One of the oldest types of decorative art is mosaic. Its first samples are dated to the 4th millennium BC. Today, there are also amateur mosaic artists who create unique compositions with their own hands, sometimes from the most inappropriate materials for this.
The production of this material involves the use of the following components:
- a binder;
- soil; basics;
- elements set.
If you also decided to do similar work, then for a start you need to work on a drawing that will act as a template. In general, mosaic is a labor-intensive art form, therefore paintings from it based on ready-made plots are cheaper than custom-made panels. On sale you can find ready-made sets, which are represented by a wide variety.
Do it yourself
If you have a question about how to make a mosaic with your own hands, then first you need to figure out what material will form the basis. It can be ceramic or glass. Elements are laid on glue or mortar, and grout is used at the last stage. If you plan to carry out the installation in a room with high humidity, then it is better to purchase silicone sealant, which is waterproof, waterproof, and when frozen, has the texture of dense rubber. For a set of small fragments, these qualities are especially important, especially if you have to work with irregularly shaped elements.
The following ingredient composition is used as one of the recipes:
- pure water;
- synthetic wood glue;
- construction alabaster;
- cement.
As for the glue, it is sold in powder and pre-dissolved in cold water. Water should have room temperature. It is added in a volume of 4 parts. To the components should be added 6 parts of construction alabaster. In order to achieve the desired tone, you should use a pigment, preferably acrylic.
If you want to make a mosaic with your own hands, then the glue must be dissolved in water, and then add alabaster, until you can get the consistency of liquid sour cream. Then pigment is added. Alabaster does not set as fast in the glue solution as it would with pure water, but mixing must be done in 5 minutes. You need to cook individual portions of 300 ml.
You can make a mosaic from improvised materials. In particular, a door mat, which has square cells, should be used as a form. A mixture is poured into it, which should then be leveled with a rubber spatula. In this condition, the composition is left for 36 hours. After the solution has hardened, the mat must be bent to remove the chips from the nests. It is necessary to act on the principle of removing ice cubes from the mold.
It is recommended to glue such a mosaic on a flat surface, which must first be sanded. PVA should be used for stone and glass; you do not need to use stationery glue. An alternative solution is liquid nails. Alabaster-glue compound does not get dirty, therefore, additional varnishing is not required, however, an additional water-polymer emulsion can be used.
Alternative manufacturing
Do-it-yourself mosaic can be made using another technology. You need to start work with the procurement of the elements of the set. These can be squares with a side of 1 or 5 cm. They are usually harvested for the future, so as not to be distracted from work afterwards. At this point, you may be faced with the question of how to cut pieces of the same size. Can be used:
- glass cutter;
- side cutter;
- ticks.
Stitching the individual elements of the mosaic is necessary as smalt. For this, a hairpin is used. It makes no sense to buy expensive smalt, the tile is viscous and pricks well. His battle can be purchased at a building materials store for a penny. It will be easier to work with porcelain. He pricks more accurately. It has durability and high resistance to mechanical stress.
It is better to start mastering the mosaic with this material, gaining a picture according to the color scheme. If you decide to make a mosaic with your own hands, using a hairpin, then you need to work with it according to the following algorithm. From a piece it is necessary to break off a particle to get a straight edge. The emphasis is set to the desired size, which will allow to strip strips of the same width. Separate pieces are punctured from these blanks.
It may seem to you that these works are not difficult, but there are some nuances. You should not hit against the edge of the wedge, but, providing a shift to the stop by half the thickness of the material, which will work on the shift. The kink in this case will turn out to be even and smooth. If you want to make a glass mosaic with your own hands, it is necessary to consider refraction. Otherwise, the glass will not break, but will crumble and become covered with cracks. It is also important to consider that the tip of the wedge should be perfect. If it rinses, then cracks will go and a crumb will form.
Binder
Mosaic panels can be laid out on a lime-clay mortar, to which a modifier is added. To prepare the composition, it is necessary to take 0.3 parts of oily clay, part of lime dough, 3 parts of white pure mountain or quarry sand, which is preliminarily calcined; as well as broken eggs with shells. On a bucket of solution they will need from 3 to 6 pieces.
Sand is sifted through a 1/100 inch sieve. This will allow you to get a fraction of 0.25 mm As soon as the eggs are added, the solution is mixed until smooth. Shell particles should not be visible. These elements will be an indicator of homogeneity. The egg in the mixture will not rot. Organics will interact with silicate and clay, forming a waterproof and durable impregnation of the conglomerate. Lime will not allow the development of putrefactive and other bacteria.
What to use for styling
Glass mosaic on the wall with your own hands is laid out with a solution without cement. The cheapest is PVA for stone and glass. This adhesive is suitable for indoor use. For outdoor work, you can use ethylene vinyl acetate glue, which is represented by a melt of copolymers, but it is more expensive. For bathrooms and kitchens, as well as other rooms where frequent changes in humidity and temperature, water resistance is required. Silicone building glue can provide it. Plastic or bead mosaic can be laid on PVA, but it is better to use nitro adhesive, it can be represented by the 80th composition, “Moment” or mounting solution.
What is a diamond mosaic
This is a set of acrylic rhinestones of the same size. Installation is carried out on a canvas, in the process of which an adhesive base is used. Rhinestones are faceted multi-colored. Diamond mosaic got its name due to the texture that can be observed in the finished product.
Create a diamond mosaic picture
If you want to lay a diamond mosaic with your own hands, then at the first stage you need to remove the protective film from the surface, under which the adhesive base is located. It is on it that diamonds will be attached. The adhesive film will not dry, even if it takes a long time.
Recommendations for work
If you are mastering the mosaic laying technique for the first time, then the protective film can be removed gradually. Rhinestones have a numbering, which is reflected in the adhesive pattern. Using tweezers, it is necessary to place the diamonds in the appropriate cells so that the faceted elements lie on the base.
Creating a picture of the mosaic with your own hands, you will trim the ranks with a clerical metal ruler. This will allow you to control the work so that the material does not move. In the end, you should get a picture from the rows that fit snugly together. After filling all the cells, you must turn to the metal ruler and trim the composition.
Laying mosaics in the bathroom
If you plan to carry out mosaic laying work yourself, it is better to use separate fragments on a grid or paper, which increases the speed of installation. To do this, use special glue. Finished surface is leveled with cement mortar.
The base must be whitened, which will allow the cladding to maintain its “native” color, which is especially true for glass material. Laying out the mosaic in the bathroom with your own hands, you will need to lay out the pattern on the floor, by fitting individual elements. If necessary, they are trimmed. Cutting is recommended to be done with nippers.
Finally
Do-it-yourself mosaic of tiles is performed according to the technology, which provides for splitting the battle of the finishing material into smaller fragments. You can use the appropriate tool, which was discussed above. An alternative solution is a method that involves laying tiles in a fabric. Then the material is cracked with a hammer or sledgehammer.