You may have heard about putty if you plan to renovate your home or want to put a fresh coat of paint on the walls. Wall putty is commonly used as a filler for closing gaps, cracks, holes, and any other imperfection before wallpapering or painting. It is also used to provide a smooth backdrop for applying paint or wallpaper.
Often, homeowners think that putty is not that important and usually skip it and directly apply the wallpaper or paint on the wall. However, putty is one of the most crucial construction materials and should be used for its numerous benefits.
In this blog, you will learn everything you need to know about wall putty, such as its importance, benefits, and applications, among other things.
What Is Wall Putty?
Putty is a type of construction material made by mixing white cement, water, polymer, additives, and other fillers. The exact components of a putty can vary and depend on the manufacturer’s choice of ingredients, and on its intended purpose.
Generally, putty is a pliable dough-like substance that is easy to apply on flat surfaces. It creates a smooth and even surface so paint or wallpaper can be effectively applied over it.
There are various types of putties available on the market. For instance, lightweight putty is useful for minor repairs on walls or floors, while heavy-duty putty is meant for large-scale installation and repair jobs.
What Is The Importance Of Wall Putty?
There are several uses of wall putty, such as –
Filling cracks
Putty is very useful to cover up small imperfections in walls and floors, such as gaps, cracks, dents, holes, and fractures. It helps to hide these imperfections and makes the underlying surface smooth and level. This helps to apply a coat of paint or a strip of wallpaper properly.
Leveling surfaces
An uneven surface is not suitable for installing tiles or applying paint, as it affects the final finish. Using putty, you can easily level uneven surfaces and remove any undulations, bumps, and blemishes and get a smooth and level surface for painting or putting wallpaper.
Improving adhesion
Putty not only gives a smooth surface to walls and floors, but it also enhances the surface’s adhesive properties. Thus, putty makes it easier for paint and wallpaper to stick to any substrate.
It produces a slightly rough texture at a microscopic level. This prevents paint from peeling, flaking, or creating bubbles, thus ensuring a smooth and aesthetically pleasing painted surface.
Preventing seepage
Some putties are also imbued with water-resistant properties, which helps to prevent moisture seepage in the walls of the house. This is highly useful to prevent structural damage to buildings situated in areas that have a wet and humid climate.
Enhancing durability
Putty also works to prolong the durability of painted surfaces by offering a protective coating. It prevents chipping, cracking, wear-and-tear and enhances the life of paint and wallpaper.
What Are The Key Components Of Wall Putty?
The following are the main components and ingredients that are used to make putty –
White Cement
White cement is the main component of putty. It gives the putty its natural white hue and intrinsic adhesive properties. As regular cement does not have these properties at such a higher level, wall putty manufacturers choose to use white cement instead.
Polymers
Polymers enhance certain properties of putty. For instance, adding vinyl acetate or acrylic helps to improve fracture resistance, induce additional flexibility, and enhance adhesive strength of putty. For instance, redispersible polymer powder (RDP) is one of the most common polymers used in manufacturing high quality wall putty.
Fillers
Fillers, such as finely-crushed calcium carbonate or limestone are added to putty to enhance its workability and improve its texture. Besides this, adding fillers also help achieve an evenly smooth finish on applied surfaces.
Additives
Putty also includes various types of additives that focus on improving a particular property. For instance, dispersion agents, thickeners, preservatives, and water-resistant agents are commonly added to enhance some properties of putty.
Are There Different Varieties Of Wall Putty?
Yes, there are different types of wall-putty available on the market. Each type of wall-putty has a special additive to enhance specific properties.
Some of the common kinds of putty you can buy today include –
Acrylic-based Putty
Acrylic polymers are added to an acrylic base to make this putty. Compared to conventional putty, acrylic putty has stronger adhesive powers, is more flexible and offers excellent water-resistance. It is a versatile putty and can be applied on wood, metal, and concrete bases, both indoors and outdoors.
Cement-based Putty
Cement-based putty is the most common type of putty available on the market. It is made from white cement and has some additives and fillers as its major ingredients. Cement-based putty can be applied to almost all kinds of cemented surfaces, such as concrete, plaster, and brick walls.
Gypsum-based Putty
In this type of putty, gypsum powder is the main component in the formula. Gypsum-based putty is distinguishable from others due to its brighter whiteness, excellent water-resistance, and impressive surface polish. Most often, gypsum-based putty is used for interior applications, such as when using drywall for construction.
