Fresco - The Sand Finish

1. The sand finish is applied over the brown coat as soon as the brown coat has set initially and is both hard enough to be worked over and soft enough to be slightly dented by the pressure of a finger. If for some reason the brown coat should be allowed to dry completely, it must be thoroughly soaked with water before the sand-finish coat is applied.

2. The sand-finish coat, like the brown coat, may be put on in two operations: first, a thin skim coat, and then over the damp skim coat a heavier application of the mortar.

3. Finally, the sand-finish coat is given its characteristic surface by means of a float.

The float is a smooth wooden shingle about 4" x 12" with a handle mounted to one of the flat faces. After the sand-finish coat has been leveled and smoothed with the trowel and set enough to stand pressure, the surface is spattered with water by means of a wide plasterer's brush. The float is dipped in a bucket of water, so that it will not stick to the wall, and is rubbed over the wall in a scouring circular motion until the surface is polished smooth. Only wooden floats may be used, never those surfaced with felt or carpet, because the greater absorbency of these materials will pull out the lime and deposit it unevenly on the wall.