Prices, Colors, Finishes scroll to the bottom of this page.
Tired of painted sheetrock? Want something more interesting, natural and soothing? Try American Clay earth plaster. You'll love the unique look and the warm feel of real clay plaster on your walls. Plus, this is much more fun than painting.
Create your own styles and colors with 42 pigments, a variety of micas or texturing agents and three finishes.
American Clay Enterprises has created and manufactured award-winning, eco-friendly interior wall plaster finishes with a broad spectrum of use and colors, ideal for the home, office or showroom.
American Clay is both natural and healthy, and their formula provides a high consistency rate of color, form and function, not always prevalent in other finishes. With three formulas—Loma, Porcelina, and Marittimo, each enriched by 42 magnificent hues, with unlimited custom colors available—these all-natural earth plasters bring an ancient wall surface to the foreground of contemporary interior finishes.
As beautiful as it is versatile, they are ideal for anything from new contemporary homes to historical restorations, as well as commercial interiors such as spas and corporate offices. The plasters provide visual depth and character through numerous beautiful textures, not possible with paint. They can be used for accenting or finishing an entire room.
Focusing on the inherent qualities of clay—longevity, mold resisting (without toxic fungicides), temperature-moderating, dirt repelling, humidity controlling, sound attenuating, NO VOC’s (volatile organic compounds), flexible and repairable—the plasters are suitable for use in all climates.
Clay also naturally produces negative ions which repel dirt and grime that normally build up on walls—helpful for breathing issues; and counteracts the positive ions produced by electrical outlets and lots of electronics.
Friendly both to the environment and to good interior design, American Clay is committed to healthy solutions for beautiful, calm, and healthy environments. American Clay has won the NAHB Outstanding New Green Product award, been recognized by Architectural Record as a Best Product, and was part of INC. Magazine’s “Green 50”, among many other top national shelter, building/architecture and ‘green’ publication acknowledgements.
How and Where American Clay Earth Plaster is Made:
Manufactured in and using materials from the United States, American Clay uses natural clays, recycled and reclaimed aggregates, and vibrant natural pigments in each of our three beautiful finishes: LOMA, PORCELINA, and MARITTIMO.
With low inherent energy used during the manufacturing process and less waste in production and application, American Clay earth plaster was created out of a commitment to the environment and the future.
American Clay Earth Plaster Properties
The versatility, flexibility, ease of application and cost-effectiveness of clay plasters makes them a practical alternative to gypsum based plasters. Clay plaster has excellent properties of regulating both temperature and humidity, making it ideal for 'breathing' constructions. Clay plaster also has the major advantage that it can be reworked at any time in the future.
YOU CAN DO THIS!!! Watch the intro to our application video. 3 min. For the full 1 hour, 10 minute DVD purchase below.
Advantages Over Paint
Clay naturally controls climate by regulating arid and humid air, absorbing and releasing moisture in response to environmental changes. Warm to the touch in winter and surprisingly cool in summer, American Clay earth plaster creates a wall surface that is inviting to the senses.
Can be painted, stained or plastered over
Absorbs sound
Flexible - workable until sealed
Breathable
Non-dusting
Non-toxic
Easy to use - easy on hands.
Contribution to LEED points (5 possible or up to 7 if within 500 miles of Albuquerque)
Loma is the original formulation which has the characteristics of traditional plaster. It also provides the basecoat for our other two dramatic finishes.
Porcelina is a Venetian-like, satin-smooth finish which is highly sought after in the Venetian Plaster of Italy.
Marittimo, our newest finish, born from the Mediterranean tradition of crushed shells mixed with clays and color to create a magnificent wax-like grainy patina.
How and Where is American Clay Applied?
American Clay is suitable for interior walls and ceilings. It can be used on the following stable and dry substrates:
masonry, base earth plasters, lime basecoat plasters, plasterboards, and properly primed painted walls.
a blend of clay and fine aggregate, American Clay Earth Plaster is prepared by simply adding water. It hardens by drying and so remains workable for a long time, and can be re-worked by the addition of water at any time prior to sealing.
IMPORTANT NOTE: American Clay Earth Plasters will cover most wall surfaces. However, we do not recommend application on oriented strand board (OSB), tongue and grooved paneling, and other materials prone to expansion and contraction with changes in temperature and moisture. Our plasters are also not recommended as a finish over ceramic tile.
For additional strength and durability, American Clay Add-Mix can be added when plaster is mixed. American Clay Penetrating Sealer and Gloss Sealer are optional finish applications for areas where a sheen is desired, or in areas of water or oil use such as sinks and stoves.
Texture options: Additional natural elements may be added to your clay plaster. Choose from American Clay Texture Additives straw or mica in two textures.
