Last update 09.05.2018
Stucco concrete look convinces with its cool, puristic charisma. Here in this article you can read more about the basic material and find instructions for doing it yourself for this trendy wall design.
Why is the stucco concrete look so trendy?
In today’s residential building, hardly any building site can do without concrete. Especially for larger residential and commercial buildings. Walls and ceilings are concreted from the foundation to the top floor ceiling. Partly, walls and ceilings are processed with fair-faced concrete. This means that concrete of a higher quality is poured into the formwork. Similarly, the formwork is placed and the concrete vibrated more cleanly. After striking, all defects, such as large air pockets, become visible. These exposed concrete surfaces are then only cleaned of formwork oil. Without these to plaster these surfaces result in a cool, puristic charisma. They are well suited for minimalist architecture.
How can such walls be imitated?
To get these walls also in brick constructions and on dry construction walls no concrete is needed. A very advantageous lime coating called stucco concrete look is used. Lime is highly permeable to diffusion. It regulates the humidity of the rooms. An alkaline building material – molds find no breeding ground on lime surfaces. Lime is allergen-free.
Here you can read the instructions for the processing of stucco concrete optics.
These substrates are primed beforehand:
- Plasterboard
- reinforced concrete
- dispersion paints
- tiles
- glass
- MDF
- Metal etc.
To buy the recommended primer click here. Mineral substrates such as lime, cement or gypsum plaster can be applied directly. The stucco concrete look filler is applied evenly and thinly with a Venetian smoothing trowel to grain thickness. Allow to dry for approx. 15 minutes. With the supplied stopper, the holes are pressed in in a rectangular grid (with rotating movement). The plastic foil is then applied to the damp surface and pressed lightly with the smoothing trowel. After another flash-off time of about 30 minutes, the foil can be carefully removed. When the stucco concrete look filler has dried evenly (up to 2 hours), smooth with the Venetian trowel. The goal is a concrete grey surface with the imprint of the concrete formwork, which we have achieved by using the plastic foil and the plug. Subsequently, the formwork elements can also be reproduced by scratching fine lines into the coating with a horizontal slat and a trowel and smoothing it again. After a drying time of approx. 12 hours, the surface can be discreetly polished with Punic Wax Liquid. Apply only a little on a soft cloth and rub carefully on the surface. Then polish with a microfibre cloth.
My name is Stefan Fischer and I am an executive board member of stucco naturale. In this blog you will find useful information and tips on Stucco Veneziano and decorative spatula techniques. 
Thanks for this article on achieving a concrete look with stucco! I’ve been wanting to update the look of my basement walls, and this seems like a great way to achieve a more modern industrial feel. Following the steps you outlined, I’m wondering if the finished product is just as durable as real concrete? Are there any specific maintenance considerations to keep the stucco looking like concrete over time?
Our concrete style stucco is a lime plaster and has a lower hardness than real concrete. The concrete look comes from the use of a foil and the corresponding treatment. Here is a short video on how to apply the concrete style stucco.