Finishing Plasters In South Africa – A practical guide to the gypsum plasters market, the raw materials behind the bag, and the brands worth knowing.
For many years, the finishing plaster market in South Africa offered very few options. One brand dominated, the mixing method was well understood, and most skimmers simply stuck with what they knew. That picture has changed dramatically and there are now at least four finishing plaster manufacturers in South Africa offering the end user plenty of choice.
This article summarises what gypsum plaster is, the difference between the main product types, and the brands on offer so you can choose with confidence.
What gypsum plaster is made from…
Gypsum plasters are made from natural gypsum, synthetic gypsum, or a combination of the two. Gypsum is calcium sulphate dihydrate, and both forms share the same basic chemistry and behaviour.
- Natural gypsum is mined or quarried from the earth and then put through a series of processes that grind it into a fine powder.
- Synthetic gypsum is produced as a by-product of industrial processing. It is also calcium sulphate dihydrate and carries the same characteristics as the natural material. It is a high-quality and environmentally friendly product. The most common type is FGD gypsum, recovered from flue gas desulphurisation at power stations and other plants.
Raw gypsum on its own is not a finishing plaster. It first goes through calcination, where controlled heating drives off part of the chemically bound water and turns the dihydrate into a hemihydrate, the powder that sets when you add water back to it on site. After calcining, manufacturers blend the powder with additives that control set time and improve smoothness, workability, and performance. Casofour, for example, describes its Handskim plaster as a lightweight retarded hemihydrate gypsum plaster, where the retarder is what gives the plasterer enough working time before the material sets.
Why gypsum, and why it is called green cement
Gypsum is often described as an environmentally friendly building material, and it is sometimes referred to as green cement. The reason is energy. Producing gypsum plaster reaches temperatures of only about 150 to 160 degrees Celsius, compared with over nine hundred degrees Celsius in cement production. The lower processing temperature means far lower carbon dioxide emissions. In many European markets plaster is used extensively in place of cement for internal construction, which points to the growth potential for high-grade gypsum products in South Africa as well.
The main types of finishing plaster
Most of the products in this category fall into a small number of groups. Knowing the difference helps you match the plaster to the job.
- Skimming and multipurpose plasters. These give walls and ceilings a smooth, inert, high-quality surface and a durable base for paint or other decorative finishes. They are applied to brick, plasterboard, and cement, often with no need for pre-treatment.
- Jointing plasters. These are joint fillers formulated for short setting times. They are designed for plasterboard systems and work as an interior crack filler and for filling rough plaster surfaces before painting.
- Smoothing and specialist plasters. Finer smoothing plasters, such as Cretestone and Metacrete, cornice and moulding plasters, adhesive bedding plasters and specialist fillers round out the range for specialist applications.
Brands on offer at Pelican Systems
Pelican Systems stocks the leading finishing plasters in the market, including its own JUMBO range. The four brands below cover most of what you will see on site today.
RhinoLite, by Gyproc Saint-Gobain
RhinoLite has traditionally been the dominant skimming plaster in South Africa. The mixing method and application are well known to skimmers, and it remains a strong and well recognised brand and the market leader. RhinoLite is also Green Tag certified, which makes it a sensible choice on projects that need green certification. The Gyproc range includes RhinoLite Multipurpose Plaster, RhinoLite Natural Plus, RhinoLite CreteStone, RhinoFine Smoothing Plaster and the RhinoGlide drywall joint filler. Gyproc Saint-Gobain also provides a large library of datasheets, certificates, and how-to videos on its website.
Metacote, by Metadynamics
Metacote is produced by Metadynamics, a division of OMV, a South African supplier of aggregates and synthetic gypsum. Its technical data sheet describes it as a formulated and retarded gypsum hemihydrate finishing plaster, with a purity of about 90 percent calcium sulphate hemihydrate and around 10 percent additives. The product complies with DIN EN 13279-1 and is graded Category C6. It has an off-white colour and covers about twenty-five square metres per 40-kilogram bag at a 3-millimetre thickness. Metacote was developed to suit local conditions and to replace imported finishing plasters. Its “Smoother from start to finish” positioning speaks to a plaster formulated with fewer coarse particles, which makes it easier to work and lets the applicator achieve a highly polished surface, a brushed finish or a textured finish depending on the requirement. Metacote is offered in Inland and Coastal versions, with a jointing partner product branded Metajoint.
Casofour
Casofour has been making steady inroads into the market since the business started in 2017. The name comes from the chemical formula for gypsum, calcium sulphate, or CaSO4. The gypsum base varies by product. The Handskim multipurpose plaster is described on its data sheet as a lightweight retarded hemihydrate plaster made from synthetic gypsum, with nominal additions of silica, an accelerant, and a retarder. The Jointfill jointing product, by contrast, is described in its product information as blended with natural gypsum for an extremely fine finish. So Casofour uses both synthetic and natural gypsum across its range, depending on the product. Casofour offers both Inland and Coastal options and gives each product a distinct colour, so it is easy to identify on site, with blue for the Inland Handskim, yellow for the Coastal Handskim and pink for Jointfill. As a guide, the Handskim multipurpose plaster covers roughly twenty-five square metres per 40-kilogram bag at a 3-millimetre thickness.
JUMBO, by Pelican Systems
JUMBO is the Pelican Systems own brand, designed to be ultra-tough, ultra-smooth and ultra-white. JUMBO Skimming Plaster is a multipurpose interior plaster for brick, plasterboard and cement with no pre-treatment needed, applied in one step for a silky finish that needs no sanding before painting. JUMBO Jointing Plaster is a fast product with a one hour setting time, coverage of about 350 grams per square metre of plasterboard, and a surface ready for paint or wallpaper. Both are made to high quality standards and should be installed in line with SABISA guidelines.
How the brands compare
Always check the current product datasheet for exact mixing ratios, coverage and set times before specifying or applying.
Inland and Coastal formulations
One detail worth understanding is that several brands sell Inland and Coastal versions of the same plaster. This is not just marketing. The set time and feel of the plaster are tuned to local climate and to the technique of plasterers in each region. Casofour, for example, formulates its Inland product for a shorter working window and its Coastal product for a longer one, so that the plaster behaves the way applicators in each area expect. Choosing the right regional version helps you get a clean finish without fighting the material.
Cost and a changing market
The arrival of more building finishing plasters has done two things. It has given applicators choice, and it has brought prices down. Cost savings of up to 30 percent are now possible compared with the traditional option. Skimmers have understandably been cautious about change for many years, but with more products available and real savings on offer, there has been a clear willingness to try alternatives. That shift has driven steady growth for both Metacote and Casofour.
The bottom line
The finishing plaster landscape in South Africa has changed, and there are now several quality products worth considering. The best way to choose is to work with the products yourself and judge the finish first hand. Pelican Systems stocks RhinoLite, Metacote and Casofour, along with its own JUMBO Skimming and JUMBO Jointing plasters, so you can compare them on your own terms and settle on the plaster that gives you the workability and finish you want.
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