Wild stone is a well-known building material for facing work. It is distinguished by universal properties and high technological parameters. It can be used to decorate both exterior walls and interior surfaces.
Making a wild stone with your own hands is easy. We will consider in detail what materials are needed to complete this interesting task.
general information
The construction market offers a wide selection of finishing materials. People often choose an artificial stone for this work. However, it can be done independently at home. In the manufacture of wild stone, special forms are used.
To create the mentioned facing material, it is recommended to use concrete, gypsum or acrylic resins. Currently, artificial liquid stone has become popular. This kind can also be done independently.
If it is necessary to sheathe external walls, the craftsmen recommend using special plates with low porosity for these purposes, since they are protected from the negative effects of low temperature. It is better to use light gypsum material for the internal wall covering, since it will be easier to lay.
Before you make a wild stone with your own hands, you need to understand the distinctive properties of each of the species. For example, if gypsum or cement is used in its manufacture, the result is an environmentally friendly facing material. But acrylic stone can not be used for cladding walls, near which there is a fireplace or other appliances that heat the room. If you ignore this requirement, the material will release toxic substances when heated.
Making a wild stone with your own hands is a simple task. The main thing is to follow the instructions and listen to the advice of the masters. If these conditions are met, the result will be high-quality facing material.
Advantages of home-made finish
The advantages of the made decorative stone are as follows:
- any shade can be obtained by adding pigments or tones to the mixture;
- if you add a mixture of polymer additives, you get a flexible stone;
- it is possible to create material of both direct and arbitrary forms;
- low weight of gypsum stone;
- ready-made molds make it possible to obtain a smooth or coarse-grained texture;
- It is possible to make an irregularly shaped wild stone with your own hands.
In addition, the easy process of making decorative material is another significant advantage. The stone technique consists of the following stages:
- The choice of materials for the solution.
- Mixing.
- Pouring into forms.
- Drying out.
Before starting laying, make sure that the wall has high strength and reliability. In addition, the masters warn: facing the wall with wild stone is a difficult and time-consuming task, since some products have a heterogeneous shape. Therefore, you will have to carefully select individual blocks during the facing work.
Artificial Stone Molds
To reduce repair costs, the casting matrix is recommended to be made independently. Masters claim that for these purposes, you can use samples of finished decorative tiles. There are two kinds of forms:
- Homogeneous.
- Integrated.
The first is easier to make, since homogeneous matrices have smaller dimensions, and for their manufacture a small amount of silicone material will be required. However, the advantage of complex forms is that they can be used to produce several decorative stones at the same time. It is this type of master that they recommend using to create a wild stone on the wall with their own hands.
To make the formwork, you will need a wooden box or an ordinary cardboard box. But when performing this stage of work, one rule must be taken into account: the template must be made larger than the original stone sample. In height, this indicator should be 25-30 mm, and in width - 10-15 mm. If you ignore this requirement, as a result, between the finished products the necessary clearance is not formed.
To make a wild stone with your own hands, it is recommended to craft the mold for it from silicone or polyurethane. In addition, a unique two-component sealant is sold at a hardware store.
Additional materials and tools
According to experts, the mixture must be supplemented with pigment, which is available in the form of a liquid, powder or paste. Bulk coloring matter should be added evenly to a dry filler (for example, gypsum). In turn, the pigment paste must be injected with a syringe into the prepared batch after mixing. In this way, you can get a layered or spotty color.
Separators for forms are classified into the following varieties:
- for gypsum composition;
- concrete mortar;
- cast acrylic composition;
- liquid stone.
However, you can also use a lubricant (for example, fiol). In addition, craftsmen for the manufacture of decorative stone are advised to purchase a thermogun and a vibration stand. The first tool is a heating device. And the vibration stand is a machine, thanks to which it is possible to achieve uniformity of the hardening solution.
Making Wild Gypsum Stone: A Walkthrough
To make a solution, you will need such materials:
- gypsum;
- sand;
- pigment of the desired shade.
