Oh no, it's not good that you hate it! Well "just" do the ceiling and the kitchen wall for now where the tiles/bricks will go and leave the rest until you've got the kitchen and some furniture in

Hi Tani, was just wondering how the kitchen installation is going?

That's good, are you loving it? Glad you managed to find an electrician. Lol, you need more than a bottle after this wait!

That's annoying but at least you like it and I'm sure it won't clash.

oh, that sounds a bit odd with the paint, I hope you get it sorted

Tani H-S, Did you find a good solution to this? We're hopinh to do the same thing. Its in our bathroom so there'll be a bit of humidity about just for extra complication! Would really appreciate your advice.

Hi, no I ended up painting it 😕

Hi Tani H-S - I also want to leave my plaster un-painted. Did you try the decorators varnish? Did it not work? Why did you end up painting? Cheers, Jules

Hi Jules

I just needed to get something on the wall before the rad got fitted so I wimped out and just stuck some white emulsion on it.
I still want to paint it at some point but it will be much harder with the radiator in the way now, doh!

I ended up using a sealant called SBR on the plaster. hopefully it’ll do the job.

HU-614744273 did you find the svr made the plaster shiny? We are doing the same in our kitchen and it’s a nightmare to work out what to do!

Can I ask which plaster you used to get that lovely colour?

https://www.houzz.co.uk/-vs~109295006 might have some ideas for 'raw' plaster. I saw it in a Riad in Marakech and thought it looked really good. It may need to be planned for from the outset though.

I m trying the Polyvine varnish on raw plaster and even with three coats if you apply a damp cloth a stain appears. Anyone had success here with polyvine or another sealant?

Oh, I do hope that others chime in here! Our plaster is just starting to go up. The plasterer is doing a lovely job, and I'd love to find out more (everything!) about what is possible. (The plasterer himself did not have any suggestions.) Months ago I'd considered leaving the plaster bare with just a clear finish, rather than painting, but I let our architect talk me out of it. Now I'm back to considering it, and of course now, it's urgent!

There is the question of whether to treat (or 'not treat') all surfaces the same, or whether perhaps the ceilings should be painted (for brightness), and/or the bathrooms (for moisture protection).

Then there is the question of whether any treatment that leaves the plaster looking raw could eventually be painted (without an enormous amount of prep work involving mineral spirits, etc), should it prove necessary (like, the space doesn't get enough light, and it ends up looking gloomy?).

And then there is the question of what products can be used, and to what effect. I think I've seen that some 'clear' products might be tinted to affect the color. (Our plaster is standard 'white', nothing fancy, and probably whatever the standard product is that is used in the US.) I wonder if any of these tinted products can be layered on over a truly clear finish. I've seen recommendations for clear poly coatings, and for beeswax, and beeswax mixed with other wax, or waterborne wax, and they all sound great, but I don't know if any of them allow for a change-of-mind regarding above-mentioned tinting, or actual painting. Almost all of the information I've found is in reference to Venetian plaster, and I'm not sure how it translates to the ordinary sort.

From what I read ( from memory ) it can be treated in the same way.

In terms of Emmanuels post, I don’t think the dead flat is as robust so Polyvine recommend 2 coats of gloss or satin and then a final top coat of dead flat.

in terms of a polished plaster etc finish, these are the instructions I was given for tadelakt (but I have only done it once) and this will actually waterproof it so not sure you need each step. It didn’t change the colour Btw.

allow plaster etc to fully dry.

1 coat hydrocalce wax applied with microfibe cloth. Buff off with new microfibre cloth.

Apply 2nd coat of same and buff with electric buffer (One used for polishing cars with lambs wool bonnet)

Dry 12 hours.

2 coats of cera wax. Buff each coat with electric buffer.

dry 12 hours.

1 coat paraffin wax and buff with electric buffer.

Dry 12 hours

I know this post is old so my info is going to be far too late but can’t believe none of you have heard of this…use watered down wall paper paste. Its easy to put on..use a brush/roller, can also paint on ceiling It is transparent, cheap and idefinitely works! If nothing else this may help someone else

Likewise I'm late to the party but having just used Polyvine dead flat decorators varnish on my newly plastered wall I thought I would report my findings. I used a paint brush to apply varnish over the whole wall (having given it a light sanding first - does need to be light, the plaster will likely be a very thin skim so you don't want to go all the way through). The varnish goes on lovely and dried really quickly. Resulting finish is beautiful, really smooth and silky feeling. No discernable change to the colour. I'm really pleased with results and would certainly recommend the Polyvine varnish.

Comment below refers to 2 coats satin or gloss with a final coat of dead flat - this info is on the Polyvine website. I'm chancing it with x2 coats of dead flat because it's a bedroom wall, opposite side to the door and unlikely to get bashed about or scuffed.

Finally just as an FYI I did a test on a bit of hidden wall. Normal emulsion will paint over the Polyvine if you change your mind in future, but I think it'll take several coats. So if using expensive paint might be worth doing a primer coat/s of plain white or undercoat to cover over the varnish and provide a proper surface for final paint to adhere to.

Did you find a solution for this? I’m wanting to have a room in my home bare plaster but not sure what I can use to seal it.

Hiya I responded earlier in the thread. Polyvine decorators varnish in dead flat mart is what you want. This will seal the plaster and stop it being dusty. It dries very matt and gives a very smooth finish. It's an excellent product https://www.polyvine.com/index.php/en/decorators-varnish

Looks weird as it goes on (first pic) but dries to something completely uniform - sorry this is as much of a close up as I have.

