One of the most ancient types of arts and crafts is a mosaic. Its first samples date back to the 4th millennium BC. Today, there are also amateur mosaicists 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:
- binder;
- soil; basics;
- set items.
If you also decide to do similar work, then first you need to work on a drawing that will act as a template. In general, mosaic is a labor-intensive type of art, so paintings from it based on ready-made scenes are cheaper than custom-made panels. On sale you can find ready-made kits, which are represented by a wide variety.
Self-made
If you are faced with the question of how to make a mosaic with your own hands, then first you need to figure out what material will form the basis. It could beceramic or glass. The 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 a silicone sealant, which is water resistant, waterproof, and when solidified has the consistency 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 one of the recipes:
- clean water;
- synthetic wood glue;
- construction alabaster;
- cement.
As for the glue, it is sold in powder and pre-dissolved in cold water. Water should be at room temperature. It is added in the amount of 4 parts. 6 pieces of building alabaster should be added to the components. 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 the pigment is added. Alabaster will not set as quickly in an adhesive solution as it would with pure water, but the 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. It pours into itmixture, which should then be leveled with a rubber spatula. In this state, the composition is left for 36 hours. After the solution hardens, the mat must be bent in order to remove the chips from the sockets. It is necessary to act according to 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 don't need to use stationery glue. Liquid nails are an alternative solution. The alabaster-adhesive compound does not get dirty, so additional varnishing is not required, however, an additional water-polymer emulsion can be used.
Alternative manufacturing option
Do-it-yourself mosaic can be made using another technology. It is necessary to start work with the preparation of the elements of the set. These can be squares with a side of 1 or 5 cm. They are usually harvested for future use, so as not to be distracted from work afterwards. At this stage, you may be faced with the question of how to cut pieces of the same size. Can be used:
- glass cutter;
- side cutter;
- pincers.
It is necessary to prick individual elements of the mosaic like sm alt. For this, a stalk is used. It makes no sense to purchase expensive sm alt, the tile is viscous and pricks well. His battle can be purchased at the building materials store for a penny. It will be easier to work with porcelain stoneware. It pricks more precisely. It is durable and highly resistant tomechanical stress.
It is better to start mastering the mosaic from this material, typing the pattern 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. A piece must be chipped off to get a straight edge. The emphasis is set to the desired size, which will allow you to prick strips of the same width. Separate pieces are pricked from these blanks.
You may think that these works are not difficult, but there are some nuances. You should beat not against the tip of the wedge, but by providing a shift to the stop by half the thickness of the material that will work on the shift. The fracture in this case will turn out to be even and smooth. If you want to make a glass mosaic with your own hands, you need to take into account refraction. Otherwise, the glass will not break, but crumble and crack. It is also important to take into account the fact that the tip of the wedge must be perfect. If it is washed, then cracks will go and crumbs 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 fatty clay, a part of lime dough, 3 parts of white pure mountain or quarry sand, which is pre-calcined; as well as broken eggs with shells. They will need from 3 to 6 pieces per bucket of mortar.
Sand is sifted through a 1/100 inch sieve. This will allow you to get a fraction in0.25 mm. As soon as the eggs are added, the solution is mixed until smooth. Shell particles should not be visible. These elements will act as an indicator of homogeneity. The egg will not rot in the mixture. Organics will interact with silicate and clay, forming a waterproof and durable impregnation of the conglomerate. Lime will not allow putrefactive and other bacteria to develop.
What to use for styling
Do-it-yourself glass mosaic on the wall is laid out using a mortar without cement. PVA for stone and glass is the cheapest. 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 changes in humidity and temperature are frequent, waterproofing is required. Silicone construction adhesive can provide it. Plastic or beaded mosaics can be laid on PVA, but it is better to use nitro glue, it can be represented by the 80th compound, "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 canvas, during which an adhesive base is applied. Rhinestones are faceted multi-colored. The diamond mosaic got its name from the texture that can be seen in the finished product.
Creating a picture from a diamondmosaics
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 the work 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 on the adhesive diagram. Use tweezers to place the diamonds in the appropriate cells so that the faceted elements adhere to the base.
When creating a mosaic picture with your own hands, you will trim the rows with a stationery metal ruler. This will allow you to control the work so that the material does not move. As a result, you should get a picture of rows that fit snugly together. After filling all the cells, you need to turn to the metal ruler and trim the composition.
Bathroom tiling
If you plan to carry out the 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 a special glue. The surface to be trimmed is leveled with cement mortar.
The base needs to be bleached to allow the cladding to retain its "native" color, which is especially true for the glass material. Laying out a mosaic in the bathroom with your own hands, you mustyou will lay out a pattern on the floor, adjusting the individual elements. If necessary, they are cut. Cutting is recommended to be done with wire cutters.
In conclusion
Do-it-yourself tile mosaic is made using a technology that involves splitting the battle of the finishing material into smaller fragments. To do this, you can use the appropriate tool, which was discussed above. An alternative solution is a method that involves laying tiles in fabric. The material is then split with a hammer or sledgehammer.
