# American Clay



## SlimPickins

I am doing my first American Clay job today. It's only about 300 sq. ft. and being done hourly, but I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the product. There's some good money to be made in it, when you can charge $5/ft(materials are approx $1/ft) and it comes with a target market attached.

Anyone else worked with clay before, and have any advice or discouragements to offer?


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## DSJOHN

Ive heard the same thing about the pricing--an acquaintance told me his Dad does it on the Cape,, would like to see it,if its anything like Venetian Plaster [ for applying ] that could be why the pricing is high?


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## SlimPickins

Materials run just over a buck a foot, maybe a buck and a half max. I covered 300 ft. in 5 hours, which includes picking up the material, mixing, and a little bit of blue tape in the angles. I took my time, but was still moving at a pretty good rate. There's another coat that has to go on, which will go a little faster, and then when it dries it has to be compressed with a damp sponge (maybe a couple of hours at the outside). I think even at $3/ft I could make really good money, and at $4/ft I would make a killing. Something on the order of $60/hr. Best of all, the stuff looks fantastic and offers unlimited creative potential. I think it's time to develop a marketing plan!


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## 2buckcanuck

could you plz explain American clay ,some thing lost in translation,is it stucco,interior work or exterior,not a term I'm familiar with here in Canuck land,,,,do you have a link or some thing,have not even heard term Canadian clay so.....
what is it


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## proficient Mudder

2buckcanuck said:


> could you plz explain American clay ,some thing lost in translation,is it stucco,interior work or exterior,not a term I'm familiar with here in Canuck land,,,,do you have a link or some thing,have not even heard term Canadian clay so.....
> what is it


I am confused and I live here :blink:.


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## SlimPickins

2buckcanuck said:


> could you plz explain American clay ,some thing lost in translation,is it stucco,interior work or exterior,not a term I'm familiar with here in Canuck land,,,,do you have a link or some thing,have not even heard term Canadian clay so.....
> what is it


American clay is an interior finish product, like stucco. It has aggregate in it, and is a completely natural product. You can put it on over Level 2 drywall, or virtually any substrate for that matter (if it has been primed properly). The great thing about clay is that you add pigment to it...so no painting required. (sheesh....maybe they should be paying me for PR work!)

Check them out at http://www.americanclay.com/. 

I think what I like most about the product is that it's totally "green", but not in a pretentious overdone kind of way. There's no set time on it, just add water as often as needed...and it's a BREEZE to clean up. I really hope that I do more work with this stuff.....coating walls just became fun again.


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## 3rdgen

SlimPickins said:


> American clay is an interior finish product, like stucco. It has aggregate in it, and is a completely natural product. You can put it on over Level 2 drywall, or virtually any substrate for that matter (if it has been primed properly). The great thing about clay is that you add pigment to it...so no painting required. (sheesh....maybe they should be paying me for PR work!)
> 
> Check them out at http://www.americanclay.com/.
> 
> I think what I like most about the product is that it's totally "green", but not in a pretentious overdone kind of way. There's no set time on it, just add water as often as needed...and it's a BREEZE to clean up. I really hope that I do more work with this stuff.....coating walls just became fun again.


just did my first job with this stuff turned out pretty cool the customer went with to a base coat of enjarre colored which we applied with my spray rig the house is about four thousand sq ft we put about 15000 sq ft of clay on what a job after the base coat we used enjarre also colored to put a hand troweld skip trowel on all in all i like the product would like to use more of it


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## SlimPickins

3rdgen said:


> just did my first job with this stuff turned out pretty cool the customer went with to a base coat of enjarre colored which we applied with my spray rig the house is about four thousand sq ft we put about 15000 sq ft of clay on what a job after the base coat we used enjarre also colored to put a hand troweld skip trowel on all in all i like the product would like to use more of it


Dude....that's a lotta clay, and a lot of $$$. Congratulations! Is the enjarre running cheaper than a buck a foot for materials?


