High-performance, marble-like plaster coatings

Conventional plaster coatings based on lime wash, cement paints, and resins offer decorative look with varying degree of water proofing. However, these coating surfaces usually undergo weather-induced deteriorations due to chemical and physical changes that lead to chipping, peeling off, and development of shrinkage cracks. To overcome these problems, a composite formulation, which contains more than 80% marble powder as inorganic graded filler with small amount of hydraulic components, has been developed. The uniform application of these composite pastes on masonry-plastered surfaces, result in a marble-like surface after the hardened coat is polished. The Mhos hardness of the developed hardened, and polished coating surface was found to be >5. The coating was observed to retain dimensional stability and hardness when exposed to elevated temperature conditions (~60oC) over a long period. After 2 years of exposure to various weather conditions, the external wall plasters did not show any sign of deterioration. The mineralogy and morphology of the coating surfaces have been found to be comparable to that of an egg-shell.

Reference: M M Ali, S K Agarwal, A K Solankey, S K Handoo, Cement and Concrete Research, 30(6), 2000, 977-980 [https://doi.org/ 10.1016/S0008-8846(00)00258-1]