Instructions for the Work with the Wallpaper

In this article we will try to answer many of the questions that often occur during our introduction to the liquid wallpaper. The liquid wallpaper technique described below, deals with a wide range of issues.

We often ask the questions like: "How to glue liquid wallpaper?" - Or better to say - "How to apply liquid wallpaper?" In this section you will learn that the liquid wallpaper technique implies "application", rather than gluing. You will also get a practical guide dealing with all spheres of its application: preparation of different types of surfaces, preparation of liquid wallpaper for the application and, of course, the liquid wallpaper technique itself.

Walls Preparation for the Liquid Wallpaper Application

If liquid wallpaper is used in the interior, the interior design will be distinctive with its diversity, due to the fact that such a wall[paper allows to use the widest range of finishing techniques and methods for all possible surfaces. Preparing walls for the application of liquid wallpaper is easier than for most of other finishing materials. However, in this case, you must exactly follow the instructions prescribed to the material.

Types of Surfaces

Common surfaces:

• Concrete surfaces, sand-cement plaster, clay plaster. These surfaces must be coated with a white or colorless acrylic primer, then plastered with starter filler, which after drying must be primed with a white or colorless acrylic primer again.

• Plasterboard technique involves treating the surface with filler. Act according to the technique: coat the surface with a white or colorless acrylic primer, then plaster with starter filler, which after drying must be primed with a white or colorless acrylic primer again.

Rare surfaces:

• Wooden surfaces, wooden- fiber and oriented strand boards. In the preparation of materials with wooden basis (usually chipboard, MDF, OSB), the surface must be unsealed with PF-115 alkyd enamel. After drying liquid wallpaper can be applied.
• Metal surfaces - most often it is a pipe or portion of steel structures, embedded in a wall. It may also be a protruding steel reinforcement of concrete structures close to the surface of the wall. This surface must be unsealed with PF-115 alkyd enamel.

Important:

Before preparing for the application of liquid wallpaper, old roll wallpaper must be removed from the surface, the whitewash must be completely washed away and a protruding steel reinforcement must be prepared as well as other steel surfaces.

• Acrylic primer must be colorless or white. Sometimes manufacturers of acrylic primers, in order to impart specific properties, may be add copolymers, which I their turn give color to the primer and result in painting the finished coating in in undesirable color. It is important to make a right choice of an acrylic primer.
• Use of the white or colorless acrylic primer is required at each stage of the preparation related to the filler, as when applying liquid wallpaper, every square meter of coated surface contains 1.5-2 liters of water, and proper use of acrylic primer before plastering, and liquid wallpaper application allows to avoid unwanted peeling of the plaster layer from the coated surface.
• The surface on which the liquid wallpaper is applied, does not have to be smooth (as in case with the roll wallpaper). Such a surface can be rough – that is why the starter filler is enough, and there is no need for additional finishing filler and its sanding. Within the applied liquid wallpaper layer, which is 1-1.5 mm, all the bumps and roughness of the surface will be concealed.
• For liquid wallpaper application, the prepared surface must be dry and clean.

• You should also remember that our experts have created liquid wallpaper with a technique, which allows concealing roughness of almost any curved surface.

BIOPLAST Wallpaper Gluing. Liquid Wallpaper Application Technique, Required Tools, Skills

• Preparation of liquid wallpaper to use

To prepare liquid wallpaper for use, it is enough to pour it into a clean plastic container (bowl, bucket) and fill it with warm water with a temperature of 40-50 ° C (warm water promotes proper dissolution of the adhesive component without the lumps formation). After that the soaked mass must be mixed by hand until there are no dry areas in the mixture. It is recommended to avoid an overly active mixing and stirring by mixer, as this will lead to the fragmentation of color fractions, and as a result – to the distortion of the pledged color-texture pattern.

Soaked mass should be tightly covered with a lid or plastic bag to prevent moisture evaporation during soaking. Liquid wallpaper should be soaked for not less than 8 hours. In the soaked state liquid wallpaper can be stored at room temperature without loss of properties up to 5 days, saving its adhesive properties. Right before applying, the soaked liquid wallpaper must be mixed by hand to raise the liquid from the bottom of the tank.

Application of the Liquid Wallpaper

Unlike most modern materials, the liquid wallpaper, which application does not require special skills of a painter or plasterer, can be applied with high-quality by anyone who has desire to practice the skill without much effort.

