface of the wall is covered with two layers of deeply penetrating soil. Aerated concrete and foam concrete must first be plastered. Joints of gypsum plasterboards are sure to get stuck.
Immediately after application, the mixture is leveled with a wide spatula to a layer thickness of 2-3 mm. A flat surface can be checked using the two-meter rule. During alignment, it is convenient to use side illumination, which will indicate all errors. Complex color drawing can be applied and aligned in 2 times.
Drying of the applied layer after leveling takes place in two days. Until the end of this period, no work on the wall surface is performed.