General Guidelines and Recommendations on Cleaning Plaster Finishes

For Synthetic Finishes:

• No Orange or Citrus based cleaning products.
  • The orange/citrus oil eats acrylic.
• No products with Bleach or Clorox Products
  • Bleach will discolor the plasters

Products not to use to clean Synthetics:

• Orange Glow
• Glue Gone
• Goof Off
• Krud Kutter
  

Preferred Cleaning Products:

• Mr. Clean diluted as directed
• Formula 409 for Veneziano and Fiorentino
• Magic Erasers
• Cloth Diapers are excellent to clean with
• Soft terry cloth towels

The exterior/interior washable stuccos/plasters/glazes
For Aquarello – it is washable and scrubbable. Stains may be removed
using highly-volatile solvents.

Immagini provides exceptionally high resistance to atmospheric corrosion.
Veneziano is fully washable with water and either detergents or ammonia.

The interior only washable stuccos/glazes
Fiorentino is perfectly washable with water and ammonia or liquid detergents but is interior only.
Etruria is resistant to acids and alkalis but is interior only also.

For Lime Finishes (unmodified and modified);
Limes are generally not considered washable. Once carbonated, they will absorb water and release it without leaving leach marks. Water and a drop of dishwashing detergent with a sponge (not the scrubby side) can somewhat clean a carbonated (30 days) lime plaster finish but, make your client aware that if it is going to be washed on any basis, waxing is recommended. If a food stain gets on it unwaxed, generally it won’t come out without marring the finish permanently.

If a client will have to clean (using water or cleaning products) a lime plaster, it is recommended that you wax the lime plaster after 3 days of finished application. Millennium Wax, Ceranova, Cires d’Art by Safra are excellent, although be aware that the waxes can change color tonalities. A waxed sample board should be mandatory to approve final color. We prefer Millennium with Calcenova and Calcenova Arredo. We also prefer Cires d’Art wax for Marmorino because it has the smallest degree of color change while protecting it and not changing the final look of the plaster. Millennium Wax and Liberon Wax are excellent for Veneziano. Consult your wax help sheet in your book.

An unwaxed lime plaster is susceptible to food stains or other abuses to wall surfaces.
Once the stain is in, it’s in. Waxing will help protect the surface and make it resistant.