Venetian Plaster Repair--Detective Work.

I got a call from a woman in Cornado, Ca who was looking for someone who could repair the patching that didn't go well on her Venetian plastered kitchen cabinets.  The red flags in her request are with the word "patching" and two red flags for the term "Venetian plastered kitchen cabinets".  I am in no way interested in the job but this did incite much curiosity.  Couldn't help but go down that rabbit hole.

First, applying Venetian plaster as a finish for cabinets doesn't make a lot of sense.  First if you are going to use authentic lime plaster, you are dealing with a material that when, dry is more like a thin sheet of ice, than a layer of paint.  I would think, even if successful in application, it would chip easily.  But going back a little, applying lime plaster on cabinets would also be difficult  to move the material in various directions and almost impossible to burnish.  That said, I have seen some well executed work using synthetic plasters on furniture and such but its very rare.

The applicator had to either be the Grand Master of them all, or some clueless fool.  So pretending like I might be interested in this repair-the-patch-work I asked the homeowner who did it and did she know what was used.  As I distribute plaster through Metro Wallworks and teach through California School of Italian Plasters, I know most of my competition pretty well.  If I recognize the name, I can usually take a pretty good guess at what products they are using and well versed in.   The homeowner gave me a name I didn't recognize at all and said that Venetian plastering isn't what he normally does.  Just like I thought, it was the latter.  She did mention that the applicator had a French man guiding him as he went.  She had no idea of the product he used but did still have a can of some French wax used.   There are a couple of French faux finishers in town but I can't imagine them getting involved in such a project.

The cabinets had gotten dinged up here and there due to some other construction in the house. She called in a woman who came to patch them for her.  So was this woman the Grand Master of Venetian Plasterers who could take on such a job or another clueless fool?  My guess is that she is a local faux finisher with little Venetian plaster experience.  The owner didn't know the name but did have the product she used, American Traditions Venetian Plaster.  OK, well that stuff can look nice but its not authentic Venetian plaster which means its got a little lime, some gypsum, some acrylic resins and what not.  I'm not knocking the product but one can't just slap this over a waxed mystery plaster with any hope of success.

The owner complained that the patches weren't the same color as the original cabinets.  According to the homeowner,  the patches were about 7 shades too light.  Now I was really curious, so I get the homeowner to send me pictures of the cabinets.  They looked better than I thought, but they don't look like they have Venetian plaster on them.  The patches actually just make the cabinets look a little more vintage (even though vintage  wasn't the original intent).

My point to this blog is to really point out some aspects you must take in mind when it comes to repairing work you didn't do yourself.

• Play detective and find out as much as you possible can. Encourage the homeowner to call the original applicator.
• If it has been waxed, the whole wall must be done again.
• If you don't know the original material, much time could be spent on texture and color matching.
• Its probably less time consuming to redo the whole plane than to patch.
• Charge time and materials and don't promise success. 

Japanese Plaster, Eco de Vita application shown by Job Corps, San Francisco

Japanese plaster is made from coral sand or diatomaceous earth.  Both are from the sea, where the sand and little diatoms tumbled the ocean floor for eons before it was sustainly brought to the surface to have itself transfromed into a new material for walls. 

This video produced by Job Corps  is two fold.  First it shows you how to flatten or float out a textured surrface and then shows you how to work with the Japanese plaster.  Notice how Tim, the instructor, switches to a Japanese trowel when he works with the Eco De Vita.   I really can't say "why" they work better, but they do.  If you are interested in learning Japanese plaster application you have a couple of choices.  First you can order a sample making kit from Eco De Vita or you can take a one day certification course from California School of Italian Plasters.