Getting Plastered then Waxing Off

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.    

The road to Villafranco di Verona part 1

I titled this post The road to Villafrano di Verona as a take off on Eric Clampton's CD Road to Escondido. I live in Escondido, Ca.

Italian Plasterworks took over the California School of Italian Plasters almost 3 years ago. As we went through 3 months of training to become Safra trainers under Doyle Self almost 5 years ago, it was very exciting to see this come into fruition. It's really been a wonderful experience for me. I am not a faux finisher per say, nor am I a painting contractor. I only apply hand troweled finishes. Since I exclusively focus on Venetian Plasters (I am keeping the nomenclature simple in this one) I am comfortable billing myself as THE SELF APPOINTED QUEEN OF VENETIAN PLASTER WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI. There is another queen on the east side of the Mississippi, Deb Campbell of Wallartistry. Our two schools California School of Italian Plasters and Midwest School of Italian Plasters are the only two places in the US and Canada in which to take the 5 day instensive Safra certification course.

So on Monday, the 10th of May, Deb and I are headed to the Safra factory in Villafranco di Verona to discuss best practices not only for being Safra instructors but resellers as well.

Given that this is a very important trip professionally, this last week I've been very concerned with shoes of course. Oh and the outfits that go along with them. This recession has not been kind to most fine wall finish businesses, Italian Plasterworks is no exception. Back in the day I was getting at least one call for our services everyday, going on probably 4 sales calls a week and closing one job per week. We were constantly busy. Then one day I awoke and my sales pipeline went "poof" as in disappeared before my eyes. Basically one out of every 4 jobs lined up cancelled. I received one call for plaster inquiry per week instead of 10. Southern California seemed to be hit first so it took me a few weeks to connect the news of the mortgage crisis to the slow down in the business. Usually, in an economic downturn, stocks of home improvement stores like Lowes Home Depot go up. It was when those stock started dropping, I knew that Italian Plasterworks was in for a long haul. That was 2007.

Now its almost summer of 2010 I am still here and have added instruction to my repertoire of services. I've grown to like teaching the 5 day Safra Class more than I like applying plaster. Instructor training with the president of Safra will allow me to be even a better teacher. I will also bring home the latest in design and color trends for my Italian Plasterworks clients.

But where does my mind wander to in the few days leading up to the trip? Shoes. I haven't been to Italy in ages. I want to make the most of the trip, that being have fun in cute shoes. Honing the ancient techniques of Venetian plaster in high heels might be a first in the industry.

If that stupid volcano doens't interrupt my trip, I promise part two will have more meat in it as far as the plaster industry goes. Right now though I am breaking in my new high heels and practicing walking on pave stones in them.