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I have a painted, brick fireplace that I want to finish to look like flat concrete. What should I use?

I've seen this process on a DIY show and they mentioned using a 'conrete plaster'. They applied this with a trowel & smoothed out the finish. It looked like stucco or Venetian Plaster when they were finished...very nice! But I don't know what this material is and can't find any info in the archives. And I haven't been able to find anyone who is familiar with this product or process. I think I can just use a mortar based product, but I would really like some advice from someone who has some experience with this type of project, as mistakes will be nearly impossible to correct!! PLEASE HELP!!!!

Public Comments

  1. you could use.................uh, whats it called(?)............like a putty substance.
  2. There are different brands of mortar you can use, to "skim coat", (what you are basically going to do with the mortar), and achieve your results. Make sure, that you wet down the surface, after taking as much paint off..(use stripper, or even a wire wheel on a drill to remove all paint or the mortar WILL NOT stick), and then apply the mortar with a "drywall knife" and trowel it on and smooth it to a flat finish... after a few days of curing, then you can prime and paint as desired. Contact your local lumber yard, or hardware store or brick yard that sells mortar and they will be able to steer you to the right stuff... I wish you well.. Jesse
  3. You may want to talk to someone about Dryvit, it will go over that paint - I believe , what it is, is synthetic plaster, made of Vinyl, ther use it all over for that plaster stucco look on Commercial building,s real handy , as its applied over Stryrofoam, with little weight to add.