Artificial stone today is one of the best decorative materials, which is actively used for decoration both indoors and outdoors. It is used in various design projects. Artificial stone has less weight than natural blocks, it is simply mounted and serves as a real interior decoration. It can be made by hand. How to make artificial stones will be discussed later.
Material features
From what material to make an artificial stone? Lots of options! This is determined by the installation location of such blocks. Also, the decorative effect that the finish should have depends on the choice of material. In most cases, concrete or gypsum is used to create artificial stone. Cement mortar is suitable for creating facade-type blocks. This material is not afraid of exposure to water,adverse weather conditions.
Gypsum artificial stones are installed indoors. This material does not like moisture. But it has many useful qualities. Gypsum absorbs moisture and, if necessary, releases it back into the environment. Therefore, it maintains the correct indoor climate.
Gypsum is plastic, you can easily create any shape from it. The author's imagination is not limited here.
Considering how to make an artificial stone from concrete, it should be noted that various fillers are added to this material. It can be gravel or sand, stone chips or other components. This determines the surface pattern of the decorative material.
To give the artificial stone the desired shade, various pigments are used. They can be dry or diluted in water. You can apply several shades, but in this case they must be selected correctly.
To make an artificial stone from alabaster, cement, gypsum or other materials, you will need to buy or make a special mold with your own hands. With its help, as many blocks are made as needed for wall decoration. It is not worth saving by purchasing a plastic form. It is best if it is made of silicone. This form can also be made by hand. The silicone mold will be durable, allowing you to make as many artificial stones as you need.
Making a mold
How to make a silicone mold for artificial stone? Thisthe procedure will not take much time and will not require significant costs. Of course, the form can also be purchased at a specialized store, but it is much more interesting to create a matrix yourself. In this case, the finish will be original.
It is recommended to make a mold for artificial stone with your own hands if there was no suitable material for wall decoration on sale. In some cases, the shade, dimensions, configuration of decorative elements are not suitable. If it is expensive to buy an artificial stone, you can buy just a few of these boulders or blocks. Based on them, a matrix form is made. This allows you to save a lot of money on finishing.
Another reason why you should make a mold for artificial stone with your own hands is the wide variety of objects taken as a basis. It can even be a natural stone, which will have an original texture. In this case, the finish will look stylish, unusual and interesting. Such artificial stones cannot be found in stores.
Another design option is not even a stone, but natural wood with an original texture. To make the drawing more expressive, it is first deepened.
The form can be complex or single. The second option is easier to make. This form does not require a lot of silicone. If you create a complex matrix, you will first need to make an overall formwork. In this case, more silicone will be needed. But in the course of creating an artificialstone complex shapes are more convenient. They allow you to significantly speed up the block production process.
Formwork is made from boards, a box or a cardboard box. It should be 10-15 mm wider and 25-30 mm higher than the sample taken as a basis for the production of stone. In some cases, even juice boxes are used to make small fragments. They can be fastened together, creating a complex matrix.
To make a mold, you will need to prepare ordinary silicone or polyurethane. A special two-component compound is also suitable for these purposes.
Creating a form
How to make an artificial stone at home? First you need to prepare a matrix form. To do this, buy silicone in tubes or buckets. Its quantity is determined by the size of the future workpiece.
When the formwork is prepared, its walls will need to be greased with a greasy compound. It might even be solidol. Next, the original element is placed inside the form. Natural or artificial stone, tile, wood, etc. can be used as such an object. Next, the surfaces of the original block or boulder will need to be greased with a greasy compound. Otherwise the silicone will stick to the surface.
If gypsum artificial stone is used as the initial sample, it will need to be covered with 3 layers of varnish before pouring. Let each coat dry well before applying the next.
Considering the procedure for how to make an artificial stone at home, it should be noted that in the course of workyou will need a brush and spatula. With their help, silicone will be applied to the workpiece. You also need to prepare a soapy solution in which you will need to wet the tools.
If the silicone was sold in a tube, it is cut and completely covered with this material of the original sample in the formwork. It is distributed with a brush dipped in soapy water. It is important to achieve a snug fit of silicone to the surface of the stone. Air pockets should not form here, air bubbles should remain. Therefore, the material must not only be leveled with a brush, but compacted.
