How to make an artificial stone with their hands at home

Facing the cap home, facade and interior walls of stone is becoming increasingly popular.This is not surprising, since such a design not only protects the surface against mechanical damage and pollution, but also becomes the spectacular decorative ornament.But here's the problem - natural stone has a considerable weight, and creates significant additional load on the wall structures.In addition, work with it - is difficult, and the cost of such decoration is often becomes a cause to abandon this approach.

There is a way - to use for such purposes of artificial stone.It is lighter in weight and easy to process, therefore it is not so difficult to work, securing it on surfaces.Artificial stone perfectly replace natural, and it can be used not only for the walls but also for facing flower beds and fountains, as well as for laying garden paths.

It is also important that the finishing material is quite an affordable price.But in order to achieve even more significant savings, many owners with a creative "vein" are set just a question of how to make artificial stone with their hands at home.Such a possibility exists, and make this material is not so difficult if to prepare all that is required for the preparation of the solution, as well as to create a form with the required topography of the future "stone".

What is an artificial stone?

Before proceeding to the description of manufacturing techniquesthis finishing material, should understand that he is is and what it consists of.

Artificial stone can be made from different materials, which are selected depending on which of them will be decorated walls - exterior or interior.

So, for interior decoration stone often made on the basis of plaster, and for foreign - cement mortar with various additives.The list of such additives include materials that give the finished stone relief pattern - it can be gravel, sand, crushed stone and other components.In addition, the artificial stone to impart the desired shades, dyes prepared or diluted dry pigments.If they are to be used more, it is important to select them in such a way that they are combined with each other perfectly.

To get a quality stone finishing, you need to prepare for it in good shape.By making appropriate purchasing or making it yourself once, it will be possible to produce the required number of stones that will be used to transform a house or a garden plot.

Do not buy cheap plastic form, as it may break when the first batch made of stones.The best option is a matrix made of silicone, so it will last a long time and can help you make much surfacing material as necessary.

Making molds for artificial stone

In specialty stores, you can find ready-made kits for the production of decorative material, which further simplifies the work, but for any host is quite feasible to fulfill the form and independently.

example, conceived a certain design of a surface, and the stone is optimally suitable for this style, is too expensive, or not able to find the right variant for tintexecution.In this case, you can buy one or more tiles of store artificial stone, and on the basis of the acquired samples to produce the necessary forms.

In addition, the basis for the template can be taken and a real stone with the pleasant textured pattern that can not be found in stores.

As "source code" for the manufacture of the matrix is ​​not necessarily to be used stone or tile.Often this takes the wood with a beautiful textured pattern that pre deepens.

forms can be single or complex.First make it much easier than the latter, since they do not require too much overall formwork and the application of large amounts of silicone.However, it should immediately be noted that in the future to produce artificial stone itself will be easier and faster than it was with the complex version of the matrix, because the output will be obtained several finished products.

In any case, the formwork will have to find a ready-made or make your own box out of plywood or a box made of cardboard.This element should be sized at 10 mm ÷ 15 25 ÷ wider and 30 mm above the original sample, to which will be made and form.If the stone has to be very small in size, it is suitable for formwork even an ordinary box of juice, cut off one of the wide sides.It has sufficient rigidity to withstand the silicon fill.

can do in a different way, combining together several boxes of juice, maintaining the distance between them in the 10 ÷ 12 mm.But at the same time - this gap has to be sealed, as will be the walls between future forms.

Then, you can proceed to the initial sample preparation and the filling material.The silicone sealant, polyurethane or specifically designed for such purposes compound, consisting of two components can be used as it.

form of silicone

Silicone sealants are sold in tubes or buckets, and you need to purchase the amount of material needed for the production of forms.

• When the formwork is ready, on its internal wall is applied to any oily lubricant - it may even be a regular grease.
• Further, the bottom casing fits the original item - this can be natural stone, tiles with a smooth surface, ready variant of artificial stone, board or other object, which will be made on the form.
• then laid in the formwork is also the subject of a fatty substance smeared - it must be done in order to pour the silicone after it can easily be removed.

It should be noted an important point - if an initial sample ready artificial stone made from plaster is used, its pre-coated with two - three layers of lacquer or varnish, each of which should be well dried.

• next step is to prepare a soap solution, which is required to wet the brush and spatula used for depositing and distribution within the silicone molds.

• If purchased in silicone tube, it is extruded into the mold completely and then dipped the brush into the soapy solution is distributed inside the box.It is very important to ensure that the silicone is dense, without the formation of air sinuses adjoined to the sample stone that is laid on the bottom of the formwork.For this part is laid out not just a smooth brush and tamped.

• filling the casing to the desired level, the silicone surface is leveled with a spatula, which is also wetted with soapy water.
• Once work is completed, the casing with silicone is allowed to polymerization.

hurry to form removal should not be - the longer it will stay untouched, the better will the matrix, the greater the production of artificial stone cycles it will stand.Polymerization is depth from the outer surfaces of silicone, and it is possible to adopt a guide for its speed of 2 mm of thickness per day.So that complete solidification process forms can take several days or even several weeks, depending on the filling depth and thickness.Therefore, if you decide to engage in the manufacture of artificial stone at a certain time, for example, in the summer months, the preparation of the matrix should be to take care of this in advance.

