Veneto 828 Mineral Coloured Finishes:

Fire Resistance

The full Unitex coating system when subjected to the Early Fire Hazard Tests – Australian Standard AS1530.3:1999 meets the strictest standards.

Water Resistance

The coating, even at exceptionally high build, is formulated with a water vapour permeability factor to rainproof the exterior and allow water vapour from the substrate to leave unhindered. Rising damp and elevated levels of moisture in the substrate will damage, and possibly delaminate, the surface coating. Please ensure that damp coursing the substrate is in place and prior test moisture content with a moisture meter (maximum 12% WME is allowed) (Builder responsibility).

Storage

As these products contain cement, please store in the original sealed pails in a cool, dry place. Under these conditions, a shelf life of approximately 6 months is achievable.

Colour

Unitex Veneto 828 Mineral Coloured Finishes are pre-coloured using durable inorganic oxide pigments. A standard range of more than 21 earthy shades are available by clicking on the colour palette above. Custom shades can also be matched but please note that in keeping with the theme behind Unitex Veneto 828, only traditional, earthy tones are possible. For custom shades we ask a premium and sufficient time to complete the matching to your satisfaction. Veneto products are made to order.

Application Details

Unitex Veneto 828 Mineral Coloured Finishes are to be trowelled over a thoroughly dried appropriate Unitex render in a two coat application for ideal coverage, e.g. Redi Render, which has been thoroughly sealed with Unitex Cembond Substrate Sealer. After trowelling, Unitex Veneto 828 Mineral Coloured Finishes must be finished with a soft sponge float to achieve a sandy finish. See our section on Specialty Renders for details on the surface preparation of substrates prior to applying a render.

In dry, mild conditions, Unitex Veneto 828 Mineral Coloured Finishes should be dry after 72 hours after application. A minimum of 72 hours, under ideal temperate conditions, is required for through-dry (and cure) of the render, when the surface is through dry the Unitex Veneto 828 Mineral Coloured Finish coat may be applied. Dry is measured to be less than 12% WME (Wood Moisture Equivalent) where measured on a Protimeter^® Moisture Meter.With certain site conditions such as shaded areas, lower temperatures or high humidity, curing of the exterior finish may take longer, even up to 7-10 days. Always check the weather forecast before applying exterior finishes as rain (especially within the first 8 hours after application), has a tendency to damage and weaken the finish or at best, leave water marks. Heavy rain, preferential water dripping, overnight condensation etc. at any time during the initial 3-4 weeks may leave water marks and wash staining on the surface. Should such rain or water or other damage occur, the exterior finish integrity and adhesion must be checked and repaired when fully dried. Both frosty conditions and excessively high temperatures should be avoided. Unitex recommends applying Unitex Veneto 828 Mineral Coloured Finishes in temperatures greater than 8 ºC and less than 30 ºC. Should hot and windy conditions be encountered after commencing applying the product, dampen the substrate with water. Do not apply Unitex Veneto finishes until the ‘wet’ look has receded and the surface has absorbed the free water. This will enable Unitex Veneto 828 Mineral Coloured Finishes to remain as workable as it is in milder conditions.Always ensure that the areas being coated can be comfortably finished by the number of applicators available before the coating dries out.

1. Base, e.g. Unitex Redi Render
2. Sealer coat of Unitex Cembond Substrate Sealer
3. Coat 1: Unitex Veneto applied with a steel trowel and straight away finished with a soft sponge float
4. Coat 2: Between 4 – 24 hours after the first coat is touch dry, or at least on the following day, a second coat may be applied in the same way

After Unitex Veneto 828 Mineral Coloured Finish has been applied, finished and is touch dry, early rainfall can cause whitening, discolouration, streaking and blooming. Unless this highly distressed look is desired, Unitex recommends that as soon as the finish is touch dry, the total wall area must be fine water spray washed with clean water thoroughly to remove traces of any water soluble additives still remaining in the wall coating.

Adequate expansion joints are required to minimise cracking on the surface of the finish. Location of the expansion joints is the responsibility of the Builder or Head Contractor. Unitex recommends regular expansion joints to every elevation, between different substrates and between floor levels, to allow for stresses and building movements.

If such expansion joints are not provided by the Builder or Head Contractor, cracking due to movement of the substrate may occur. This is in no way indicative of faulty material. Rather it indicates sub-standard building practice.

