The substrate to which the chosen product is to be applied must be installed in strict accordance with the manufacture&rsquo ; s specifications and recommended installation procedures. For concrete/masonry substrates the suppliers required curing time must be allowed after installation to ensure the joints in the substrate have completed cured, shrunk, and stabilized. All solid concrete substrates must be fully cured and dry. New concrete must be at least 21 days old prior to the application of any render product.

Surface imperfection such as blowholes, large cracks and spalling must be patched and levelled to the required tolerances and flatness with Specialized render materials before this product is applied. All nibs, protrusions and excess mortar on the surface of the bricks or irregularities in the slab must be ground off prior to rendering.

All surfaces must be clean and free of debris, dirt and dust, efflorescence, grease, oils, curing agents, cleaning solutions, mould and algae or any other contaminants that may affect adhesion. Deeply contaminated substrates must be abraded to provide a clean sound surface. All loose or damaged material must be removed by water blasting, captive shot blasting, or mechanical wire brushing and then washed down before rendering commences.

Painted or glossy surfaces such as power floated concrete must be specially primed, acid etched or mechanically abraded prior to the application of any render.

All cracks that may be the subject to ongoing movement must be correctly repaired and reinforced.

All very porous surfaces should be sealed with an appropriate paint sealer prior to the application of the plaster.

MIXING: Add approximately 5 litres of clean water to a clean bucket and then while stirring slowly add the 20kg bag of Fine Mesh Coat. Fine Mesh Coat should be mixed with with a heavy duty electric drill powering a high shear stirrer at approximately 600 r.p.m. The product should be mixed for a minimum of 2 minutes or long enough to provide a smooth lump-free blend. The consistency should be such that the material holds its shape when a finger is run through the surface. Let the mix stand for 5 minutes and give it a quick re-stir before application and adjust the final consistency.

When using Fine Mesh Coat as a levelling/flanking plaster the first coat is usually trowel applied. Thickness is critical; 3-4mm is required. Cut a length of mesh slightly longer than the wall area to be covered. Place the mesh against the wet plaster. Wipe the mesh very lightly at first into the plaster, make sure there are no bubbles nor wrinkles in the mesh. Once the mesh is flat against the plaster, apply an even pressure with the trowel and embed the mesh just below the surface of the plaster. Once embeded scrape the plaster away at the edge of the mesh. Repeat this process and ensure each adjacent drop of mesh overlaps its predecessor by at least 30mm.

When using Fine Mesh Coat as a bagging finish it can be sprayed through a hopper gun or a sagola gun to achieve a heavy stucco plaster finish. Start by spraying on a wet coat of plaster 1 to 2mm thick that will flow together and form a solid flat looking texture coat. Fine Mesh Coat plaster mixed wetter than for a mesh coat, sprayed through a hopper gun with a 9mm tip is best for this type of texture. Once the first spray coat has starting to tack-off or going grey dry, the final texture coat can be applied. The plaster mix for the second coat is about the same as for the mesh coat or slightly stiffer and is known as a flick coat. The object is to have a plaster mix that wont run together like the previous coat. The flick-coat is meant to be a much quicker application and it will even out any discrepancies and provide a uniform texture finish. Approximately 20% of the amount of plaster used for the first coat of spray texture. Spray part of this final texture in horizontal bands and part in vertical bands to ensure a uniform even finish. Do not stay too long in one area as the texture coat will flow together causing patchiness.

Always texture the external and internal corners first before completing adjacent large wall areas. It is also a good practice to spray the reveals around windows from the inside out and then fill in the areas of the wall between these places.

A stucco spray texture must be finished with two coats of Acratex Dulux paint to ensure the chosen products weather resistant and to give the desired finish colour to exterior walls.

Apply render only when the temperature is between 5°C and 30°C.

For full system details refer to the Specialized installation guide.