Porter’s Fresco is a hard wearing finish designed to replicate the cool lustre of the trowelled plaster walls of ancient European buildings. Porter’s Fresco gives elegance and sophistication to any wall, and is widely used in foyers, hotel reception areas and concert halls. Normally applied with a trowel, then sanded and sealed and polished with Porter’s Stucco Wax.
Cleaning materials
Water
Application Tools
Trowel, Other
Not suitable for splash backs (behind cook tops or sinks).
If using Fresco in bathrooms, avoid contact with water. Please note that steam and condensation can damage and mark both waxed and unwaxed Fresco.
Check colour before use.
Previously painted surfaces with loose, peeling or flaking paint must be made sound by scraping off loose paint. Fill nail holes and cracks with suitable filler, sand and dust off. Spot prime all joints and repaired areas with Porter’s Limeproof Undercoat Sealer, then apply one coat to entire area. Touch dry two hours. Allow 6 hours dry time.
Substrate should be a clean well-held surface free from loose material, dirt, grease, oil and mould. Dust down before proceeding. On bare surfaces such as new unpainted plasterboard sheeting, render, brick or timber, spot prime all joints and repaired areas with Porter’s Limeproof Undercoat Sealer, then apply two coats of same to entire area.
On new unpainted fresh set plaster do not proceed until plaster has thoroughly set and has dried completely. Firstly, apply 1 coat Porter’s Mineral Silicate Primer by brush or roller. Touch dry 20 minutes. Allow 2 hours dry time. Then apply by brush, roller or spray 1 coat Porter’s Limeproof Undercoat Sealer. Touch dry 2 hours. Allow 6 hours dry time.
Do not apply paint if Relative Humidity is above 85% or temperature is within 3°C of Dew Point.
Do not apply if the surface temperature is greater than 30°C or below 10°C, or likely to fall below 10°C during the application or drying period.
Application of Fresco:
Apply two coats of Fresco with a trowel, spatula or painter’s blade. The first coat, or base coat, should be at a nominal thickness of 2-3mm. Subsequent coats (1 normally, or 2 optionally) should always be applied as a skim coat, covering the base coat as smoothly and as thinly as possible, but at the same time aiming to reduce any unevenness in the previous coats. Keep a wet edge at all times, adding Fresco in a random fashion, and continuing to spread out over the wall area. For larger areas choose a larger trowel, as the need to keep a wet edge will necessitate a larger tool to finish the job in time to prevent edges drying out. Avoid going back over finished work as the drying finish can be damaged or torn off by reworking.
Application tip: when the Fresco is just dry, but not yet hard set, (around 30 mins after application) use the trowel at a 45° angle to knock off any raised lines or tips that have formed. This will dramatically reduce sanding time. Please note, if the Fresco is not dry enough, doing this too early can cause damage.
Allow 24 hours dry time between coats. When completely dry each coat should be thoroughly sanded (mechanically, with a round sander using 220 grade sandpaper) to smooth out ridges and edges prior to application of further coats. Wipe down to remove all dust before adding further coats.
Sand and dust final coat. Allow to dry 24 hours prior to application of Stucco Wax (refer to Porter's Stucco Wax Duspec datasheet for application directions).
