People are becoming more and more concerned about indoor air quality. Homes plagued with VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) or mold can negatively impact the health of the occupants. According to Green By Design, “an estimated 15% of the U.S. population — millions of people — are chronically ill from their homes, and indoor air quality is a major factor.”

If you are using Venetian plaster, you might want to check out some info on indoor air quality around the web:

• The EPA’s guide to indoor air quality

• Wikipedia on indoor air quality

• Treehugger on causes and testing of poor indoor air quality

• Build It Green explains that “A common source of indoor air pollution is the offgassing of chemicals found in many building materials…”

• There’s even an Indoor Air Quality Association…

Have you noticed a difference between working with non-toxic Venetian plasters versus acrylic finishes? Tell us about it in the comments……

Don’t forget the following:

First, make sure after taping and before applying your Venetian plaster that you burnish your tape edges with a plastic putty knife or some other plastic tool. We actually like to cut up old credit cards and keep them in our tool kits.

After taping and burnishing if you are still concerned about your material bleeding through, use a water-based clear sealer and run it lightly over the edge of the tape using the beveled edge of a foam brush. This should seal that edge and stop any material from ruining that nice clean edge on your decorative painting project.

If you are having difficulty removing your tape, try using a hair dryer to lightly heat up the glue and make removal easier.

When applying Venetian plaster or other stucco or Italian plaster products, bleed should not be an issue. However, you may find when trying to remove your tape after applying Marmorino Carrara or similar Venetian plaster finishes that it can’t be removed cleanly due to the thickness of the plaster material. Try running the edge of your plastic putty knife into the seam where the tape edge is. This should help break the bond between the plaster material and the tape so that removal will be easier.

REMEMBER! 3-M blue tape and other similar painter’s tapes are not low-tack tapes. They are a long mask, medium tack tape. Use a lower tack tape to protect delicate surfaces.…