Venetian Gem Bellissimo Gallons

Pre-colored Venetian Gem™ Bellissimo plaster is a marble plaster formulated to produce high quality plaster finishes. It is a light bodied, creamy plaster material that is easier to apply as a result of the products finer consistency. Specially developed for the professional faux and decorative artist, this versatile plaster can be layered with other Faux Effects International products to create rustic old world plaster finishes or when used alone can be burnished to emit the classic, polished Venetian plaster shine with very little effort, using cheesecloth or a plastic/stainless steel trowel. Smooth, uniformly glossy, marble-like surfaces can be created as well as the traditional matte/high shine plaster variation.

Basic Application:

• Ensure that the surface is clean and free of dust, grease, etc. Apply two thin even coats of Setcoat™ or AquaBond™ allowing 4 hours to dry between coats and 24 hours after the final coat.
• Choose a base color that is similar to the selected Venetian Gem™ Bellissimo hue.
• Using a thin flexible application trowel (stainless steel or plastic) apply the Venetian Gem™ Bellissimo over the entire surface. This first coat should be applied as smoothly as possible; however, air pitting and graceful trowel lines or skip troweling are permitted in this first base layer. Natural imperfections will enhance the color patterns when the Venetian Gem™ Bellissimo material is burnished during the final stages. Each light coat of Venetian Gem™ Bellissimo will dry in approximately 30 - 60 minutes.
• Apply additional thin coats of Venetian Gem™ Bellissimo (in the same hue or a complimentary color/tone). Working in small sections at a time, randomly skip trowel the material over the finish. When this layer has dried, this process may be repeated until the desired look is achieved. Try to avoid creating obvious patches, but rather interlace the colors as you go.
• Once all the layers are completely dry, the material is ready to be polished. The final burnish is achieved by laying the trowel at a 45 angle and applying pressure as the trowel is moved across the surface. Repeat this procedure until the desired shine is achieved. A stainless steel/wooden or plastic trowel will work best for this procedure. Rubbing cheesecloth over the surface will also deliver a high shine. Wet/dry fine sanding with 1000­1.200 grit black finishing paper will achieve a similar look. All of these methods will require very little effort.

Tips:

• If a super smooth finish is desired, all surfaces from the substrate through to the final layer must be smooth.
• For drastic color adjustments it is best to intermix the pre-existing Venetian Gem™ Bellissimo colors and then modify slightly using the colorants.
• Venetian Gem™ Bellissimo allows the decorative artist to create textured patterns with the first layer and then easily backfill with subsequent layers.
• Burnishing the lighter colors of Venetian Gem™ Bellissimo with cheesecloth will eliminate the carbon marks that result when using a stainless steel trowel.
• Burnishing Venetian Gem™ Bellissimo before applying Venetian Gem™ Gloss Coat or Venetian Gem™ Finish Coat will create more 'depth of field' in the finish.

Square Footage:

• Gallon: 150 - 200 Square Feet

* Square Footage Notes vary depending on application method and style