I did check out the thread you were talking about Billie, and the animal fountain project is charming! I have the thread bookmarked so I can follow the progress. Though I got antsy and already started on the saucer part of my project and used a usual hypertufa recipe, I did think about the porosity of the surface and gave it a topping coat of portland and sand this morning to fill in the surface imperfections. Hopefully it will help with the porosity issue when I apply the mosaic. I will also be sealing the surface with latex paint before I apply the mosaic. If it doesn't work out, I will post my results of that as well so others can learn from my mistakes. Thank you for your input...I'm going in!

Don't give up on your mosaics!! They're not such a big deal to install - especially if there aren't any grout lines! Ours were installed by the tile guys, pre-plaster. A while back, a frequent poster (Ralph, AKA willweeverbedone) who did a gorgeous O/B pool with lots of adorable mosaics described the steps invloved in installing his mosaics. The thread is log gone, but I had saved it...Here it is (minus the pics): Just set all the mosaics (well, technically my brother set them while I sucked down some drinks and took pictures for everyone.) Not terribly hard but do need to pay attention to detail. You will need mortar, thin set, some trowels, a bucket and a mixer drill thingy: First, mix the mortar to a pudding consistency. Then you will set the base for the rest of the job. Use a trowel to float a level base of mortar but try to keep the outline fairly close to size and 45 degree angle the surplus out of the pattern so fina etc w/ transition smoothly: I called Adams to see how high they wanted the surface of the mosaics to be to match up w/ the Pebble Fina...they told me 1" min w/ 1 1/4" max, so we set the mortar at about 1/2" since thinset w/b about 1/4" and tile is a little more than that. Once you set the mortar let it set up until hard...don't worry about cracking. BUT, if you start late in the day make sure to wet down the surface w/ a sponge to decrease temp so mortar will set up evenly and not fry on the hot gunite. Once mortar is dried, use thinset to set up the surface you'll apply the mosaics directly to. Use a trowel w/ 1/4" teeth to get a good even surface: Then apply the mosaics directly to the thinset surface and use your hand to lightly tamp down the mosaic into the thinset: A word or two of caution at this point! The netting holding the mosaic together uses WATER SOLUABLE GLUE!!! Therefore, it disolves upon contact w/ the thinset...this means you get only one chance to get it right. Make sure you know exactly where you'll be placing the tile prior to this point! You want the mosaic to be even at the surface and firmly embedded in the thinset w/out bottoming out to the underlying mortar base. The Fina, Sheen and plaster type surfaces will act as a grout so no need to worry. If you're using Tec, check w/ your applicator but you'll probably want to grout w/ a complimentary color since Tec is too rough to fill in the gaps nicely, in general. As you can imagine, proper measurements are everything: When setting the smaller pieces like those 3" fish and the face tile, just use the thinset but understand this takes some "feel" for the job...leave it till last when you'll have the feel! Now thinset has less strength than the mortar--which is the reason you used the mortar as the base prior to thinset--so on the little pieces it's very important to sponge water on the surface to cool it down. The overall thickness w/b less than the bigger pieces but the plaster company s/b able to deal w/ these slight issues. Voila! I have plenty more tile than shown in these pictures (ie, all four steps, spa, etc) but limited photobucket availability. Hope this helps. Ralph

Yep, without a doubt, what they said! I did this on a bathroom vanity and LOVE how it turned out. No grout lines to collect soap scum and mildew, no edges for my kids to get scraped on, all the advantages you are looking for. If I can answer any questions about it, just let me know! Veronica

That’s a very textured tile, with wide grout lines. It will never look good painted. The paint will fill in every nook and cranny, unevenly. It’s going to look bumpy. You‘d be better off removing the tile.