The first thing you need is the rubble itself. Fractions can be very different, but, according to landscape designers, the best decorative effect is achieved when using medium fractions of an average size from 10 millimeters. You can choose, you can buy crushed stone of two or three fractions to experiment.
The second is paint. The following requirements are imposed on it:
- UV resistant. The paint should not fade in the sun.
- Water resistance. You need to be sure that the first rain does not wash the paint off your decorative rubble.
Acrylic paints are suitable, and the most reliable option would be to use a special stone paint. For example, the brands Titan, Kolorit, Decoril, Dufa, Sherwin-Williams. Such paints for stone cost about 2-3 thousand rubles for a 10-liter container..
Now you need to prepare the rubble. It should first be passed through a screen to remove debris and sort. Then the stones are washed with water from a hose and dried by simply spreading them in a thin layer on a specially lined film or tarpaulin. If you do not prepare crushed stone, then unwashed stones in the future can change color to a darker one. And dust on them will lead to paint overruns..
Important! Before staining, crushed stone must be warmed up. For example, under the hot rays of the sun. Or a gas burner.
To thoroughly and qualitatively mix crushed stone with paint at home, a concrete mixer is used. The portal wrote in detail about the rules for working with it. It is important not to overload construction equipment! First, pour the crushed stone with a bucket or a shovel – 2/3 of the volume of the concrete mixer, then pour the paint on top. Acrylic paint and varnish is added in volume, according to the proportions indicated in the instructions. Or simply in a ratio of 20/80 or 30/70 to the volume of crushed stone.
That’s it, the concrete mixer is turned on for 40 minutes or an hour, so that all the crushed stone is well saturated with paint.
Important! The process will be completed after all the edges of each pebble are covered with paint until a resistant and durable film is formed. There should be no unpainted surfaces and faces.
If the proportions have been met, then you will get practically dry stones out of the concrete mixer. But still, they need to be dried completely, leaving them in the open air and sprinkling them in a thin layer. The process will take several hours, no more than one day. Then the painted rubble can be used for landscaping. So you can paint not only crushed stone, but also pebbles.
To make it clearer for you how to get decorative, painted crushed stone, we give a video instruction:
I’m curious to know, what techniques or tips can be applied when painting rubble for landscaping purposes?