“The wabi-sabi wind is red and the micro-cement is popular.”
In recent years, with the popularity of "abject poverty style" and "wabi-sabi style", microcement, a high-end product launched by the foreign coating industry, has gradually attracted attention in the industry.
Some netizens couldn't help but wonder: "What is microcement? Is it cement? What are microcement tiles? Is it a tile or a paint?"
Popular in Europe and America since 2012
Excellent material to express "Wabi-sabi style"
In 2016, Wang Hai (pseudonym) invested in a door factory, which mainly produces high-end door products, such as art paint doors, slate doors, etc. In addition to aluminum profiles, all hardware, surface materials, screws, etc. are Mainly imported.
Because of this opportunity, he learned about a new type of high-end imported coating - microcement.
At that time, microcement, as a type of high-end artistic coating, had become popular abroad. As early as around 2012, a paint company in Spain had already launched microcement. Since then, many paint companies in Italy and Canada have also begun to get involved in the field of microcement.
How popular is microcement in the coatings industry? Relevant reports show that at the 2019 European Coatings Show in Germany, more than half of the exhibitors exhibited microcement coating products.
Based on its good physical properties and decorative properties such as resistance to falling off and cracking, microcement is already relatively common and mature in foreign markets.
Until around 2017, microcement began to be gradually introduced into the country as a high-end artistic coating.
In the opinion of many interviewees, the popularity of microcement is directly related to the popularity of wabi-sabi style and abject style in the design world in recent years. Even in Wang Hai's view, microcement is an excellent material to express the wabi-sabi style.
"Wabi-sabi" originally originated from Taoism in the Song Dynasty of China, and was later introduced to Zen Buddhism. In the Southern Song Dynasty, monk Eisai brought Zen Buddhism from China to Japan, which profoundly affected Japanese culture. Therefore, the philosophical view of wabi-sabi aesthetics was influenced by Inspired by Taoism and Zen Buddhism, the state of mind comes from the desolate and minimalist atmosphere in the poetry and ink paintings of the Tang and Song Dynasties.
In the design world, "Wabi-sabi" refers to theUnder the appearance of old objects, there is a kind of beauty full of age. Even if the appearance is mottled or even faded, it still cannot hide its original simple and natural beauty. Especially in the past two years, with the "absolute poverty style" and " Home furnishing styles represented by "Wabi-sabi style" are also gradually conquering "Buddhist" young people.
"Micro cement also reflects the texture, texture and shape of the material itself, and even 'defects', which are essentially different from the texture of ordinary cement." Wang Hai said that the reason why micro cement has a certain market The prospect is that in comparison, the texture of traditional coatings is more chemical-based, while microcement has milder properties, has the toughness of coatings, and the natural texture of cement.
The biggest pain point: "expensive"!
The best "replacement" - microcement tiles are here
As we all know, there are not many manufacturers of microcement and it has not yet reached scale. At the same time, the construction process is complicated. It needs to go through 12 processes such as base laying, reinforcement, meshing, scraping, polishing, and protective paint. The construction period is long. , and the construction technology requirements of the master are relatively high, so the price is expensive.
It is understood that the current price of microcement on the market is relatively high, with the price per square meter exceeding 1,000 yuan, while the cheaper ones cost 600-700 yuan/square meter.
Relevant industry insiders said, "Microcement is expensive, and 40-50% of the cost comes from labor costs. The construction masters must not only be skilled in skills, but also have a certain understanding of 'beauty'. Through the texture of Presenting and expressing the decorative effect of microcement is where the value lies. ”
"Scraper, the effect is not good, scrap it and start again..." This scene often happens in Wang Hai's door factory.
“When we first started making microcement doors, we scrapped a lot of finished products. We couldn’t stand the paint we bought and the products we made. Later, we hired a master from an imported microcement paint brand to help us. , the feeling was different, so we sent our own masters out to study, and things improved later, but the quality was still lacking."
YesWang Hai also has deep feelings about the pain points of microcement application. "A thousand masters can produce a thousand effects." Every time a different scraping method is used, the effect will be different. Because of this, the effect and texture of microcement door panels are difficult to control, which has become a headache for Wang Hai.
Spurred by factors such as high prices, high construction costs, and difficulty in controlling the effects of finished products, a group of companies in the ceramic industry that were the first to "smell" the innovation trends quickly attacked. In just half a year, there were products from Guangdong, Fujian, etc. Many ceramic companies in the district have launched microcement tiles.
Many interviewees said that the current terminal market prospects of microcement tiles are promising. “The products have just entered the warehouse some time ago, and orders have been received one after another. Currently, terminals have a high acceptance of the ‘Wabi Sabi style’ home decoration style. Many Dealers have been paying attention to this type of product. ”
More than plain colors
Many ceramic companies launch colored microcement tiles
The birth of microcement tiles has given "Wabi-sabi style" a richer material expression.
In less than half a year, a group of ceramic companies have restored the original texture and color texture of microcement while extending innovation and launching microcement tiles with richer colors.
For example, some ceramic companies have launched colored microcement tiles based on Morandi colors, covering pink, light green, light blue, light yellow and other colors.
Filona has directly launched 13 different colors of microcement tiles. The ultimate reason is that its fundamental purpose is to break the convention, and on the basis of restoring texture, follow its own "original creation" path to achieve sustainable development. Customized microcement tiles in various colors reflect a certain forward-looking vision.
Relevant industry insiders said that microcement itself does not have colorful colors such as pink and blue. However, ceramic companies have enriched the material performance while restoring the original microcement color tone, so they restored the texture of microcement coatings. , launched a colorful series of microcement tiles.
In Wang Hai’s view, microcement itself is ever-changing, so the research and development of microcement tiles should not stop at “miraculous resemblance.” “It is easy to make bricks, but if you want to make the surface feel like microcement, you need to It’s more difficult and requires continuous innovation and upgrading step by step.”
(Article reproduced fromTao Xin Information)
