>Hello! i am making fresco panels out of 1/2
>plywood, with tar paper, then the metal lathe
>staples on, then the scratch, brown and final
>painting coat. The combo works well, only they
>are very heavy, especially if you want to hang
>it on a wall. I have also done the ones with
>just the metal lathe as Gary described. They
>also work, but aren't easy to frame as the
>others are.... I have customers who want them
>framed to hang. so what it comes down to is I am
>trying to find a lighter panel which I can
>frame. Any reason why i can't use a thinner
>wood? I mean you don't really need the wood at
>all, so I should be able to get away with a 1/4
>plywood instaed, right? I coat the wood anyway
>with an oil base primer type thing to protect it
>from the wetting.... Can anyone give some
>advice or experience on this subject?
>Thank you!!!

the plywood there is to give some strength and protection to otherwise brittle plaster. 1/4 inch should work fine for small panel, for large panel it would be useless. Rivera built his stationary wall/panels without backing and they can be moved, but plaster does not like to be moved around so if you are making them to be moved around the strenght should be in the frame (backing would be part of it)

also if you panel is not bigger then 16X16 or so - you dont need so many coats.