Primer:American Clay Primer is non-toxic and includes a sharp sand which makes the plaster easier to apply. While you may use any primer and sand combination, the sharp sand is different from most concrete or play sands found at lumber yards. The plaster seems to stick better to the sharp sand and therefore requires less plaster overall.
NEW!! Mud Glue is a natural, Zero VOC, dry powder binder that is used in place of the American Clay Primer above when using the Dos Manos Classic and Professional systems of application. It's half the price of Add-Mix or sanded primer and reduces the overall costs of installation by $.10/square foot.
Samples: Sample kit includes 3"x 3" chip of each color.
Samples: Try Me Kit- 1/4 lbs each Loma (Tucson Gold), Porcelina (Jasper), and Marittimo (Bluefield), sponge, plastic applicator, blank sample boards.
Samples: 2 lb premixed top coat Loma, Porcelina, or Marittimo
Samples 5 lb premixed top coat Loma, Porcelina, or Marittimo (special order)
Container Size: 24 KG (50 LBS) in bags. We suggest at least one 5 gallon bucket for mixing purposes and the rest of the bags can be mixed in the same bucket one at a time.
Trowels: American Clay now offers a complete selection of Japanese stainless steel rectangular trowels for applying base coats and pointed trowels for applying finish or top coats. Also available are plastic trowels which are ideal for applying Porcelina.
Product Cost and Coverage per bag assuming two coats for most walls
The average total product cost per square foot of wall coverage (assuming two coats with Loma as a base coat) for Loma is about $1.02, Porcelina $1.02, Marittimo $1.34/SF. Below is a breakdown to help you calculate.
Product
Price
Price/SF
Coverage sq.ft
Primer
43.95
.22
250 (avg.)
Loma
69.55
.35
200 per coat
Porcelina
115.50
.33
350 per coat
Marittimo
100.42
.63
160 per coat
Low cost
Pigments
14.28
.07
.04
.09
200 per coat of Loma
350 per coat of Porcelina
160 per coat of Marittimo
Medium
cost pigments
20.17
.10
.06
.13
200 per coat of Loma
350 per coat of Porcelina
160 per coat of Marittimo
High cost
pigments
33.06
.17
.09
.21
200 per coat of Loma
350 per coat of Porcelina
160 per coat of Marittimo
Approximate Labor Cost for Traditional Installation (for projects less than 10,000 SF using the hand trowel method fall into the following ranges across the country:
LOMA: $2.80 to $5.00 per square foot
PORCELINA: $3.50 to $7.00 per square foot
MARITTIMO: $3.00 to $6.50 per square foots
NOTE: Actual labor costs will be determined by the experience of the applicator, artistic requirements of the finish, specific project specifications and geographical region.
Mica - Uses American Clay Texture Additive Mica with Small or Large Particles
Float Finish
Sponge Finish
Skip Trowel Finish
Steel Trowel Finish
Hand Painted with Tinted Sealer
Skip Trowel Porcelina over Loma
42 COLOR CHOICES:
American Clay Loma, Porcelina and Marittimo come standard in an off white color. You then add any color from five pigment groups below. These all come dry and are mixed with water. They are then added to the Loma, Porcelina or Marittimo off white base color. If you use the full container it will look like the images below. If you use less, it will be lighter. You can make your own colors too.
Please note that color will vary from one monitor to another. Color may also differ due to the variation in naturally sourced pigments. Order our sample kit for more accurate color selection.
Pigment Group 1:
Chacolatte
Moab Red
Nantucket Sand
Rio Grande Pecan
Sanibel Sunset
Socorro Clay
Wild Horse Smoke
Pigment Group 2
Acacia
Austin Blush
Baton Rouge
Cimarraon
Colorado Red
Guadalupe Dunes
Kentucky Moon
Napa Olive
Osage
Santa Fe Tan
Tucson Gold
Pigment Group 3
Powder River
Taos
Bluefield
Verde Valley
Pigment Group 4
Dakota Red
Mojave
Borrego Tan
Savannah Moss
Chimayo
Sulphur Spring
Fairfield Green
Snake River
Pigment Group 5
Havasu
Lake Tahoe
NATURAL DEPTHS ACCENT COLORS available by special order
Click on the photos to enlarge. All shown in Marittimo finish.
Amber Grain
Bryce Canyon
Chesapeake Bay
Georgia Clay
Maunaloa
Painted Desert
picture not avail.
whiter than snow
canyon
Palomino Valley
Sugarloaf White
Please note that color will vary from one monitor to another. Color may also differ due to the variation in naturally sourced pigments. Order our sample kit for more accurate color selection.
To order, check the "Add" box next to the item or items, change the quantity if applicable, and then press the Add to Cart button.