Liquid wallpaper: what is it, types, techniques, application methods

A few years ago, liquid wallpaper appeared on the market for finishing materials. Gradually, they are becoming more and more popular, as they can be used for 5-8 years without losing their appearance, even in the hallway or corridor. Among the advantages of this coating are safety, high maintainability, plasticity, which allows you to easily finish arches, columns, and other complex-shaped surfaces. 

What’s this

Liquid wallpaper is sometimes confused with decorative plaster. Probably because the application technique is very similar. – using a spatula. The fundamental difference is that the composition of the applied mass is completely different. Any plaster contains sand, and cement and lime are used as a binder. The composition of liquid wallpaper includes silk, cotton, cellulose fibers. As a binder – some kind of glue.

Acrylic dyes are usually used to color the composition, and in order to obtain a surface that is different in appearance, spangles of different sizes, pieces of mica, mother of pearl, threads, and other natural or artificial materials are added. These decorative additives are called “glitters”.

How do they look on the wall

If we talk about the appearance, liquid wallpaper is a cross between plaster and paper wallpaper. From the store you bring a dry composition, to which, according to the instructions, add a certain amount of water. The resulting semi-liquid mass is applied to the walls or ceiling. The coating is seamless due to the plasticity of the material; minor surface defects are corrected during application – recesses, cracks, etc. Due to the same plasticity, it is not too difficult to form a drawing, even a picture.

So on the wall, liquid wallpaper looks different. Differences are added by another different composition. If it is a silk-based liquid wallpaper, the surface has a characteristic matte sheen. This composition is also called “liquid silk”. Cellulose and cotton variation – matte, even in the same shade and with the same decorative additives, the wall looks different.

And there are also mixed compositions – cellulose-silk or cotton-silk, in which there is a certain degree of sheen, but not so pronounced. In general, it’s hard to say what liquid wallpaper looks like on the wall. If you like decorative plaster, you should like this finish too.

Types

Liquid wallpaper is distinguished by composition. As already mentioned, they are made on the basis of natural fibers. According to the type of these fibers, they are:

• silk;
• cotton;
• cellulose.
  

They differ not only in composition, but also in appearance. It is difficult to convey this in the pictures – the difference is in the presence and type of gloss, its brightness, visual “looseness” or smoothness of the surface. Of all the options, the most expensive silk compositions. More budget – cotton and cellulose.

Advantages and disadvantages

If we talk about the general impression, some people like liquid wallpaper, some do not. But they have good features. The advantages include the following qualities:

• Seamless surface. No seams like wallpaper. Smooth surface.
• If necessary, the imperfections of the walls are leveled, but the consumption of the composition increases.
• The composition is vapor-permeable, that is, it does not create problems for maintaining normal humidity in the room.
• Fits well on curved surfaces of any complexity.
• Easy restoration for any type of damage. There are two possibilities:
  • with minor damage (scratches), simply wet, wait a couple of minutes and smooth with a spatula;
    

  • in case of a color change or a significant defect, clean it from the old coating, apply a patch.
• Additional heat and sound insulation.
• When flooded, they remain on the wall, practically do not change their appearance after drying. The main thing is that while they are wet, do not touch anything.
• If you don’t like how the coating “lay down”, you can remove it from the wall, soak it and apply it again.

Good qualities. Most impressive is the high maintainability. This is good in the presence of pets: scratches are simply overwritten. If you like this coating also externally, you should try it.

Liquid wallpaper also has disadvantages:

• Burn out under the sun. In the southern room, this must be borne in mind.
• Dry cleaning only: you can collect dust with a vacuum cleaner and a soft brush.
• Stubborn dirt, grease, cannot be removed. Just remove the contaminated piece and apply a patch.
• Doesn’t work well on all surfaces. The easiest way to work with rough, worst of all – with absolutely smooth (composition “drains”).
  

• For a good result, surface preparation is necessary – leveling significant irregularities, a primer in several layers. If the surface has an uneven color, painting is also needed (usually white).
• Doing it yourself takes a lot of time.

As you can see, there are some pretty serious drawbacks. The most unpleasant thing is the impossibility of wet cleaning. In the hallway or in the kitchen, this is not always acceptable. This disadvantage can be leveled by varnishing the wall. It can be washed, but cannot be restored. In addition, the varnished coating loses vapor permeability, but becomes water-repellent.

Technique of application

Although manufacturers say that liquid wallpaper can be applied to curved walls, it is better not to do this. There are two points. The first is increased material consumption. Considering that the cost of liquid wallpaper is not too low (one package per 4-5 m² is required, and it costs from $5 to $18, although there are $40), it is cheaper to prepare the surface. The second point is that if there are significant differences, a pronounced “spotting” may result. Darker will be the areas where the liquid wallpaper lay down in a thick layer, and lighter where the layer is thin (due to the translucence of the wall). This again leads to an increase in consumption – to even out the color.

Surface preparation

First of all, you need to remove the old decorative coating. We peel off the wallpaper to the bare wall, we also remove the paint, if it bubbles and peels off. Then we smooth out the bumps. As already mentioned, it is better to make the wall at least more or less even.

A smooth (or relatively flat) wall must be smeared several times with a primer. This will reduce the absorbency of the surface, making it easier to work.