If the white color of the decorative stone suits, the coloring powder can be excluded. The technique of making gypsum mixture includes the following simple steps:
- Pour water into a bucket.
- Add gypsum powder to the container.
- To increase the strength of the future finishing material, the solution should be supplemented with sand (its amount should be no more than 10% of the total volume of the mixture).
- If there is a desire to paint a decorative stone in a certain shade, a pigment of the desired color is added to the solution. The amount of dry paints in the mixture should be 2-6%.
Before you make a wild stone of gypsum with your own hands, the molds must be lubricated. To do this, you need to make a separator consisting of wax and turpentine. The first element should occupy no more than 30% of the volume, and the second - the remaining 70%.
When the gypsum mixture is ready, it must be poured into prepared forms and leveled with a wide spatula. After 15 minutes, you should remove the formed wild stone and wait until it dries. The thermogun cannot be used in this case: gypsum will deteriorate due to exposure to high temperature.
Artificial Concrete Stone
To make this type of finishing material, it is recommended to buy a mold made of plastic or polyurethane. For the manufacture of wild stone from concrete, the following components must be purchased:
- sand and cement;
- epoxy resin;
- dry paint (optional).
Making your own hands an imitation of a wild stone from these elements is a simple task. First you need to mix cement and sand in a ratio of 1: 3, respectively. Add water to the mixture and stir the resulting composition until, as a result, the solution takes on the form of thick sour cream. To get a colored wild stone, pigment should be added in an amount of 2.5% of the total cement composition.
The next stage is the distribution of the resulting solution by form. To improve the technical qualities of wild stone, it is recommended to install a steel mesh on top of the cement, and then pour it with a mixture. The resulting composition must be compressed using a vibrating stand and wait until the solution hardens in the forms.
Wild Acrylic Stone
To make this finishing material yourself, you need to buy a hardener and the corresponding resin. In addition, you will need the following components:
- polymer powder;
- grease;
- coloring pigment.
As a filler, you can use granite chips. To make a wild stone of this kind with your own hands is a simple technological process that is performed in the following sequence:
- Mix acrylic resin and hardener in a ratio of 1: 5.
- Add dry paint and filler to the mixture.
- Fill out the forms with the resulting solution.
- Wait approximately 24 hours.
After the specified time, you can remove the hardened finishing material.
How to make liquid wild stone with your own hands: best practices
Such a facing material has one significant advantage: thanks to gelcoat you can independently produce complex products. The materials from which wild stone will be made have a high price in the construction market. Masters distinguish two simple techniques that make it possible to make a decorative stone of this variety:
- formation of facial composition;
- the creation of a primer mixture.
About 40% gelcoat (of the total weight of the mixture) will need to be spent on the facial composition. In this case, the share of the accelerator in the solution should be at least 7%, and the hardener - about 1%. Mineral filler (e.g. granite chips) and pigment will occupy the remaining volume.
To create a primer mixture, approximately 20% gelcoat will be needed. In addition, it will be necessary to supplement the composition with ground marble, the proportion of which should be about 72%. After that, 7% of the accelerator should be mixed with the mentioned components. The remaining space should be filled with hardener.
After pouring the solution into the prepared forms, the mixture will harden after a day. Drying is better in a ventilated place at a temperature of at least 18 ° C.
Wild stone painting: process features
If you do not add pigments to the solution, you will have to apply paint to the hardened facing material. Experts recommend the use of acrylic or silicone compounds for water for these purposes, since they are resistant to mechanical damage and destructive factor.
For applying paint to a decorative coating, it is better to use a pneumatic sprayer or an ordinary brush. You should know: the color of decorative wild stone should be lighter than its seams. In addition, more than three shades cannot be used for painting.
Conclusion
The article described successful and inexpensive ways to make a wild stone with your own hands. If you carefully study the methods discussed, you can make high-quality facing material at home. The main condition is to purchase the necessary tools and components. In any case, making something is always a useful activity.