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Substitute for acrylic matte sealer


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Hey all!  You were such a help last time when I was trying to figure stuff out for my wall textures last year.  I figured maybe you would have suggestions for me again.

I'm trying out the Magic Brik system and the instructions say to paint my base whatever color and then spray it with an acrylic matte sealer.  I don't have any sealer and was wondering if anyone had an idea of an acceptable substitute.  I'm planning on using some stucco mixture or something to make grout so I'm not super worried about the color of my grout lines.  

My biggest problem is being sure the brik mixture will stick to my walls. I'm using oatmeal containers for my tower base.  So I think I need to do something so they aren't slick.  I think I can take care of that with some sandpaper or layering other cardboard on top with glue to have a rougher surface for the brik to adhere to.  Unless that's the purpose of the sealer?  So the sticker stencil will peel off easier?

 

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I recently used Magic Brik on a roombox and I didn't use sealer on my base color (I guess I didn't read the instructions!) It was fine without the sealer, but I don't know if applying grout over the Magic Brik will work very well. The brick is very grainy (bump it and it brushes off) and I think if you try to grout over it you'll end up with the grout all over the bricks with no way to remove it without destroying the bricks in the process. I did use grout on Magic Slate and was unhappy with how the grout settled in the pits of the stone and couldn't be wiped away. I think it would be even worse with the bricks.

I'm not sure how it will work with the cardboard. You might want to do a sample piece before you spend a lot of time applying the templates to your tower, to see if the stickers peel off and also to see how well the brick sticks to the cardboard.

Maybe others have had better experiences with these products, but personally I won't be using them again. I'm going to stick to egg carton brick and stone from now on.

Here are my blog posts about the Magic Brik and Magic Slate:

http://www.emilymorganti.com/blog/?p=12469

http://www.emilymorganti.com/blog/?p=12981

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6 minutes ago, fov said:

I recently used Magic Brik on a roombox and I didn't use sealer on my base color (I guess I didn't read the instructions!) It was fine without the sealer, but I don't know if applying grout over the Magic Brik will work very well. The brick is very grainy (bump it and it brushes off) and I think if you try to grout over it you'll end up with the grout all over the bricks with no way to remove it without destroying the bricks in the process. I did use grout on Magic Slate and was unhappy with how the grout settled in the pits of the stone and couldn't be wiped away. I think it would be even worse with the bricks.

I'm not sure how it will work with the cardboard. You might want to do a sample piece before you spend a lot of time applying the templates to your tower, to see if the stickers peel off and also to see how well the brick sticks to the cardboard.

Maybe others have had better experiences with these products, but personally I won't be using them again. I'm going to stick to egg carton brick and stone from now on.

Here are my blog posts about the Magic Brik and Magic Slate:

http://www.emilymorganti.com/blog/?p=12469

http://www.emilymorganti.com/blog/?p=12981

I'll definitely check out your posts.  I figured on using a polyurethane matte finish over the bricks before I grout them.  I usually do that with egg carton bricks too.  It seems to keep the grout from messing up the bricks too much.

I will have to do a test on the cardboard I've got.

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The only time I've used Magic Brik was with the two Dura-Craft kits I've built, and there was nothing in those instructions about sealing the grout color/ base coat, so I didn't.  There was a note in the instructions I did have to add a measure of white glue equal to the water and stir the "brik" powder into that, so that when it dried it was less likely to flake off.  If I were going to use it on cardboard, I think I'd first slap a coat of lacquer on both sides of the cardboard, then prime it with gesso; betcha the "brik" mixture would stick to that.

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