Have you been captivated by the latest trends in home decor crafting and want to try them yourself? Then you're in the right place! Let's take a look at simple techniques to master these effects. In this article, we will focus on the terrazzo effect or mosaic.
How to achieve the terrazzo effect? Playfully!
If terrazzo has captivated you just like it has us, let's give it a try. There's nothing complicated about it, and in a few hours, you’ll have unique decorations ready. We’ll be making colored chips, pouring, and sanding. With our secret tip, sanding will be a breeze! Ready?
Phase 1 - preparing the chips
This “mixing and breaking” phase is our favorite. It’s beautifully soothing, and you don’t need any special skills. Just have fun with it.
Prepare your workspace and gather everything you’ll need for the project. What you need to prepare is already detailed in our article “How to Work with NatuResin Mineral Resin?”.
Mix the required amount of mineral resin, color it, and spread it in a thin layer on baking paper or another non-stick surface. You can use a spatula or a regular kitchen scraper to help. Let the material harden, then start breaking it. Simply peel it off the baking paper and crush it with your hands. That’s it—you now have terrazzo chips ready! Great, isn’t it?
Tip: If you want only larger chips to be visible after sanding and not the colored powder that inevitably forms during crushing, just sift the chips with a kitchen sieve. The powder will fall through, leaving only the chips.
Phase 2 - mixing chips into the resin and pouring
From our article “How to Work with NatuResin Mineral Resin?”, you already know how the prepared workspace should look. So, we won’t repeat that and will go straight to the action!
We have the colored chips ready. What’s next?
Mix NatuResin in the amount needed for the mold. This newly mixed batch can remain in its basic white color, or you can color it to match the color of the prepared chips.
Mix the chips into it and pour into the mold. Don’t skimp on the chips—make sure the mixed resin is packed full of chips and thick. The amount of chips used will affect the appearance of the final product. Don’t forget to tap the mold a few times after pouring to settle everything and remove as many bubbles as possible. Tap the mold from the sides as well, or create vibrations on the workspace.
Tip: NatuResin mineral resin is very easy to crush after curing, even from plastic mixing cups. If you couldn’t get all the material out of the cup, you can always break it up and reuse it for making terrazzo products after curing.
Phase 3 - sanding
After the material has cured, sand the product using sandpaper. We found that sanding underwater with coarser sandpaper, around 320 grit or similarly coarse, works well. Sand in circular motions to avoid scratches on the product. Sand until the colored chips hidden under the layer of uncolored material are visible. Then, sand again with a finer grit paper, around 1000 or similarly fine, to smooth out the rough surface from the previous sanding.
Tip: If sanding intimidates you and you’re hesitant to start, here’s a tip to make it much easier. After fully curing the material in about 1-2 days, it’s very hard and difficult to sand. What to do? Simply soak the product in water for a few hours. After soaking, it will sand much more easily and quickly!
For the more experienced, we recommend sanding shortly after removing from the mold. However, the product will still be quite fragile, so be careful to avoid breaking or damaging it.
Phase 4 - finished!
And that’s it! See how easy it was. If you want, you can seal the final product with any matte transparent varnish. This will make the product more resistant to environmental factors.
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