Mar 15 2007
American Clay Earth Plaster, the award-winning, all-natural finish for interior walls and ceilings, is excited to announce its new MUD GLUE™ at the annual National Green Building Conference, Booth #302, from March 25-27 in St. Louis, MO (www.nahb.org). In the works for over a year, Mud Glue™ is a zero-VOC dry powder binder that American Clay has created as a natural, cost-effective alternative to their soy-resin acrylic Add Mix or Sanded Primer that is normally added to the Dos Manos Classic and Professional application systems. Through green chemistry that provides a green chemical reaction to produce Mud Glue's™ great binding attributes, the company has formulated a product that continues their commitment to providing a healthy approach to building products, and helps customers lower the material cost of the application by at least 10 cents per square foot.
"We are so pleased to have made this giant leap forward in the application of our clay plasters," states Croft Elsaesser, CEO and co-Founder of American Clay. "We no longer have to rely on petroleum based acrylics or environmentally questionable products to have the most durable, creative wall plaster possible."
Mud Glue™ has all the qualities the company and its distributors have been hoping for to uphold American Clay Earth Plaster as the premier plaster finish:
- It helps bind American Clay's Earth Plasters to nearly everything, including high gloss latex paint, dry wall, gypsum finishes (and seams!), portland cement products, lime plaster and even some mystery finishes.
- It helps inhibits mold growth. The documented lab results from two universally-accepted tests for mold growth on the plaster, ASTM 3273-00 and ASTM G21-96, showed either no signs of mold growth or a 'zero' test score with Mud Glue™ mixed in, meaning no traces of any fungal growth were observed.
- It reduces the amount of water required for mixing, and yet, increases workability and durability over acrylic additives.
- It adds impact resistance to the application when used in the top coat, as in Dos Manos Pro.
- As a dry binder, it is cheaper to ship because it weighs 10 pounds less than our Sanded Primer which was hydrated; it also takes up less storage space.
Soft-released in December, American Clay distributors have been getting their hands dirty and providing extraordinary feedback. "I think it is great," states Jeremy Mistretta of New Age Artisans in Montana. "The fact that you don't have to prime gypsum saves time and more importantly, saves money on projects. It is just as easy as the original Dos Manos, but the overall product is twice as nice. When compressing, half the effort is needed due to the protein in the solution. It all rises to the top and compresses and actually burnishes beautifully. My clients couldn't be happier with the product."
Mud Glue™ will be the only product additive recommended in the future for the Dos Manos systems and was created to eliminate the need for applying Sanded Primer to the substrate, thereby saving time and money. (The Sanded Primer will still be available for those who wish to use.)
American Clay - recommended for restorations as well as new construction -gives additional masonry mass in rooms, absorbs sound, provides humidity buffering, and is easily repairable. There is no off-gassing or inherent waste on-site.