Cleaning
The panels need no maintenance. When they do need cleaning, the method depends on the kind of dirt — and there is one thing worth knowing before you start.
Water and pH-neutral soap
This is the most effective. Use the same kind of soap you use on dishes, with a brush and work in circles.
Damp cloth
For dust and surface marks, especially on smoother panels, a damp cloth is enough.
Kitchen and barbecue grease
It is not only kitchen walls. The areas around a barbecue and rooms where people regularly eat build up oily grease.
Talcum powder
Apply a generous amount of talcum powder over the dirty area and leave it to work for a few days. The talc absorbs the grease. When you remove it, if any dirt is left, repeat the process.
It is a slow method, but it takes no effort and no product. For an immediate result, use the general method — water and pH-neutral soap with a brush.
Paints and dyes
These are the hardest dirt to remove, and the answer is not to dissolve them.
With paint or dye, the answer is to paint back over it with the panel's original colours. We supply the touch-up paints for each model — the same ones used to finish the joints during installation.
If the panel has a wood design, allow the full 24 hours of drying before applying the varnish.
Large surfaces
Façades, commercial spaces, outside walls — where applying talc or working with a brush would take too long.
Pressure washer
Use a pressure washer. The stains come off quickly and the panel's tones do not wear, for the same reason as before: the colour is printed inside the material.
This is why the panels work outdoors — they resist water, damp, UVA rays and thermal shock.
Installation
Light materials, easy to fix, that adapt to any surface — wall, ceiling or structure. All you need is a few tools.
- MeasureMeasure the area where the panels are going and transfer those measurements onto the panels, marking them in pencil.
- CutCut the panels with a circular saw and a diamond blade, or with a jigsaw. Keep the offcuts — they come in useful to fill out other areas.
- FixFix with flat-head screws so they sit flush with the panel. Allow 15 to 20 screws per panel. See the fixing table by wall type below.
- Respect the jointsTake account of the joints in the panel's design. If the design has no joints, leave about two millimetres between panels.
- Prepare the MasticMix the Mastic evenly with the catalyst: 20 ml of catalyst per kilo of Mastic. It sets in 15 minutes, so only prepare what you are about to use.
- Fill joints and screwsWith a spatula, work the mix into the joints and over the screws.
- Rebuild the patternWhile the Mastic is still fresh, rebuild the panel's pattern — the missing stones, bricks or wood. A masonry stone panel takes considerably more filler than a smooth panel, which only needs the joints finished.
- Texture itWith a brush dipped in acetone, texture the rebuilt areas. This is the step that gives the realistic finish. Leave it to dry for 24 hours.
- Touch up the colourApply the touch-up paints with a brush or a spray gun, in light passes and without overloading. Do not dip the brush into the paint, and with a gun do not spray too close. You can mix colours for a wider range of tones. On wood designs, wait 24 hours before varnishing.
Fixing by wall type
The right screw depends on what you are fixing into. This is the table from the instruction book.
| Wall type | Fixing |
|---|---|
| Cement and stone | Screw and plug |
| Brick and plasterboard | Flanged rivet |
| Plasterboard | Plasterboard screw, fixed into the frame that carries the boards |
| Wood and chipboard | Wood screw |
| Metal frames | Self-drilling screw |
The panels can also be fixed onto wooden battens.
Installation and fixing table: Polibérica instruction book. Cleaning methods: recommendations from the manufacturer, MSD Panels. If you are unsure about a particular stain, contact us before experimenting — info@poliberica.pt.