Decorative
clay plasters

What are decorative clay plasters?

ClayLime's clay range comprises two decorative plasters made in Brussels. In both, the clay forms the fine matrix that gives texture and colour, mineral fillers provide surface hardness, and a polymer binder gives the layer its cohesion and flexibility. Applied about 2 mm thick, in two coats, wet-on-wet, they give a mineral microcement or natural-stone look.

Claystone, the versatile plaster. The clay is combined with dolomite and sedimentary rock, and the powder is mixed with JES, a Zero VOC liquid polymer binder. This flexibility keeps it from cracking on a sound substrate, and once varnished it withstands heavy traffic. It covers interior floors, interior and exterior walls, worktops and furniture, and lends itself to a range of effects: smooth, rough, lines or natural stone. Thirty shades, or made to order.

Wonderstone, the ready-to-use plaster. Clay, quartz, rock powders and pigments form a pre-tinted powder that already contains its binder: only water needs to be added, which limits shade differences from one mix to the next. With no cement, it does not set in the bucket, and the mix keeps for about fifteen days. Its first coat has a long open time, which reduces lap marks on large areas. It is reserved for interior floors and walls, excluding showers. Twenty shades.

For both, the chosen varnish determines how the surface finally behaves: a breathable PerfectProtect treatment keeps the wall vapour-open, while PerfectSeal New varnish closes the surface further so that it resists water and stains.

The shades come from natural pigments, and both plasters can be used over underfloor heating, provided the heating is switched off during the works.

Installation & uses

Both plasters are applied to a sound, flat, dry and evenly absorbent substrate, coated with PrimerPro bonding primer. On existing tiles or plasterboard, a reinforced levelling compound and a sealing primer go on before the PrimerPro. Application is a job for a professional applicator trained to use the product.

Claystone: a kit of 15 kg of powder and 2 L of JES, to be mixed with the same quantity of water, covers about 8 m²; the mix keeps for 48 hours away from air and light. It is applied with a trowel in two thin coats, wet-on-wet, 2 mm at most. Floors and furniture receive three coats of PerfectSeal New, a worktop two coats of PowerSeal and then two of PerfectSeal New, and a wall two coats of PerfectSeal New or, to stay breathable, two to three coats of PerfectProtect.

Wonderstone: a kit of 15 kg of pre-tinted powder covers about 10 m²; it is mixed with water only and keeps for about fifteen days. The first coat, 1 mm at most, is spread with a plastering trowel, and the second follows as soon as the first no longer takes a fingerprint. After 24 hours of drying and a light sanding, floors and exposed walls receive two coats of AquaSeal and then two of PerfectSeal New, a wall one coat of AquaSeal and two of PerfectSeal New, and a breathable wall two to three coats of PerfectProtect.

For both, a floor can be walked on after 48 hours and takes heavy use after 72 hours. With underfloor heating, the heating is switched off 48 hours before work starts and brought back up gradually once the protective coats are fully dry, after 72 hours at the earliest. Maintenance is done with a neutral soap, such as black soap, avoiding acidic products.