Plaster Interior Walls

[Appa.thomas2002]

Hello Skoolie Community! We want to give a plaster wall look to the interior of our bus, something like this:

I know that plaster by itself is too brittle, but in the theater art world, we just add Elmer's glue and/or silicone caulking and it allows for more elasticity. However, I don't know how that would hold up in a couple years.

I have seen one van build that had plaster walls, but A), it was a van, and , it was by a company that sold pre-build conversions, so they didn't have any info on what they used.

From what I can tell, my best bet is a "plaster paint," but I have never worked with this, so again, I'm not sure what to expect.


Has anyone tried to do this?
Does anyone with more experience in plaster/paint have any thoughts?

Thank ya'll and it is great to be a part of this community!

 

[Rucker]

Interesting idea. I've done a fair share of this kind of work from real plaster (you do not want that) to skim coat.

How about just a painted surface? I'd recommend google searching 'poor man's fiberglass' and seeing if there are specific surfaces within the bus you can treat.

Alternatively why not paint and do a decorative finish, faux-plaster style?

 

[Appa.thomas2002]

I had never heard of PMF before, but it is such a good thing to know, so thank you.

The biggest challenge with doing a thinner faux treatment is how to get corners and edges to be more organically curved. I could try to achieve that with PMF, but I feel like there has to be a better material...even carved foam or something. But that also is adding another step to the process.

Has anyone tried facing their closet/bathroom walls with something more flexible, like bendy plywood?

 

[musigenesis]

Has anyone tried facing their closet/bathroom walls with something more flexible, like bendy plywood?

I did my whole bus with 5mm (3/16") underlayment plywood. Some varieties are not bendy enough to handle the curvature of a bus ceiling, but some are. I figured out which kind works by breaking the kind that doesn't.

 

[Appa.thomas2002]

Well, we are still a little ways away from this step (currently skinning after our roof raise), but I will post here what I end up doing for anyone else who is interested in this type of finish.

Right now, I'm thinking I will have to incorporate a variety of methods for different parts of the bus, so if anyone has any more ideas, I'm happy to hear them!

 

[Iceni John]

Plaster may be OK in a house, but I think you may have problems with it in a moving vehicle. Your criteria for choosing how the interior is made should consider A) resistance to vibration and movement, low weight, C) inability to absorb moisture, and D) ability to absorb sound. Emulating a sticks-and-bricks house is not always the best way to build a motorhome, boat or aircraft interior: the latter two have been my inspiration much more than traditional RV construction.

Good luck, John