When the mold is filled to the brim, the silicone surface is leveled with a spatula. It is also pre-moistened in a soapy solution. Further, the material hardens within the period specified by the manufacturer. It is impossible to remove the formwork immediately. The better the silicone hardens, the stronger the mold will be.
It is worth considering that the polymerization process is directed from the surface down. The curing rate of silicone in this case is approximately 2 mm per day. Therefore, based on the size of the formwork, you can calculate how long it takes to solidify. Sometimes it takes several days, but in some cases it takes weeks.
When this process is completed, the formwork is removed. It is washed from grease and wiped dry. Then it can be used for its intended purpose.
Compound matrix
How to make an artificial stone yourself? It should be noted that its durability depends on the material chosen for the matrix. Instead of silicone, you can use a special compound. These are two-component compositions that are used to create forms. In this case, the matrix will be much stronger and more durable. Silicone molds wear out faster.
Compounds are most often made from polyurethane. They are designed to create sculptures, plaster molds and other similar products. The hardening of the material, unlike silicone, occurs very quickly. Literally in a day, it will be possible to create a matrix that will make it possible to produce a large number of blanks for decorative surface finishing.
This is possible due to the addition of a hardener to the liquid composition. This reagent interacts with the base material. The reaction does not require the presence of oxygen. Therefore, the curing process takes no more than a day.
When telling how to make an artificial stone at home, it should be noted that when using a professional compound, you will also need to buy a release agent. It is designed for use with polyurethane two-component formulations.
Regardless of the type of material used for the manufacture of artificial stone, the surfaces of the workpiece and formwork are covered with a layer of release agent. To do this, use a brush.
Preparing to create a stone from gypsum
People who are interested in how to make an artificial stone themselves, it will be interesting and useful to know that similar blanks are created from gypsum more often than from cement. With proper processing, such blocks can be in somecases to apply for front works. Gypsum is easier to give the desired shade. At the same time, an artificial stone made from this material has good adhesion performance. Therefore, such blanks are held on the wall surface much better.
To make a stone from gypsum, you will need to prepare a number of materials and tools. You will need a matrix made of a compound or silicone, a drill with a mixer nozzle, a plastic bucket for mixing the solution. You also need a pallet on which tiles, brushes and a spatula will dry. The material used to make the stone will require white gypsum.
The filler will be river sand, which must be washed with high quality, does not contain impurities. You will also need PVA glue and citric acid, a composition of turpentine with wax. Dry pigment will give the workpiece the desired shade. Also, during the work, water at room temperature will be required.
Studying the intricacies of the technology with which you can make an artificial boulder stone with your own hands, it should be noted that it is important to pay attention to the preparation of the working area. A table should be located here, the surface of which must be checked with a level. It must be perfectly horizontal. If the table has a slope, the plates will be of different thicknesses.
If you need to make a large number of decorative stones at one time, drying racks will be required. The horizontalness of their surface is also necessarily checked by the level. Alsofree space is required for mixing the mortar.
Making stone from gypsum
There are a few rules to follow if you want to make the right artificial stone. On the wall, such a finish will look impressive. To make the mass homogeneous, you need to add gypsum to water, and not vice versa.
It is worth considering that gypsum, like alabaster, sets very quickly. Therefore, you need to act quickly. To prolong the solidification time of the solution, citric acid is added to it in proportion to 1 kg of gypsum 0.6-0.8 g of the component. In this case, the gypsum composition will remain liquid for 1.5 hours. You will need to first dissolve the citric acid in warm water and add it to the mixture.
Gypsum mortar is prepared in an amount corresponding to the size of the form. The solution will be stronger if sand is added to it. Its fraction should be no more than 1 mm. The appearance of the final product depends on the size of the sand.
The composition is kneaded in a bucket. It should have the consistency of thick cream. Usually, 100 g of sand is required for 1 kg of gypsum. The plasticizer in the mixture is PVA glue. It also keeps the solution flowing for a long time.
