Stucco Finish

[BernWozny]

Hello all - I've been enjoying my Forno Bravo oven for a few years now. Not just pizza but bread stews roasts and more! I did the under-laying stucco when I built it, but I have not done the finish layer of stucco. This is the time of year to do that work, not too how, not too wet. I'm also super keen to get the oven fired up again. So my question is: once I do the 1/8 inch layer of finish stucco, how long should I leave it to set before firing up my oven?

[Pizzarotic]

If you oven is well insulated, it should be good to go the next day.

[david s]

Anything that contains portland cement will have its strength enhanced if kept moist for at least a week. Blokes rendering houses never do this because it's not practical, but it is recommended that the work never be done on windy days exposed to the sun. Again, they rarely do because it's not practical. However you can easily retain the moisture in the outer render on your dome by covering it. I find the best way is to wrap the whole oven in cling film and leave it for a week. You can see little beads of water under the plastic which indicates the presence of water. The usual method to prepare the substrate is to dampen the surface with water prior to application. This reduces the tendency for it to suck the moisture from the applied wet layer. The surface should not be wet though, only moist.

An alternative to a cement rendered stucco is to use a 100% acrylic product which produces a waterproof layer, look for a 100% acrylic wet and ready to go in a bucket, not the dry stuff in a bag, it's cement based although often marked as PM (poly modified) cement render, which also really requires damp curing.