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## 3rdgen

SlimPickins said:


> Dude....that's a lotta clay, and a lot of $$$. Congratulations! Is the enjarre running cheaper than a buck a foot for materials?


u know the gc bought all the material for this project i still havnt broke it all down that way yet we did figure out that it wasnt to much more to do this system if u add up a full paint bid and my full finish to light orange peel together. Yes it was a ton of clay man couldnt believe they went for it was pretty tricky to get my spray rig to pump that stuff there is alot of sand in the enjarre


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## SlimPickins

yeah, my calculations put the loma quite a bit higher than regular drywall finish/paint, but you have to hand apply it. It appears that the enjarre is the way to go for the bigger applications. For hand work, I love the sand....it's like a built in depth gauge! Did you have any problems getting it to the right depth on the walls? I've heard that's the tricky part with that particular application.


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## 3rdgen

SlimPickins said:


> yeah, my calculations put the loma quite a bit higher than regular drywall finish/paint, but you have to hand apply it. It appears that the enjarre is the way to go for the bigger applications. For hand work, I love the sand....it's like a built in depth gauge! Did you have any problems getting it to the right depth on the walls? I've heard that's the tricky part with that particular application.


well there was a little trial and error im not gunna lie but once i got it down three of us put the base coat on in 10 hours as you gotta put alot more on the wall than you would think and as soon as it hits the wall the moister is gone you gotta get with it and stay with it you are absolutly right the sand is a built in depth gauge as far as the skip trowel two of us did that in 12 hours it goes really quick we did go back after it dried with wet sponges and knock it down a little bit just to take the edge of


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## silverstilts

I had received some samples a few weeks ago and really liked what they had to offer. The possibilities could be endless as to what you could do with them, my only concern was it was somewhat soft, you could scratch it with your fingernail. Is there anything to toughen up the finished surface once applied or will it become harder with age after curring? It definitely would add that warm feeling to any room.


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## SlimPickins

silverstilts said:


> I had received some samples a few weeks ago and really liked what they had to offer. The possibilities could be endless as to what you could do with them, my only concern was it was somewhat soft, you could scratch it with your fingernail. Is there anything to toughen up the finished surface once applied or will it become harder with age after curring? It definitely would add that warm feeling to any room.


You can seal the surface. They have a lime wash that does it (which can have color in it), and there are clear sealers as well...the clear brings the clay almost back to the wet look (which can be nice if you want to maintain the rich color). The great thing about little scratches is that you only need to rub them a little bit with a sponge, it won't remove the gouge, but it will get rid of the chalky marking.


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## 3rdgen

SlimPickins said:


> You can seal the surface. They have a lime wash that does it (which can have color in it), and there are clear sealers as well...the clear brings the clay almost back to the wet look (which can be nice if you want to maintain the rich color). The great thing about little scratches is that you only need to rub them a little bit with a sponge, it won't remove the gouge, but it will get rid of the chalky marking.


exactly this house i did was in the tour of homes so did some patching and touch up the morning of the tour and the touch up was perfect couldnt find them unless you knew where they were we were also very pleased with how well it held up during the rest of the construction just make sure the tile guys dont wet spounge there grout without a liittle masking


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## M T Buckets Painting

Wow, this american clay has me interested. I watched the youtube video on it. It looked fairly simple to apply. Is there something that they don't show in the video that I need to know?

I have seen a few videos on a few other faux finishes that I am familiar with and they do it totally different than the way that I do. I have even seen steps skipped on the diy shows.


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## SlimPickins

M T Buckets Painting said:


> Wow, this american clay has me interested. I watched the youtube video on it. It looked fairly simple to apply. Is there something that they don't show in the video that I need to know?
> 
> I have seen a few videos on a few other faux finishes that I am familiar with and they do it totally different than the way that I do. I have even seen steps skipped on the diy shows.


It's pretty straight forward stuff really, prime walls, smear it on, compress it, get paid. I love working with the stuff. LOVE it.


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## betterdrywall

Slim: Did you take a workshop class on application? Looks like they have a 2 day class coming up in April,, Austin , Texas.. Just wondering if it would be worth it to get started.