In a soaking state, liquid wallpaper is a viscous plastic mass. It should be noted, that the liquid wallpaper is harmless for health both in its finished and soaked state.

The process of applying liquid wallpaper does not require any special skills that is why it is referred to the category of materials, called "do it yourself". The application is reduced to smoothing the plastic mass and the coating surface.

The most convenient tool for drawing (smoothing) of liquid wallpaper is a plastic trowel (also sometimes referred to as "plastic ironing tool" or "plastic float"). It looks like a rectangular plastic board, usually with the size of 130 x 270 mm with "L" shaped handle.

The surface smoothing is produced by grater rectilinear translational movements. Movement can be carried out in any convenient direction. At the end of the movement grater should completely break away from the surface. It is necessary to avoid continuous circular motion.

The thickness of the coating for the proper material consumption should not exceed 2 mm (in the plastic phase of liquid wallpaper - the volume will be reduced to 1-1.5 mm). When applied with an extremely thin layer - gaps will be observed in the layer, which must be fixed by the further grater reverse movement. It should be noted that the application of a layer, thicker than 2 mm, will only affect the material consumption and the drying period, but not the quality of the finished coating. Moreover, if the liquid wallpaper is applied in a layer, thicker than 2 mm, it is recommended to maintain the same thickness of the coating over the entire surface. Thus, after drying we will get the smooth coating texture over the entire surface.

Usually the required application skill is developed during the first 15-20 minutes of operation, and then, later on, it is improved and perfected.

We recommend to acquire the first experience of the application on a flat straight section of the wall. It is desirable to spread the wall from the right to left, provided that the grater is in your right hand - it will facilitate your application and avoid grazing of the finished coating with your left shoulder.

Applying of the same plane must be performed of one material batch, from one angle to another. Compliance with this provision ensures uniform color, texture pattern on the coated surface.

The liquid wallpaper application work may be finished only when the coating is applied throughout the entire corner width, in other words, when the plane completely finished. This eliminates the need in soaking the coating dried up edge for the work continuation, and also gives a guarantee that the color-coated texture pattern on the plane will be uniform.

Both throughout the applying process, and after its completion, the room must be ventilated. Active ventilation contributes to the rapid evaporation of moisture from the newly applied coating. On average, the drying lasts for two days. If it is cold and damp outside, we recommend active use of additional heating in the form of fan heaters. The flow of warm air can be directed immediately to the applied liquid wallpaper - it speeds up the drying process, but at the same time ventilates the room from time to time when necessary.

Tips on Сare and Maintenance of the Wallpaper in the Interior. Familiarity with BIOPLAST liquid wallpaper samples. Care and Maintenance.

Care and Maintenance

In the operation process, BIOPLAST liquid wallpaper does not require special care. They have antistatic properties, in other words, they lack electrostatic charge and as a result – do not attract dust.

If, however, in a room with liquid wallpaper coating an excessively dusty work was carried out, practice shows that, the dust, accumulated on the walls, may be simply removed the vacuum cleaner.

Liquid wallpaper is one of the few decorative finishing materials, allowing current coating repair, and leaving no traces of repair. The thing is that the adhesive component of the liquid wallpaper is CMC with reversal properties. With abundant maceration, for example, in preparation for the application of liquid wallpaper, CMC becomes plastic and sticky. When dry - it becomes a hard substance and binds all components of the liquid wallpaper. Working lifespan does not affect this property.

Thus, abundant macerating makes the liquid wallpaper coating pliable, and by drying we remove this property.

In practice it looks as follows. Imagine that the coating has got a mechanical damage. To repair the damaged area it is enough to soak the area with water. Within a few minutes the soaked coating area becomes malleable. And just as when applying the coating, we smooth plastic mass with a plastic trowel and leave the restored area to dry.

If the surface of the liquid wallpaper is polluted, we use the same property for its restoration – we soak the polluted area of the coating and remove it in the plastic phase. In place of a removed piece a necessary amount of pure material is applied and smoothed. Typically, the unused mixture of liquid wallpaper, dried for convenient storage in case of a similar repair, is used for area restoration.

For any decorative coating, sooner or later there comes a stage when, after many years of operation, it must be removed. Liquid wallpaper allows making the work easy even at this stage. Again, here we use reversal property. For large surfaces soaking it is most convenient to use large roller, in other words the roller with a long nap, after having dipped it into the water. Absorbing water from the tank quickly, the roller quickly gives it to the surface. By soaking coating this way, you can easily remove the plastic mass.