Wild stone is a well-known building material for facing works. It is characterized 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. Let's take a closer look at what materials are needed to complete this interesting task.
General information
The construction market offers a wide range of finishing materials. People often choose artificial stone for these works. However, you can make it yourself 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. At present, artificial liquid stone has become popular. You can also make this variety yourself.
If it is necessary to sheathe external walls, the craftsmen recommend usingspecial boards with low porosity, as they are protected from the negative effects of low temperatures. For interior wall cladding, it is best to use a lightweight gypsum material as it will be easier to install.
Before you make a wild stone with your own hands, you need to understand the distinctive properties of each type. For example, if gypsum or cement is used in its manufacture, the result will be an environmentally friendly facing material. But acrylic stone cannot be used for wall cladding, near which there is a fireplace or other appliances that heat the room. If this requirement is ignored, the material will release toxic substances when heated.
Making a wild stone with your own hands is an easy task. The main thing is to follow the instructions and listen to the advice of the masters. If you fulfill these conditions, you will end up with a high-quality facing material.
The benefits of a homemade finish
The advantages of the manufactured decorative stone are as follows:
- you can get any shade by adding pigments or colors to the mixture;
- if you add polymer additives to the mixture, you get a flexible stone;
- it is possible to create both straight and free-form material;
- light weight gypsum stone;
- ready-made molds for casting give the opportunity to get a smooth or coarse texture;
- there is an opportunity to make a wild stone of irregular shape with your own hands.
In addition, the easy process of making decorative material is another significant advantage. The stone technique consists of the following steps:
- Selection of mortar materials.
- Mixing.
- Filling into shapes.
- Drying.
Before you start laying, you need to make sure that the wall has high strength and reliability. In addition, the craftsmen warn: facing the wall with wild stone is a difficult and time-consuming task, since some products have a non-uniform shape. Therefore, you will have to carefully select individual blocks during the facing work.
Forms for artificial stone
To reduce repair costs, it is recommended to make a casting die yourself. Masters say that for these purposes, you can use samples of finished decorative tiles. There are two types of shapes:
- Uniform.
- Complex.
The first one is easier to make, since homogeneous matrices are smaller in size, and a small amount of silicone material is required for their manufacture. 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 is recommended to be used to create wild stone on the wall with your own hands.
To make formwork, you need a wooden box or a regular cardboard box. But when performing this stage of work, one rule must be taken into account: the template must be made larger than the originalstone sample. In height, this indicator should be 25-30 mm, and in width - 10-15 mm. If you ignore this requirement, as a result, the necessary clearance is not formed between the finished products.
To make a wild stone with your own hands, it is recommended to make a mold for it from silicone or polyurethane. In addition, the hardware store sells unique two-component sealants.
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 colorants should be evenly added to the dry filler (for example, gypsum). In turn, the pigment paste must be injected with a syringe into the prepared mixture after mixing. In this way, you can get a layered or patchy color.
Dividers for forms are classified into the following types:
- for gypsum composition;
- concrete mortar;
- cast acrylic;
- liquid stone.
However, you can also use a lubricant (such as fiol). In addition, craftsmen for the manufacture of decorative stone are advised to purchase a thermal gun and a vibrating stand. The first tool is a heating device. And the vibrating stand is a machine, thanks to which it is possible to achieve uniformity of the hardening solution.
Making wild stone from gypsum: a step by step guide
To make a mortar,You will need the following materials:
- gypsum;
- sand;
- pigment of desired shade.
If you are satisfied with the white color of the decorative stone, the coloring powder can be excluded. The technique for making a 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 not exceed 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 from 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 heat gun cannot be used in this case: the 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 plastic or polyurethane mold. To make a wild stone from concrete, you need to purchase the following components:
- sand and cement;
- epoxy;
- dry paint (optional).
Creating an imitation of a wild stone from the indicated elements with your own hands is an easy 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 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 volume of the cement composition.
The next step is the distribution of the resulting solution into forms. To improve the technical qualities of wild stone, it is recommended to install a steel mesh over the cement, and then fill it with a mixture. The resulting composition must be compressed using a vibrating stand and wait until the solution in the molds hardens.
Wild Acrylic Stone
To make this finishing material yourself, you need to buy a hardener and the appropriate resin. In addition, you will need the following components:
- polymer powder;
- grease;
- coloring pigment.
Granite chips can be used as a filler. Making a wild stone of this type with your own hands is a simple technological process that is performed in the following sequence:
- Mix acrylic resin and hardener in a 1:5 ratio.
- Add dry paint and filler to mixture.
- Fill out the forms with the resulting solution.
- Wait about 24 hours.
After the specifiedtime, you can remove the frozen finishing material.
How to make a liquid wild stone with your own hands: best practices
This facing material has one significant advantage: thanks to the gelcoat, you can make complex products yourself. The materials from which the wild stone will be made have a high price in the construction market. Masters identify two simple techniques that allow you to make a decorative stone of this variety:
- formation of the facial composition;
- creating a primer mix.
Approximately 40% of the gel coat (of the total weight of the mixture) will need to be spent on the facial composition. In this case, the proportion of the accelerator in the solution should be at least 7%, and the hardener - about 1%. Mineral filler (for example, granite chips) and pigment will take up the remaining volume.
Approximately 20% gelcoat will be needed to create a primer mixture. In addition, it will be necessary to supplement the composition with ground marble, the share 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 molds, the mixture will harden after a day. It is better to dry products in a ventilated place at a temperature of at least 18 ° C.
Painting wild stone: process features
If you do not add pigments to the solution, you will have to apply paint on the hardened facing material. Experts recommend using acrylic for this purpose.or water-based silicone formulations, as they are resistant to mechanical damage and destructive factors.
For applying paint on a decorative coating, it is better to use a pneumatic sprayer or a regular 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 considered methods, you can make high-quality facing material at home. The main condition is to acquire the necessary tools and components. In any case, making something is always a rewarding activity.