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## SlimPickins

betterdrywall said:


> Slim: Did you take a workshop class on application? Looks like they have a 2 day class coming up in April,, Austin , Texas.. Just wondering if it would be worth it to get started.


No, I just read up on it....a lot. The first job was for one of the contractors I work with, and he was willing to let me play with it at an hourly rate (it would have cost him near double to pay the experienced applicator and I made good money). I think the workshop would be a good idea if you're serious about it, there just aren't any ever happening remotely close to here. I've considered heading down to where they are at and really getting dialed in and certified.


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## SlimPickins

I landed another clay job yesterday, and I'm pretty jacked about it. This one is only about 700 feet, but it's 3 different colors (white lid, accent wall, and three adjoining walls...basically a little box with a clip in it). The difference between this and the last is that I'm doing the whole show, from post-hang. Kill texture and level humps on two walls, and the rest is fresh material. I'm giving the folks a deal just so I can get my feet wet a little more (and they're super nice folks who'll really appreciate the finish)....in a way I'm paying for the experience while still making my standard wage:thumbsup: I think I'm going to try and take some photos, but their schedule is tight because they have family coming and didn't exactly plan on having that tree crush their roof:blink:

Since I'm starting from scratch, I've already learned some valuable lessons to avoid making catastrophic mistakes (like full de-lamination).....

Another plus is that I know I have something to jump right into when I get back from vacation (first one in 5 years:thumbup


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## SlimPickins

Drywall is taped and topped, primed (sealer coat), sand-primed, and 1st coated. 

Tape/top was one day (also killed nasty texture on two walls as well as leveled out two floor to ceiling major humps). Prime/sand-prime was day two, and three colors of clay (first coat) were applied on day three. 

Monday might be a final coat on all, or hit the lid and mask it next day for super crisp lines at transitions. I took a photo, but it's with a cell-phone so it sucks. I hope to bring my camera on Monday when it's fully dry, and then again when it's wet, and one more time when the job is totally finished. The blotchiness in the lid is from the clay starting to dry.


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## JCardoza

We've done a few American Clay jobs. I ended up spending more on samples and training than I ever sold tho. I really like the product, just don't have the market for it here in Missouri. Venetian plaster seems to be selling pretty well though. I think Venetian plaster has more attention from the media giving it a boost despite the high price.


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## SlimPickins

American Clay has now started distributing a bunch of European finishes now. Everything from Marmorino to natural cement. They're now a one-stop shop for specialty finishes with an environmental twist.

However, I can't find the link now, or where I got it  and their website doesn't reflect this new development. Good job on the marketing fellas :laughing:


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## JustMe

SlimPickins said:


> American Clay has now started distributing a bunch of European finishes now. Everything from Marmorino to natural cement. They're now a one-stop shop for specialty finishes with an environmental twist.
> 
> However, I can't find the link now, or where I got it  and their website doesn't reflect this new development. Good job on the marketing fellas :laughing:


The link to their old site you once posted still comes up for me: http://americanclay.com/landingpage/

Their new site they link to from that page: http://americanclay.wix.com/new/home

If you're still having problems, it says the new site is recommended for high speed connection.


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## SlimPickins

JustMe said:


> The link to their old site you once posted still comes up for me: http://americanclay.com/landingpage/
> 
> Their new site they link to from that page: http://americanclay.wix.com/new/home
> 
> If you're still having problems, it says the new site is recommended for high speed connection.


I'm able to get to their site just fine, but can't get back to the link I followed in the last couple of days that shows their new offerings. They've got some crazy cool stuff they're slinging now, Turkish bath finishes, plaster, lime, etc. I want to say I found it on Facebook, but that place is a snakes nest if you try to find anything that you've seen before :blink:


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## Philma Crevices

Do you save your browser history Slim? If you find the link again, do share


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## SlimPickins

Philma Crevices said:


> Do you save your browser history Slim? If you find the link again, do share


Unfortunately, no, it erases itself daily.

But, I went to their facebook, and found the link....

http://www.primaterraplasters.com/#!stuc-pierre/c1c7

The Moroccan Tadelakt is bad-ass.....I'd love to specialize in that sort of stuff.


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