Valsetin — Frequently Asked Questions

Valsetin is Valpaint’s original silk‑effect decorative wall finish. It is a water‑based coating that turns light into a soft, textile‑like sheen, creating walls that read more like woven fabric than paint. In the UK it is tinted, demonstrated and supported by Italian Surface Finishes through the London Studio and Academy.

Standard metallic paints often sit on the surface and can look flat or glittery. Valsetin uses a fine pearlescent matrix that behaves more like fabric: each trowel or brush stroke shifts the way light travels across the wall, creating a subtle brushed‑silk movement rather than a simple sparkle.

Typical applications include:

• Living rooms, dining rooms and entrance halls in high‑end homes.
• Hotel lobbies, corridors and suites.
• Show apartments and marketing suites.
• Boutique retail, salons and gallery‑style reception areas.

Anywhere you might consider a luxury wallcovering, Valsetin can offer a lighter, breathable, repaintable alternative.

Valsetin is the classic silk system — highly flexible in technique, ideal for artistic effects and heritage projects.

Valsetin 2 is the modern, low‑VOC evolution:

• Updated binder with very low emissions and A+ air‑quality classification.
• Mandatory tinted Primer 400 cycle for tight colour depth and repeatability.
• More specification‑driven, designed for performance‑focused projects and documentation.

In practice: choose Valsetin for classic, artistic silk work; choose Valsetin 2 where emissions, certification and strict colour control are key — or where you want it to sit explicitly inside the “architectural finishes” family alongside Meteore 10, Klondike and Sabulador Soft.

Valsetin is a decorative paint rather than a plaster, but the way it is applied — trowels, spatulas, special brushes — and the way it reads under light make it feel closer to a liquid textile than a standard emulsion.

A typical system is:

• Primer 400 on stable, prepared walls — tinted towards the final colour.
• Valsetin basecoat to establish the silk film.
• 1–2 coats of Valsetin worked in the chosen technique.

Exact details depend on whether you are creating a brushed silk, flowered or wallpaper‑style effect. The Technical Data Sheet and Application Guide give the precise steps for each family of finish.

Suitable substrates include:

• New plaster and skimmed plasterboard (fully cured and dry).
• Existing, well‑adhered emulsion paint (cleaned and lightly abraded).
• Lime / cement plasters and high‑quality fillers, once stabilised.

The surface must be smooth, stable and uniformly primed with the correct Primer 400 cycle before applying Valsetin.

For consistent results, yes. Primer 400 is part of the Valsetin system:

• It regulates absorption across the wall.
• It improves adhesion of the Valsetin basecoat.
• It helps control colour and avoid patchy areas on large surfaces.

The classic Valsetin effects use:

• Roller — to apply Primer 400 and basecoat.
• Stainless steel trowel / spatula — to lay and move the Valsetin film.
• Soft brush / special glove / Setomat pads — to create flowered or wallpaper‑style motifs.

Recommended tools are available at the ISF Tools & Accessories page.

As a guide, Valsetin covers around 7–9 m²/L per coat on smooth, properly primed substrates in the main techniques, with higher yields for some brushed systems. Coverage changes with technique and texture. Always confirm with a sample panel on your substrate.

At around 20 °C and normal humidity:

• Touch dry: ≈ 2–3 hours.
• Recoat: ≈ 6–8 hours.
• Full cure: ≈ 5–7 days (allow longer in cool or humid conditions).

After full cure, Valsetin forms a washable decorative film suitable for most living areas, bedrooms, corridors and reception spaces. Cleaning should be:

• With a soft, slightly damp cloth.
• Using mild, neutral detergents only.
• Without abrasive pads, scouring powders or strong chemicals.

Yes. Valsetin is a water‑based decorative system that allows the substrate to breathe to a degree, especially when applied over mineral plasters. For fully mineral, lime‑based systems you would typically move to Meteore 10, but Valsetin remains compatible with many well‑prepared mineral substrates.