Hello, I've just bought satin and dead flat polyvine ... planning to use it to paint onto a raw plaster wall in a shop i have been refurbishing... I am going to attempt 2 layers of the satin and then finish with 1 of the polyvine... does this sound right? and how is it best to apply; paintbrush / roller? any guidance would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

The first time I used Polyvine I used a paintbrush (maybe 2" sort of size). The second time I used one of those painting pads which was probably about 10cm or so wide. Both brush and pad worked fine. As a personal preference I would probably use the pad when I do my next project (protecting painted wall behind dining table). The pad gives more coverage per dip so I think probably works out a bit quicker. You don't want to saturate the pad just coat the ends of the fibres. I'm not sure how well a roller would work, I think it may end up a bit wasteful? Don't forget for your very first coat you can thin the PV dvown abit with a little water. Good luck! Show us your before and afters!

Amazing, thanks a lot for the very helpful feedback. Will keep you posted!

Ah just thought of something else. It dries very quickly so I think it's best to work methodically from one edge of the wall/room, don't start in middle and work outwards! To ensure even coverage need to almost work in overlapping stripes top to bottom. In my experience the end result is very even and you shouldn't see brush marks once dry.

Hi @Katie Duke, when you say it dries to something completely uniform, do you mean that the brush strokes of the varnish dry away? Or that any directional marks in the plaster also go away? As ideally we'd keep the texture and directional markings of the plaster beneath.

Thanks for your help!

​Yes, the brush marks don't appear visible and the finish of the plaster itself (including directional marks etc) remain visible.

A word of caution though I have also used Polyvine over painted walls (flat matt paint and flat matt polyvine) and on the painted surface I do see more brush marks. It's not terrible but (to my eye at least) you can see the application marks. I used the polyvine to add extra protection on the wall going up the stairs which is always subject to scuffs and knocks. At first I just took the Polyvine half way up the wall but it was very obvious where it stopped.  I ended up just doing the whole wall with the Polyvine nd that looks a lot better and you don't particularly notice a difference between the trated wall and the other untreated ones. evident where it stopped and t

Hello, thank you for this thread. I had the hallway ceiling reskimmed a few years back and loved the look of unfinished plaster so much I left it there. Unsealed, but it was a ceiling. I am now doing an extension and renovation and I am planning to leave some feature walls in bare plaster, but adding pigments to change it’s colour, as I wouldn’t want pink walls everywhere. So far I have done some colour tests with titanium white (which mixed with the pink of the gypsum gives a warm creamy white) and yellow ochre. I will keep you posted on final results but I am super excited about it!

Based on this thread, we used two to three coats of Polyvine dead flat on bare plaster on the ceiling; and two coats of satin + 1 of dead flat on the wall. Used a 6'' brush for the ceiling, it wasn't too drippy, which was good. With the satin, the paintbrush marks are definitely more noticeable, so would use a lighter coat in the future. But really happy with the end result. Not the best pic, but you can see the effect on the ceiling --

Hi all. We’re soon to attempt leaving raw plaster walls in the new kitchen and living space/dining area. Will follow the above application tips but I was also wondering if people could advise how well the sealed raw walls have stood up in high use areas? Thanks!

Used in front of a busy restaurant space - holding up really well almost 2 years on and lovely and smooth to touch

Oh brilliant! Thanks for sharing the pics too as it’s great to see what it looks like. I’d been considering painting the ceiling or some other walls white and thus helps me make a decision. 😊

Glad it's helped, I was and still am really pleased with how it turned out (copy effective too). If you see my comment above (made many months ago) in terms of number of coats etc, that it what I followed. And applied using a roller - good luck!!Glad it's helped, I was and still am really pleased with how it turned out. If you see my comment above (made many months ago) in terms of number of coats etc, that it what I followed. And applied with a roeller - good luck!

Just tried a sample of the Polyvine dead matt. It is matte but leaves a white cast with brush marks. Not quite what we are after. Also - you can scratch through quite easily on first coat. 🫤

Hi all, interested on updated thoughts on this. Did your seal last? Do you regret leaving the plaster or love it? Did the colour last or get damp? ...asking as am considering it for kitchen and bathroom. Plasterer used bog standard gypsum plaster - is this an issue? ...photos welcome

Hi there. We followed the polyvine approach as per people’s instructions above. 2 coats then 1 with Matt finish. We have done it in our new kitchen/living/dining extension. Has been up a year and we love it. It’s hard wearing and polyvine confirmed with me that you can paint over it in the future if you wish. We don’t regret it at all. The colour has lasted. The most challenging thing for us was making sure the plaster dried before sealing it which took a long time so you must factor that in. I’m not sure how well it would fare in a bathroom with the damp and humidity. You could look into microcement for that as they can match any colour and that is specifically for bathrooms.

Our plasterer used normal plaster

We have just microcemented our bathroom; walls and floor. A company did this and it is supposed to be waterproof.

Wow looks amazing!!

Thank you for the info @Rachel Roberts looks so

Can I ask, is that just bog standard gypsum plaster? Or is it lime?

Bog standard plaster 😊

Not stupid at all — raw plaster can look amazing in the right space, especially with natural light and an industrial feel. The peachy tone you’re describing sounds beautiful.

You could look into a clear breathable matte sealer designed for bare plaster/lime plaster rather than standard paint sealer or PVA. That should help stop the dusting while still keeping the natural variation and allow future painting if you change your mind.

The board lines might actually add to the aesthetic if you embrace the raw look a bit — but it depends how prominent they are in person. I’d definitely test a small section first before committing to the whole wall/ceiling.

You can use a sealer for stone lime walls and then matt or satym lacquer it will look amazing