Old Plaster Ceiling Finish...
We thought the Dining Room ceiling was JUST drywall. With a bad tape job.
And a strange, out of place chandelier.
Turns out that it is drywall OVER the original plaster.
And the original plaster had a very cool surface treatment. We can't figure it out. It is like nothing we've ever seen.
The colors are light variations on yellow...the palest of yellows. The texture is smooth but you can definitely feel that a coating is on there. It is only slightly shiny and it is hard...not something you can chip with your fingernail. Like a yellow varnish, almost. It is hard to describe.
The installers found this piece when they were drilling the careful holes for the air-conditioning ducts. We all marveled at it...even the experienced installers. And they KNOW old houses.
Anyone have an idea what this finish is?
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Comments
Rub some denatured alcohol on the surface. If it becomes tacky or dissolves then you have shellac. Everything in our place was covered with the stuff. The wood was painted beige or green, then shellac was painted over to make the wood look more exotic. The floors have layers of it, the last one being an ox-blood color that gums up the floor sander so bad that it is easier to strip it with a heat gun or the silent paint remover before sanding. Then the place smells like hot tar paper! It is pretty cool stuff to use and is used to finish wood furniture as well as coat pills and fruit to make it shiney. We are going to use it on all of our wood molding and some of the floors with urethane over it. If the finish isn't shellac, then it is an oil glaze made of linseed oil and pigment. Raw umber glazing was common. Get this book; Decorative Style by Kevin McCloud ISBN 0-671-69142-2. It will tell you how to replicate these finishes as well as how to make your own mediums etc. you can probably find the book on Half.com.
Posted by: Gary | August 17, 2004 8:42 AM
Hey, all:
That plaster is gorgeous! I have no idea what it is, but there are a few people on the newsgroup here (the email listserv thing)at oldhomes@oldhomes.lovemyoldhome.com that are know it alls (in a good way) about plaster, especially the preservation guy and another guy that posts every day. Join the group with a link to your picture- things have been slow lately.
Carol
Sorry about A's back. I can identify.
Posted by: Carol | August 17, 2004 8:51 AM
Maybe it's venetian plaster? Or a lookalike?
Originally, venetian plaster was a lime-based plaster mixed with marble dust & highly polished (during application) to resemble marble. It's a an actual colored plaster topcoat that's very hard and durable.
It's become bastardized to include other stone, and now surface sealants (e.g., wax) produce the shine. There are many paint techniques that pretend they're venetian plaster, too.
At any rate, as a plaster technique it's a very versatile and really gorgeous!
Posted by: Margaret | August 17, 2004 9:54 AM
I'm going to second the thought that it may very well be shelac.
Posted by: Silus Grok | August 17, 2004 10:17 AM
Looks to me like what we used to call orange shellac. Gary is correct about rubbing it with alcohol. POPS"30"
Posted by: POPS | August 17, 2004 12:02 PM