Cement-effect wall paint: how to create interior-design solutions with an industrial style

Cement is fundamental in industrial style.

In fact, rough cement-effect paint is perhaps the furnishing element that best complements interior-design projects with a clearly industrial and metropolitan look.

Therefore, whilst extensive spaces with metal-framed windows and exposed brickwork, high ceilings and aged flooring are all ideal, when dealing with conversion of urban industrial and artisan areas, cement, in its various different forms, is quite simply a must.

The true value of cement in the contemporary context used as an on-trend “architectural” element, is the possibility for it to be used less (or not only) as a structural material but as a decorative element, evoking the urban experience. Cement is a malleable, workable material and this means it can be shaped to fit a specific design.

Within its huge range of decorative products, VALPAINT offers METEORE 10 CEMENTO, bringing together various approaches to cement as a decorative paint. Let's take a closer look at these and their various applications.

METEORE 10 CEMENTO compact-effect wall paint

This compact cement-effect wall paint is the most traditional of the different finishes VALPAINT includes in its range:

•  it creates a uniform, textured surface, with tiny pores that accurately reproduce the finish of plaster applied using a trowel
•  the typical cement colour, used as a building material, is a mid-light grey depending on the quantities mixed, and is not uniform but clouded with different tones
•  In order to broaden the range of shades available, VALPAINT offers different colours for use during the decorating phase.

 

How to apply cement-effect decorative paint with a compact finish

Application of METEORE 10 CEMENTO compact effect is simple. After cleaning the surfaces to be decorated and removing any damaged areas, a primer is applied using a roller. Specifically, VALPAINT PRIMER 1200 is used, onto which the finish itself will be applied.

When the PRIMER is completely dry, METEORE 10 can be applied using a stainless steel trowel to create a layer of uniform thickness. On the treated surface, before the product dries, a roller is used to imprint the typical porous cement finish.

The next step involves smoothing with a stainless steel trowel and where necessary using a fine spray of water for a more compact finish.

The decorative effect is completed with a final layer, again applied with a stainless steel trowel, adding colour to the surface. The product used for this purpose is C100 OVER, a flocculated product that colours the previous layer.

The highly attractive look created with this textured cement-effect paint can be used to decorate various types of environment, from living rooms with a minimal, urban design to kitchens with an industrial feel, and even contemporary commercial spaces.

METEORE 10 CEMENTO vintage-effect paint: properties and application

METEORE 10 CEMENTO vintage effect is a highly on-trend effect, where the texture becomes a decorative element in itself. The concept behind it is the rediscovery of layers of decoration that have accumulated below the current surface.

VALPAINT offers a rich variety of decorations that are applied to surfaces using stencils. The procedure involves an initial phase involving the same steps used for application of METEORE 10 CEMENTO compact effect, but without the final finish.

Once this base has been created, a stencil is used to apply a textured layer, filling the gaps in the patterns to achieve the desired decorative effect.

After this, the stencil is removed and a steel trowel is used to join-up the finish as desired. Having completed application, the colour phase begins using a steel trowel and the coloured C100 OVER flocculated product (see “how to apply” video).

 

This cement-effect design paint has a big aesthetic impact and is perfect to decorate walls and surfaces, allowing them to become features in their own right, a nod to the past with a contemporary twist.

METEORE 10 CEMENTO large-effect paint: a finish using right-angled patterns

Aesthetically, VALPAINT’s Large rough cement-effect paint is designed to reproduce the pattern left by formwork panels on reinforced concrete. The vertical partitions, or more modern horizontal partitions, characterise a contemporary design where right angles underpin the patterning of the surfaces.

METEORE 10 CEMENTO large-effect paint: application methods

As with those already mentioned, this finish requires an initial coat of special primer, PRIMER 1200, followed by a textured coat of Meteore 10.

Next, before it dries, the product is patterned using a special brush, employing horizontal or vertical lines according to the chosen pattern. A stainless-steel trowel is then used, together with a fine spray of water, to exert pressure on the product and smooth the surface. Again, before the product is completely dry, the material is etched using a pointed tool, creating vertical or horizontal lines.

As with the products above, the decorative effect is completed with application of C100 OVER (again using a steel trowel with vertical or horizontal movements), to define the colour of the decoration.

 

This allows creation of decorative solution that can be used for extensive spaces, giving environments a vast, industrial look with plenty of impact.

METEORE 10 CEMENTO slim-effect paint: “fair-faced” concrete

METEORE 10 CEMENTO, in the slim cement effect version, can also be referred to using the industry jargon as “fair-faced concrete”.

This decoration reproduces the effect of reinforced concrete that has a special surface finish due to the wood-board formwork used to pour it. In addition to the partitions (which can be either horizontal or vertical), the veining of the wood is also left impressed into the concrete.

Also for this textured cement-effect paint, VALPAINT offers a range of colours, allowing a suitable chromatic choice for the specific project.

 

How to apply METEORE 10 CEMENTO Slim Effect

The application steps for the Slim variant are similar to those for the Large product up to the initial decorating phase.

Having smoothed the previously treated surface, decoration begins. Using the special pen (PIXEL, available in various colours) and a tool that allows perfectly straight and parallel lines, the pattern is applied to the surface, vertically or horizontally, to simulate the formwork boards.

As with the products introduced above, the final tone is created using the flocculated colourant product, which is applied with a special spatula rather than the stainless-steel trowel. This tool, using a specific motion, allows the coloured material to be shaped, creating a design that mirrors the veining of wood. The final step involves re-finishing the lines previously created using the special PIXEL pen.

The slim cement-effect paint offers a bold minimal/industrial look. Here it is the dominance of the material itself that sets the interior-design rules, greatly enhancing the essence of decoration inspired by construction materials.

METEORE 10 CEMENTO smooth-effect in the range of paints offered by VALPAINT

The smooth cement effect gives surfaces a textured quality for decoration, in various shades, that evokes the geometric properties of wall coatings created using squares and then smoothed.

The application process is very similar to that for the Large product, but with a difference in the patterning and the different dimensions of the etching (with addition of lines at right angles to the first, setting the dimensions of the elements to be rendered).

 

METEORE 10 CEMENTO ridged-effect wall paint and the value of light

The ridged cement-effect decoration allows creation of surfaces with a clear textured quality, almost giving a sense of vibration to the wall surface.

This highly textured look, which catches both artificial and natural light, highlights the “ridges” to the point that they can become a central feature of their environment.

Again, starting with a surface free of impurities and damaged areas, the special PRIMER 1200 is applied, which prepares the existing surface and acts as a connecting layer between this and the material to be applied over it.

Once the product is dry, METEORE 10 is applied using a stainless steel trowel in order to create a uniform layer ready for the patterning to be added. Before the product is completely dry, the material is “etched” using a special brush to create the desired ridges.

As with the effects described above, using the product for colouring the decoration with a special brush, variations in tone of the treated surfaces are defined.

This cement-effect wall paint, unlike those above, is certainly “lighter”, and it can be used aesthetically to represent softer materials, like a fabric. It is particularly well suited to spaces where light takes centre stage, bringing out the aesthetic vibrations that it captures.

Would you like to discover more about cement-effect walls for industrial looks? Read our article Cement-effect paint in an urban-industrial style.