Add a Little Sparkle To Your Walls: How to Make a Natural Wall Glaze

door trimmed out with earthen plaster

There are many natural & easy methods for making a glaze, or a clay paint, or a glue-coat finish for your walls; many of these methods are used to ‘finish out’ an earthen plaster (clay plaster); to add a level of shine and to protect the wall….much like we would ‘polyurethane’ a wooden deck or some trim.  However, these methods could also be used over drywall in new construction or in a creative renovation.  If you’re building on a budget (which I am these days!) and you want to get creative, instead of running down to the nearest Lowe’s for a can of expensive paint, try this out…see how simple it is, and then do some experimenting of your own!!!

As stated above, there are many different ways in which I could have gone with this finish, but my choice was primarily based off of what I had on hand.  Previously, I trimmed out this newly installed door with an earthen plaster; I also added some broken tiles for a little mosaic detail. In order to ‘shine’ up the finish and protect it; I decided on a wheat paste/glue coat clear finish b/c I really liked the color the plaster turned out.  Had I of wanted to tweak the color a bit, I could have added clay-slip into this recipe and/or powdered pigment to achieve a different color.

For the sparkle:

I was interested in adding a little shiny sparkle to the plaster, so I decided to add ground up mica into the mix; by adding mica into the final glaze vs. incorporating it into the plaster itself; a little bit of mica can go a long way.

Here’s the steps I took and my recipe; feel free to take this and tweak it; as Natural Building lends itself to experimentation, trial & error:

– 2 cups of wheat paste; if you need to know how to make wheat paste, click here

Apply to plaster with a paint brush.

Let dry.

Apply 2nd or 3rd coat if desired (for extra protection and extra mica)

A few things to keep in mind:

Make sure your plaster is completely dry before applying the glaze.

You don’t want to trap moisture inside of the plaster.

Now, sit back and enjoy that little bit of extra sparkle in your room!

door trimmed out with earthen plaster and glazed