According to the experience of use, liquid wallpaper is best applied to rough walls, such as plaster. So, it is desirable that the primer gives a similar effect. Of the finished compositions, this is Betonokontakt. After its application, the wall becomes a little “viscous” in sensations, grains of sand adhering to the surface make it rough. On such a basis, any composition fits perfectly. There is also a cheaper option for priming walls for liquid wallpaper – the most inexpensive white water-based emulsion (2 parts) with PVA glue (1 part). It is necessary to cover with a primer (any) at least twice.

If the wall has an uneven color, and the primer did not hide it, you will also have to paint it. Because when applying a thin layer, darker and lighter areas will shine through. You can take the most inexpensive water-based paint and paint the wall with it. Ideally even color is not needed, there should not be sharp transitions.

One more moment. If there are metal fragments in the wall – nails, screws, etc., it is advisable to remove them. If you can’t remove it, paint the area with some kind of water-repellent paint the same color as the base. If this is not done while the liquid wallpaper dries, the metal will rust, and the rust will “come out” with an ugly yellow spot. Will have to repair immediately. So it is better to isolate all metal objects in advance.

Composition preparation

Liquid wallpaper is sold dry in bags. Before use, water is added to the composition, everything is well mixed. The amount of water depends on the volume of the bag, the type of composition, the manufacturer. The specific amount is written on the package.

It is more convenient for this work to have a large plastic bucket – 12 liters or more. Pour the contents of the package into it, add water. The mixture should be stirred until smooth. It turns out something similar to minced meat.

Since liquid wallpaper does not contain harmful chemical additives, you can mix it with your hands. If the mass is unpleasant for you, you can wear gloves. The finished mass is usually transferred back to the bag, the “neck” is twisted and left for several hours (at least 4-5 hours, but preferably 10-12) – for uniform swelling. Please note that the dried composition will be noticeably lighter than wet.

It is better to knead at once all the amount necessary to finish a room or at least one wall. If you put it in “pieces” you can see the borders. They are almost invisible on light shades, but can spoil the picture if the color is bright. If the borders are still visible, until the wall is completely dry, you should not take any action. Perhaps the borders will disappear when completely dry. If the liquid wallpaper is dry, but transitions are visible, the composition can be removed with a spatula, soaked again for several hours, mixed and applied again.

Wall or ceiling application

To work take a new trowel. To make it easier to follow the process, there is a trowel with a transparent plastic work surface. It is easier for beginners to work with such a trowel. The process itself is simple:

• The soaked composition in a small amount is applied to the plane.
• Rub it on the wall in a circular motion.
• Put a new batch of material, continue from the same place.
  

It is advisable to process the entire wall at a time, otherwise the junction lines of the two “pieces” may be visible. If, nevertheless, it was not possible to process the entire wall at a time, sprinkle the joint well with water, wait 20-25 minutes, you can continue finishing. Most likely, the joint will be subtle or almost invisible.

In the corners, you can use an ordinary spatula, but it is easier to make even corners with the help of special corner ones. First, a mass is applied on both sides of the corner, carried out with an angular spatula, the excess squeezed out is rubbed from the corner onto the wall, leveling the surface.

Liquid wallpaper dries for a long time – about 48 hours. The composition contains a substantial amount of water, so that when it dries in the room, there is high humidity, which inevitably gets into other rooms. But in the process, you can turn on the heating, open windows, arrange a draft. There are no restrictions.

Roller application

Applying liquid wallpaper with a trowel or spatula is good for everyone, except that the process takes a lot of time. To speed up the process, you can try applying liquid wallpaper with a roller. Only the roller should be special: with hard short hairs collected in groups. The width is about 15 cm. If this is not found, you can use fur with a hard short pile or foam rubber, but hard.

Before starting work, dilute liquid wallpaper according to the instructions, prepare the wall. After trying to work with the resulting composition. If the mass is poorly distributed on the wall, add a little water. But add little by little, because too liquid will “creep”. The technique is slightly different:

• Apply a certain amount of mass to the wall with a spatula, not worrying too much about the thickness of the layer. Just make a “flip”.
• Roll out with a roller.
• Apply the next batch of mortar, roll out.

With the help of a roller, it is easier to maintain the same thickness of the material. This works well on flat walls. Moreover, the finishing speed is 6-8 m².

When applying liquid wallpaper with a roller, the surface is more rough, textured. If you don’t like this effect, after the wall is finished, moisten it with a spray bottle, wait 15 minutes, go over the surface with a clean trowel soaked in water, smoothing the relief.

How to make patterns with liquid wallpaper

It is unlikely that beginners will be able to make complex patterns on the walls with liquid wallpaper, but it is quite possible to try something simple. The easiest way to make two-color patterns, and the easiest – geometric.

You can find any image. But then you need to transfer the outline of the drawing to the wall. If you have artistic ability, you can try to do it “by hand”. If it doesn’t work out, you can enlarge it to the required size, print it on paper, but it’s better on cardboard, cut it out and attach it to the wall. Fill around with one wallpaper color. When the liquid wallpaper is dry, remove the paper/cardboard using a second fill in the empty area. But it is necessary to work carefully, without dirtying the already finished part.

If the drawing is simple – geometric shapes, for example, you can install some kind of hard barrier to separate colors. For example, beacons for plaster. They are fixed, filled with liquid wallpaper of the same color. After drying, you can remove the beacons and carefully, without crawling onto the finished part, use the second color.

There is a way to transfer complex drawings without printing. You will need glass, a black marker, a lamp. Draw a contour on the glass with a black felt-tip pen, highlight it with a lamp. A clear outline appears on the wall, which we simply direct. We fill in the way that is more convenient, but usually first large areas, then smaller ones.