Anyone have experience with Surface Bonding Cement ??

[Matt916]

I heard about this stuff on this forum, and was under the impression it was stronger and potentially more waterproof than a traditional stucco, so i went to LOWES to buy a few bags of it. But before I get started applying it, I was hoping someone can answer a few questions I have, as the person in the masonry section wasn't all that helpful.

1st.
How many bags approximately would be anough to cover a 42 inch dome with 1 coat? Th SBC comes in 50lb bags. I thought i would need a lot initially, but i was reading a post (I can't find it again otherwise i wold have replied to it) and someone said that he used about 43 lbs per coat...unless I'm mis-reading him, this sounds like 3 or four bags would be enough for the entire enclosure.

2nd.
do I have to apply the acrylic fortifier. I know it is recommended, but i am trying to keep my expnses down The instructions said to replace half a gallon of water per bag with the fortifier. If I have to then i'll go for it, but the stuff is pretty expensive...like 15 dollars per bag of SBC. depending on how many bags i need to use, that can add up to a lot

3rd.
I was hoping to finish with a color coat. The LOWES guy told me that powdered or liquid stucco colors wouldn't mix well with the acrylic fortifier and SBC, so I was wondering if applying an Acrylic paint would be an acceptable and practical way to finish the oven

also, any other advice or tips would be greatly appreciated as i am going into this blind. I've never "stuccoed" anything before, but the videos and material i have read so far make it seem like it has a steep learning curve.

[fxpose]

I'm currently using white SBC with acrylic fortifier to seal my oven. I applied a coat about a month ago and plan on applying another coat whenever I get the chance. I used one 50 lb bag to cover the entire dome and chimney stack of my 34" oven.
I plan on leaving the oven in this white finish for the time being. Eventually I'd like to give it an antique look by applying very light external coloring directly over the white SBC. (Actually, the white does not look too bad as is)
Never having used SBC before, the stuff almost applies like stucco and you should get the hang of it quickly.

You don't necessarily have to use acrylic fortifier but using it will make it water resistant and help seal the oven from moisture.

[Matt916]

wow, it's hard to believe one bag could be stretched that far! Thanks for the reply. Is there a specific amount of time that has to pass before applying the second coat...to let it cure, etc? And how many coats are you going to do?

[GianniFocaccia]

FWIW - the Quikrete site on SBC reads: A 50 pound bag will cover approximately 50
square feet at a 1/8" thickness.

[fxpose]

Originally Posted by Matt916

wow, it's hard to believe one bag could be stretched that far! Thanks for the reply. Is there a specific amount of time that has to pass before applying the second coat...to let it cure, etc? And how many coats are you going to do?

Instead of using a trowel I used my hand to apply the SBC as I found it easier to cover the non-flat and irregular shaped surfaces.
I don't know exactly how much time should pass before applying a second coat but I would wait close to a week.
My second coat of SBC will be the final coat. I don't know if it makes any difference but I applied a scratch coat plus a couple of regular coats of stucco before applying SBC.

[Dino_Pizza]

Matt, Regarding your question #3:

I was worried about all the "instructions" that said you need appropriate color mix but since I only was using it to color my ovens stand storage and rear area, I wasn't as concerned. So I bought the Home Depot/Lowes "LaHabra Stucco" coloring powder. It comes out in just softer browns and tans but I mixed the dark gray with a dark brown and got great results for what I wanted. I did use acrylic fortifier too. Look at my wfo site posts 533 and about 540, you can see pics of the tannish colors I got.

[Tscarborough]

The second coat can and should go on as soon as you can, i.e. the prior coat is hard.

[fxpose]

Originally Posted by Tscarborough

The second coat can and should go on as soon as you can, i.e. the prior coat is hard.

I wondered about that as I don't want any grime or film to build on the first coat if I waited too long. I better start work on the second coat asap.

[Matt916]

yeah, i really like the color you have. im going for something similar. im going to stucco the whole thing and then tile around the archway. I have a lot of surface area on my oven enclosure, so it may take me a couple bags to cover it, but i feel better knowing that one bag will go that far. I didnt actually start a thread with all my photos, but i like putting up random photos from time to time. im actuyally turning my oven into a planter, as you can sort of see from the photos. its going to be 3 levels.

[JRWQuattro]

I used it recently. I used 1 quart of acrylic additive per bag. I also found a company (blueconcrete.com) that matches Benjiman Moore paint colors with cement pigments. We matched an accent color above our inside fireplace on the dome of the WFO. Needless to say, we wanted a little bit of color.
The fibers tend to show in the surface, but they are there for strength so it is a comprimise.
Now I just need to stop cooking and finish the landing, surface the surround and finish the deck project....