Microcement for Painters

You already own the hard part. Prep, masking, working a wet edge, knowing when a wall is ready — that is most of this job, and you have been doing it for years. What changes is the tool in your hand and what you can charge for the day.

What actually transfers

Nearly everything you do before the finish goes on. Microcement is less forgiving than paint about what is underneath, not more, so a painter's instinct for substrate is worth more here than it is on a repaint.

• Prep. Filling, sanding, degreasing, making a wall flat. Same work, higher stakes.
• Masking and cutting in. Microcement has no grout line to hide a wobble, so your edges carry the whole job.
• Primer discipline. You already know that the wrong primer on the wrong substrate is how a job fails eighteen months later.
• Reading a room. Light, sheen, where the eye lands. That is a finisher's eye and it matters more on a seamless surface than on a painted one.

What is new

Three things, honestly.

It is trowelled, not rolled. Thin coats, pulled flat, built up. If you have ever skim-coated a wall you are most of the way there. If you have not, walls are the place to learn — they are vertical, they are forgiving, and nobody walks on them.

The coats are timed. Paint waits for you. Microcement does not. Coats go on close together, so you plan the room before you open a pail rather than deciding as you go.

The sealer is the job, not the afterthought. On a painted wall the topcoat is decoration. Here it is what makes the surface washable and stain-resistant. Skipping or rushing it is the single most common way a good application ends up looking bad.

Which system a painter needs

If you are staying on interior walls, Core is what you want. The moment a client points at a bathroom, you are in Reinforced territory and the price and the prep both change.

Why it is worth adding

Because the finish is not substitutable. A client who wants a painted wall has forty people to call. A client who wants a seamless troweled concrete wall in their entryway has almost nobody, and the few who do it are usually booked.

Materials run about $7 a square foot for Core and about $14 for Reinforced. Those are material costs, not what you bill. The gap between the two is where the money is, and it is a much wider gap than it is on paint.

What you need on the truck

Beyond what is already in your van: a stainless trowel, a mixing paddle and a drill that can turn it, sandpaper, and a roller for the sealer. A couple of hundred dollars once.

You do not need a certification to buy this

Most microcement in the United States is sold only to certified applicators. You take the training, you get the trade account, then you can order. Our sister company Microcement USA runs exactly that way, and if you want hands-on training with an instructor, that is the door.

Microvella is the other option. Same category of product, sold direct, no trade card and no proof you work in the industry. You pick your system and you order it.

Common questions

See the full product list and what each coat does.