To wax or not to wax, that is the question I ask of thee. Italian Plasterworks just got back from a lovely contemporary residential installation. A little chaos commenced the project as the homeowner wanted a marble sheen and the decorator wanted a surface shine. The compromise was a lightly waxed wall. Well what does that all mean?
When to Wax:
Waxing a traditionally plastered lime based wall is done to protect the wall. It should and is almost always done in commercial installations where there is a lot of traffic. Wax does provide a layer of protection. So if you are talking about a store or restaurant where people and things are going to be rubbing up against the surface, you should wax or apply a chemical protective coating. Also one should protect areas that will be splashed with water. As pure water won't stain real lime plaster at all, stuff in the water might leave a residue. Waxing will leave a surface shine and the level of surface shine will depend on how polished the plaster is. If you need to protect a wall but don't want any shine, then use a chemical protective coating. This isn't as important with synthetic acrylic based plasters like Variance.
Waxing provides surface shine of some level on all plasters but most on high polished plasters often called grassellos or Venezianos. If you are looking for the glossiest of shines, then waxing will provide that. Some synthetic plasters are made with acrylic and thus give a more of a surface shine than authentic lime plasters but their level of shine can too be bumped up with wax.
Add a decorative layer. When a wax is tinted or is filled with an additive like mica, it will add another decorative layer to the wall. When doing Old World creations, a darker waxed is used to give the appearance of age and wear. It gives a glazing effect and can add a pearly or glittery look as well.
Or Not to Wax:
When a marble sheen is desired. A properly burnished plaster does not need any thing else. A properly burnished high polished plaster is very shiny but one can only see the shine when their eye at an angle on the wall. It has no surface shine which means when you look at it straight on, it appears matte. This is also known as a marble shine. This is much more common in residences as there can be a thing as too much shine. An unwaxed lime based wall is more traditional and easier on the eyes. Lime plaster as it was meant to be. Most of the residence work Italian Plasterworks does, is unwaxed.
