Decorative Finishes

Italian decorative finishes from a UK supplier

Licata supplies a full range of Italian decorative plasters and paints across the UK, covering lime stucco, marmorino, polished marble effects, natural stone effects, metallic finishes and velvet effect decorative paint. These are hand applied finishes worked on site by a skilled applicator, which is what separates them from a conventional coating rolled onto a wall.

Because the finish is created during application rather than supplied ready formed, the same product delivers very different results depending on the tool, the technique and the number of passes. That flexibility is the point: one product can produce a mirror polished marble surface, a soft matt plaster or a heavily textured stone effect.

Choosing between plaster, stucco and decorative paint

The three families answer different requirements. Lime based plasters and stuccoes, including Marmorino Naturale, Raffaello Decorstucco, Stucco Romano and Travertino Romano, are mineral products built on lime putty and marble or stone aggregate. They carry real thickness, cover minor substrate imperfections, and stay highly vapour permeable, so moisture moves through the wall rather than being trapped behind the finish. This matters in older buildings and in humid rooms, where a sealed coating causes problems that a breathable one avoids.

Decorative paints, including Encanto, Imperium, Ottocento and Aureum, are thin film products that work through light rather than through relief. Metallic particles, pearlescent pigments or fabric effect texturing change how the surface reflects, so the wall reads differently depending on where the light falls and where the viewer stands. They apply quickly, suit almost any prepared substrate, and are the practical choice where the build up of a lime plaster is not wanted.

Colours and surface finishes

Most ranges separate two decisions that are easy to confuse. The surface finish is the texture or effect produced by the application technique, and each range offers a set of named finishes. The colour is chosen independently from the range palette, which runs from nine shades on Travertino Romano to nearly two hundred on Stucco Romano.

Screen reproduction is unreliable for all of these products, and more so for metallic and polished finishes where the appearance depends on reflected light. Colour charts are available for the larger ranges, and we recommend a sample panel applied on site by the intended applicator before a scheme is signed off.

Substrate preparation and application

Decorative finishes expose the substrate beneath them. A polished stucco in particular reads every undulation in the wall, so the preparation standard has to match the finish standard, and the primer has to suit both the substrate and the product going over it. We confirm the preparation and priming specification alongside the finish rather than treating them separately.

These are applicator dependent products. The difference between an average and an excellent result is the skill of the person holding the trowel, and we would rather discuss the finish with the applicator before the order than resolve a disappointment afterwards.

Technical support and supply

Our technical team advises on product selection, substrate preparation, priming and application for decorative finishes across interior and exterior projects. Products are available through six branches in Twickenham, Southgate, Dartford, Wickford, Birmingham and Manchester, with delivery nationwide.