Yes. Valsetin is a water‑based decorative coating with low VOC content, designed for interior use in homes, hotels and commercial interiors. For projects where emissions and documentation are under particular scrutiny, Valsetin 2 offers an updated low‑VOC profile and A+ indoor‑air classification.

Maintenance is straightforward:

• Dust with a soft cloth or microfibre duster.
• After full cure, wipe marks gently with a damp cloth and mild detergent.
• Avoid heavy scrubbing or abrasives; treat it more like a fine textile wallcovering than standard paint.

Valsetin is designed for dry, ventilated interior walls. It can be used in general kitchen and bathroom spaces away from direct water contact, but it is not a waterproof membrane and should not be used inside showers or continuously wet zones.

Where you want a silk reading in a fully waterproof system (e.g. spa, wet room or hotel suite), Valsetin can appear as the decorative layer over a Waterproof Artistic Walls build‑up based on Evolution Plus. The waterproofing comes from the body; Valsetin provides the visible finish.

Valsetin behaves like fabric under light:

• Daylight reveals soft, linear movement and subtle tonal shifts.
• Warm LED adds depth and warmth to the pearls.
• Grazing light from wall‑washers emphasises the brushed direction and texture.

Always judge a sample under the final project lighting before sign‑off; silk is very sensitive to direction and colour temperature.

Main families include:

• Brushed silk / Striata — directional strokes that mimic stretched fabric.
• Spatolata / d’Oriente — sculpted, artisanal movements.
• Fiorata / Parato — soft, wallpaper‑style patterns created with Setomat pads and cloths.

All are achieved by varying tools, stroke direction, overlap and timing between coats.

Yes. Designers frequently combine:

• Valsetin on broad wall fields.
• Valrenna (suede effect) on panels or niches for textile contrast.
• Klondike Classic / metallics as accents.
• Meteore 10 Intonaco for concrete or stone counterpoints.
• Sabulador Soft for sanded shimmer in adjacent spaces.

The Italian Surface Finishes showroom presents these combinations at full scale so you can judge them in real light.

Yes — in selected compositions. In the Waterproof Artistic Walls concept, Evolution Plus creates the waterproof body on walls and in wet zones; Valsetin (or Valsetin 2) can be used as the decorative layer in appropriate areas, giving a silk reading on top of a fully waterproof substrate.

This is particularly relevant for feature walls in bathrooms, spas and hotel suites, where you need both an elevated decorative finish and a robust system behind it.

All Valsetin colours are mixed by Italian Surface Finishes in London using the official Valpaint tinting system and adapted to UK lighting conditions. We can:

• Match standard Valpaint catalogue shades.
• Create project‑specific colours within the system limits.
• Test colours under the lighting and materials you plan to use.

For small feature walls, experienced decorators can work from the Application Guide. For large walls, commercial projects or repeated schemes, we strongly recommend training at the Valpaint London Academy, where we cover:

• Stroke rhythm and direction control.
• Working with tinted primers and basecoats.
• Lighting strategy and sample sign‑off.
• Maintenance and repair approaches.

Valsetin is supplied in the UK by Italian Surface Finishes, an authorised Valpaint UK distributor. The team looks after:

• Product supply and tinting.
• Technical specification and detailing.
• Training at the London Academy.
• Connecting you with ISF‑approved applicators.

A typical sequence is:

• Visit the Italian Surface Finishes London Studio to see full panels.
• Shortlist colours and effects (brushed silk, Fiorata, etc.).
• Agree sample boards and lighting conditions.
• Use the product page to submit a project enquiry.

Typical high‑intent phrases include:

• silk effect wall paint UK
• Italian silk decorative paint
• silk finish paint for walls
• luxury silk wall finish
• brushed silk effect walls
• Italian silk effect plaster paint
• Valsetin silk paint
• silk feature wall paint London

Inside Italian Surface Finishes, Valsetin is the system we typically propose when these ideas appear in a brief, either as a pure decorative finish on prepared walls or, in selected compositions, as part of Waterproof Artistic Walls when combined with an Evolution Plus body.