How Do Additives Enhance Wall Putty Properties?
Additives are crucial and significant to enhancing the specific characteristics of putty. Here are some of the most used additives and their functions –
Dispersing Agents
Dispersing agents are useful to distribute the component particles regularly within a putty mix. This helps to make the putty more homogeneous and enhance its stability which results in making the putty more effective.
Thickener Agents
Thickener compounds are useful to control the workability and viscosity of putty. These are helpful to prevent leaking or sagging of putty during and after application.
Water-resistant Agents
Water-resistant chemicals are added to putty to make it more resistant to damage caused by moisture and dampness. This prevents water seepage in walls and helps avoid internal and aesthetic damage to surfaces.
Adhesive Agents
Adhesion boosters are commonly used to enhance the adhesive powers of putty. These adhesion agents ensure that the putty sticks to the underlying surface with a strong and durable bond. With this, the surface and putty form a stronger bond and the putty is prevented from peeling or flaking.
Preservative Agents
Preservatives are highly useful to increase the overall shelf-life of putty products. This makes it easier to prevent bacteria, fungus, and mold from growing on surfaces covered with putty. Addage AKULPOL 9192 is an excellent compound manufactured by Sakshi Chem Sciences to make high quality wall putty.
What Are The Advantages Of Wall Putty?
Wall putty is the popular choice of material for surface preparation of home renovation and new building projects worldwide, thanks to its various benefits and advantages.
Here are the major benefits of putty –
Enhances Adhesion
Putty, when applied correctly, helps to enhance the adhesive properties of the underlying surface so paint and wallpaper can adhere strongly to it. It gives a slightly rough texture which strengthens the bond between paint/wallpaper and underlying substrate. Additionally, putty also reduces the risk of flaking, bubbling, or peeling in paint due to its excellent adhesion.
Smoothens Surfaces
Putty is very useful to cover up small flaws on the surface, such as blemishes, holes, gaps, cracks, fractures, and dents. This provides a smooth and even-leveled surface to apply paint, wallpaper, or tiles. Owing to this, the paint or wallpaper does not exhibit any signs of imperfections or unevenness after being applied on a surface covered with putty.
Improves Durability
Putty also successfully extends the durability of painted surfaces by providing an additional protective layer to the underlying substrate. This helps to prevent cracks and chipping, which eventually results in prolonging the overall lifespan of the painted or wallpapered surface and prevents the need for frequent renovations and repairs.
Aesthetic Appearance
Putty is also renowned for providing an aesthetically pleasing surface. It helps to create a smooth, level and aesthetically appealing surface for floors, ceilings, and walls among others. The putty allows the paint or wallpaper to stick evenly all over, thus enhancing their texture and design.
Water-resistance
Putty with enhanced water-resistance properties is highly useful for construction in locations prone to constant humidity or moisture. It prevents water and dampness from seeping into the walls, thus reducing the risk of mold formation and physical damage from moisture.
Versatile Compound
Putty is also available with varying compositions and ingredients to fulfill different requirements of construction projects. It comes as a flexible choice for various types of projects and surfaces, intended for indoor and outdoor uses.
Efficiency Enhancing
Putty gives a strong, excellent-quality finish to surfaces. This prevents the need for additional repairs or extensive touch-ups. It also shortens the overall time needed for surface preparation. Besides, using putty also helps to reduce the quantity of the material required, which in turn, saves time and money, making putty an overall efficiency-enhancer.
Easy To Apply
Putty is one of the simplest construction compounds and easier to apply too. It can be effectively spread on various surfaces, such as concrete, plaster, and wood. You can use a putty trowel or knife to apply it on any flat surface.
Once the putty dries, you can easily remove any extra putty by sanding or using a damp sponge. This also makes putty an excellent choice for use in numerous types of indoor and outdoor construction applications.
Conclusion
Wall putty is one of the most versatile and beneficial construction compounds used today. It is mostly made by mixing white cement, additives, fillers, and polymers to enhance certain properties. Putty has numerous beneficial properties, including stronger adhesion, smoother surface finish, aesthetically pleasing appearance, etc.
Care should be taken when applying putty to ensure you get the desired results. For this, it is recommended to follow the instructions provided by manufacturers, such as Sakshi Chem Sciences Pvt Ltd.