At the end of the settlement period, with construction formwork is removed.Get in shape gently removed and rinsed free of grease, and only after that it will be ready for use.

The table below shows the main technical characteristics of silicone sealant, which must be considered in the manufacture of his matrix for artificial stone:

Main indicators of material	Normal values ​​	results shown in the test
Skin formation time after extruding the sealant from the tube (min), max.	30	5 ÷ 25
Viability composition (hours), max.	8	6 ÷ 8
Conditional tensile strength MPa, min	0.1	0,4 ÷ 0,6
Elongation at break (%), not less.	300	400 ÷ 600
resistance strength (mm), max.	2	0 ÷ 1
Water absorption by weight (%) not more.	1	0,35 ÷ 0,45
Density (kg / m³), ​​not more.	1200	1100 ÷ 1200
durability, contingent years, at least.	20	20

matrices of the compound

available at specialist stores and special formulations intended for the manufacture of molds.Features of one of these compounds domestic producer OOO PO "Technology-Plast" under the name "Silagerm 5035", you can see more.

This polyurethane compound, consisting of two components, designed specifically for the manufacture of molds.Moreover, the use of such specialized matrix formulations are obtained with excellent physical properties and greater operational resource.

«Silagerm 5035" can be used not only in the manufacture of molds for artificial stone, but for the manufacture of matrices designed for casting sculptures and architectural details of plaster and other building materials.

molding polyurethane compound "Silagerm 5035" is available in a beige color and has different parameters of hardness - 40 and 30 units.by Shor table.

Basic physical and technical characteristics "Silagerm 5035" listed in the table:

Main indicators of material	Shore hardness 30 ± 3	Shore hardness 40 ± 3
skin formation timefilm after mixing (minutes), no more than	40 ÷ 50	40 ÷ 50
Pot life (minutes), no more than	60 ÷ 120	60 ÷ 120
Conditional tensile strength (MPa), at least	3,0 ÷ 4,5	3,5 ÷ 5,0
elongation at break (%), not less than	450 ÷ 600 400 ÷	600
Shrinkage (%), not more than 1		0.8
Viscosity (cps, cps).	3000 ÷ 3500 3000 ÷	3500
Density (g / cc), no more.	1,03 ± 0,02	1,07 ± 0,02

complete hardening ready-mix time is only 24 hours.

The first step is the initial sample preparation, laid into the mold.This process differs slightly from the matrix held in the manufacture of silicone sealant.

• original sample is cleaned of dust and dirt, and then dried well.
• After this formwork and model processed double layer solution consisting of wax dissolved in white spirit.Each of the layers should be well dried for 25 ÷ 30 minutes.Instead, the composition can be used to handle ready-made special wax release agent.All the described operation must be carried out in a clean, dust free room with normal humidity, because all the components are very sensitive to its increase.
• Then, you can proceed to the preparation of the mixture itself.For this purpose, components must be mixed in proportions of 2: 1 (paste: hardener).It is precisely their number died out - keep the proportions of data necessary to achieve homogeneity of the mixture and uniform curing.

components can be mixed with a spatula or a nozzle-mixer installed in an electric drill.Tool selected depending on the amount of kneaded mass.Using a mixer for cooking, include electric momentum on small that the mixture is not too porous because of the large number of air bubbles.If the components of the compound will be used not completely, then their remains should be sealed immediately capped.

• Further, the resulting mass is poured slowly into a prepared form so that the highest point of the original sample thickness was pouring from 7 to 10 mm.

The compound can be applied in layers and using a spatula, but such a method - more difficult, since the proportion of the components need to be calculated separately.

Once the mass is poured into the formwork, it is necessary to try to rid it of air bubbles.For this duct can be given an easy vibration, shaking slightly and moving forward - backward, and so several times.Then, you must provide the formwork with grouted stand 5 minutes ÷ 10, and then from the surface of the mass with a spatula to remove air bubbles spoke.

Form is left to the day before the full curing.Previously remove it from the model is not recommended, as all the declared quality still recruited only after 72 hours.Thus, after removal of the matrix from the original sample, it should be kept for a further two days without operation.And only after this period will form a fully suitable solution for filling, even with temperatures reaching up to + 80 ÷ 120 degrees.

to form lasts as long as possible before filling it with a solution of gypsum or cement is recommended to lubricate the inner surface of its special grease separation "Tiprom 90".

Compound "Silagerm 5035" is sold in buckets of 1.5 and 7.5 kg.

Video: example of the manufacture of molds for artificial stone made of silicone-polyurethane compound

Production of artificial stone

As mentioned above, artificial stone may be made of differentmaterials, but in this section will be considered the production of two variants, one of which is used for interior decoration, and the second - to decorate the facade.