Considering how to make artificial stones with your own hands, it should be noted that gypsum is mixed with water in a ratio of 1, 5: 1. This amount of liquid also includes citric acid dissolved in warm water. First, water is added to the bucket, and a coloring pigment is added to it. Next, gypsum is added here, stirring it with a mixer. Add to the solutionsand and mix everything again.
The form must be treated with a mixture of wax and turpentine. The solution is poured into it, rammed. There should be no air bubbles in the composition. The surface is leveled with a spatula so that it is perfectly even. Walls and partitions must be properly cleaned of mortar.
Cement stone
How to make an artificial stone from cement? From this material, you can make not only material for cladding, but also for finishing paths, sidewalks. The tools in this case will require the same as for the manufacture of gypsum stones. But other materials will need to be prepared.
To make a decorative stone, you will need cement grade M200-M400. You also need sifted river sand. PVA is used as a plasticizer, although in this case you can do without it. You will also need coloring pigments.
You will also need to prepare a workplace, the table of which should be flat, without distortions. If, for example, cobblestones for an alpine hill are created from cement mortar, you can do without a matrix form at all. But the composition of the solution remains unchanged.
You will need to mix cement and sand in a ratio of 1: 3. The dry ingredients are thoroughly mixed, and then water is added here in small portions. Next, the composition is mixed with a mixer. You can make the composition more plastic by adding PVA glue to it. For 1 liter of cement-sand mixture, it will take about 50 g.
Then add coloring pigment. AccurateIt is difficult to guess the proportion, so you need to add it in small portions. So it turns out to create the desired shade.
Creating a stone with a mold
How to make artificial stones with your own hands? To do this, you need to create a mold from silicone. It shouldn't be too deep. The prepared solution is poured into the matrix, shaking it so that the cement is evenly distributed in it and compacted. Further, a wide spatula is carried out over the entire surface of the mold. Partitions must be cleaned of mortar, and the surface itself must be carefully leveled. The walls serve as a kind of beacons.
If the form is deep, you will first need to fill it only halfway. Next, a reinforcing mesh is laid. Another layer is poured on top, which is also aligned.
When the cement becomes plastic, dries a little, a large grid is drawn on its surface. This is necessary for high-quality adhesion of the artificial stone to the base. After a day, you need to remove the stones from the mold. To do this, a sheet of plywood is applied to the reverse side, the matrix is turned over. Next, the form must be carefully removed. Plywood is transferred to the rack. The cement mortar must dry thoroughly. This process takes about 3 weeks.
In order to pour another portion of cement into the same matrix, you will need to wash the mold with soap and water.
When the cement dries, it is cleaned of small particles of cement, dust, covered with a layer of paint.
Rockstone
There is another technique for making artificialhandmade stones. Boulders are actively used in landscape design. In addition to cement mortar, you will also need foam plastic 10-15 cm thick, fiberglass mesh, polyethylene, sponge, foam glue. You will also need to prepare sandpaper with medium and coarse abrasive, acrylic paints, atmospheric varnish.
First, blocks of stone of the required shape are prepared from foam plastic. They are glued together, forming an approximate configuration of the stone. From above, the foam is wrapped with a reinforcing mesh and a solution is applied. Strokes are done randomly to make it easier to give the desired shape. The mortar layer should be 15-20 mm thick.
The stone is left for 30 minutes. Next, the plastic bag is crushed and the surface of the boulder is treated. You can perform a similar action with a sponge. When the solution dries, it is turned over and the bottom is also treated with a solution. The cement is left to mature for 15-20 days.
Another option
It is quite possible to make an artificial stone from drywall with your own hands. In this case, the masonry will not be so voluminous, but it will be possible to create a certain decorative effect. You will need to prepare the base. It is being painted in a shade reminiscent of masonry mortar.
A form is applied to drywall that resembles a brick. It is circled with a pencil, and then the blank is cut out. Such false bricks will need to be cut out enough for finishing. They are painted, and then mounted with glue on a flat wall surface. Paint can be of various shades. They may be natural. In the children's roommulti-colored, bright drywall bricks look original.