Guide to Good Mixing Consistency

1. Add the contents of the pail slowly under drill mixing to 4-5 litres of clean water in an appropriately sized clean vessel.
2. Drill mix thoroughly until a lump free slurry of the required slump is produced. Allow to stand and activate for approximately 10 minutes then re-whip prior to use.
3. The mix can then be adjusted with water to hold the required viscosity. For a uniform, even finish, aim to keep wet product at a constant viscosity over the whole project.
4. Apply Unitex Veneto 828 Mineral Coloured Finishes with a trowel over a dry, Unitex rendered surface sealed with Unitex Cembond Substrate Sealer coating and finish off with a sponge float.
5. For spray and roller application, additional water will be needed to reach a lower viscosity.
6. When mixed according to these instructions, each pail will make up 15 litres of wet product.

 Prior Sign Off

Unitex strongly advises prior sign off by your builder / architect, on all coating systems. Always provide the Builder and Designer with a site texture sample of minimum 2m², finish and colour for written approval nominating the Unitex specified system.

Delivery Information

Due to the variance in sands natural colour, please order the entire projects requirements at once for one delivery i.e. whether you require 2 pails or 200 pails to complete your project, place the order for total amount to be manufactured in one batch to avoid issues that can be seen as colour variation. Colour variation seen can be caused by many issues on site relating to substrate preparation and variations in conditions at the time of application .

Application Tips

Unitex Veneto 828 Mineral Coloured Finishes products are dry powders containing sand, cement, oxide pigments and polymeric additives to provide a durable product. On-site, all that has to be added is water to provide a ready-to-apply finish. Unitex recommends that for consistency of appearance, care should be taken to add the same amount of water to each pail and to drill mix each pail thoroughly for the same amount of time. Best consistency is found with mixing for 5 minutes then allowing to stand for approximately 10 minutes followed by a further 5 minutes drill mixing before application.

Application of  an entire project  should be completed at the same time in the same weather conditions. At a minimum, entire elevations should be completed at the same time in the same weather conditions. Application at different times, in different weather conditions can effect final colour.

Unitex advises shade cloth to be installed on scaffolding to ensure consistent drying times of the applied Unitex Veneto, and therefore negating  varying drying effects that can be detrimental to achieving a consistent patina over the total wall elevation.

Unitex Veneto 828 Mineral Coloured Finishes range is an exterior ochre finish suitable for use over surfaces prepared with render from the Unitex Specialty Renders range. See our Renders section to choose the right Render for your masonry surface or construction material. Make sure that the render has been applied evenly and consistently and is thoroughly dry¹ before applying Unitex Veneto 828 Mineral Coloured Finishes as any imperfections with the render may also be seen after application of the exterior finish.

Unitex Veneto 828 Mineral Coloured Finishes are supplied in 20 kg pails and each pail, when mixed with water, is expected to yield 15 litres of trowel applied coating. Unitex Veneto is added to and mixed with approximately 4-5 litres of water per pail initially, and adjusted with further water to the applicator’s desired consistency. Consistent drilling of each pail for the same time for all buckets is recommended to adequately prepare the colour.

For spray or roll applied finishes, higher proportions of water should be used but it is important to be aware that when mixing water with powder by a drill, that trowel-like viscosity is best as the somewhat thicker viscosity produces consistent shades. After all lumps have been incorporated into the slurry, further water can be added with mixing to achieve spray and roller viscosities.

At a 1mm thickness of Unitex Veneto 828 Mineral Coloured Finishes, approximately 10-15m² of wall can be coated per 15 litre pail. Please merge in other pails of Unitex Veneto 828 to achieve the desirable subtle shade changes that each bucket and its preparation with water and drilling will give you.

Footnote:

Importance of thorough drying.
Generally, the substrate must be dry before application of the render. Likewise, the render must be dry before a texture is applied over the render and similarly, the texture must be dry before a topcoat such as Unitex Uni-PTC is rolled over the texture. It is the responsibility of the Builder and/or Contractor to ensure that each surface (including substrate) is thoroughly dry before the next coat (render, primer/sealer, texture or topcoat) is applied. Unitex recommends that professional contractors use a Moisture Meter to determine the degree of dryness. Building Inspectors consider dry conditions to be consistent with readings of less than 12% WME (Wood Moisture Equivalent). Wet and cool conditions and also tropical wet and humid conditions present the most challenging weather conditions to achieve dryness levels suitable for over coating. Should a coating be applied on a substrate or surface that has not sufficiently dried, sometimes a white bleaching or fine hairline shrinkage cracking on the surface may occur in the weeks after application as moisture slowly evaporates out of the system.