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In the Main Menu on the left you'll find several useful areas including our busy Forum where you can meet, chat, question and learn. You'll also find a Product Information Library of technical data sheets, a Photo Gallery where applicators upload and showcase their work, an Article Library, a Job Noticeboard, a PR & Marketing Centre for the press, our Online Shop and our fantastic new Training Centre which includes on and offline plaster application training and videos on how to use this site. Almost everyone we meet has an opinion on Italian Plaster and we'd like those opinions shared. So please, get involved and help us to build a great community.

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So what is 'Polished Plaster'?Polished plaster, or Italian plaster is known by many names. The terms, Stucco, Marmorino and Venetian plaster cover a whole range of decorative plaster finishes - from the very highly polished Venetian Stucco Veneziano, Grassello and Calcenova through the elegant Marmorino as described by Vitruvious, to the rugged look of textured plasters such as Intonachino, Immagini and Travertino. Polished plaster is a generic term for these plasters and can be a little misleading because not all the plasters are actually polished. Many of the Italian products consist of slaked lime, marble dust, and/or marble chips (which give each plaster its distinctive look). However, some products have been developed in recent years and perfected to provide better useability for the applicator or waterproof abilities for use in shower cubicles and wet rooms. Polished plaster is mainly used internally in the UK, on walls and ceilings, to give a finish that looks like polished marble, travertine, or limestone.

 

Such plasters are usually applied over a primer or key-coat base, from 1 to 4 layers. They can be finished (burnished) with a specialised steel inox trowel to a smooth glass-like sheen. Polished plaster can be sealed with a protective layer of wax. In Italy, parts of the US and around the Mediterranean, many of these plasters are used externally. Venice gets it's characteristic look from this.