Meet the artisan
Meet Jonathan Villalobos
LOBOS Fine Finishes is Jonathan Villalobos's company. The name is his: Villalobos, shortened to the part people remember.
He has run painting and finishing work in the Valley for 15 years, holds the Arizona licence the company trades under, and still runs the sample boards on decorative work himself.
- AZ ROC #364076
- 15 years in the Valley
- Sample-first on every finish
- AZ ROC #364076Licensed, bonded & insured in Arizona
- 15 years in businessPhoenix-based, working across the Valley
- Residential & commercialInteriors, exteriors, cabinetry, fine finishes
- Free written estimatesItemised scope, with repair listed separately from coating
- 20 Valley cities servedPhoenix, Scottsdale, Mesa, Chandler and more
Certificate of insurance is provided with every estimate and can be sent directly to your HOA or property management company. More about how we work.
The short version
One person’s name on the work
Decorative plaster is not a product you buy, it is a person’s hands on a wall for two days. Which person, and how many walls they have done before yours, is most of what you are actually choosing between. So this page exists to answer that rather than to describe a philosophy.
Where the name comes from
Villalobos. The company is named after the family, not after a finish or a colour or a word that tested well. That is the whole story of the name and there isn't a longer version of it.
How he got into finishing
To confirm with Jonathan[How Jonathan started in the trade: first job, who he learned from, what year.]
To confirm with Jonathan[What pulled him from general painting toward decorative and fine finishes specifically.]
Where he learned the plaster work
To confirm with Jonathan[Where the plaster training came from: who taught him, self-taught, a particular material system, time spent working under someone.]
To confirm with Jonathan[Any formal training or manufacturer certification, only if it can be evidenced. If there is none, delete this section rather than softening it.]
How he thinks about the work
To confirm with Jonathan[Jonathan in his own words on what makes a finish right, or what he refuses to do. One or two sentences, his phrasing, not tidied up.]
What he won’t claim
No award badges, no star graphics, no manufacturer partnership logos, no “master artisan” title that nobody issues. The trade has no licensing body for decorative finishes, which means anyone can call themselves anything, which in turn means the words are worth nothing and the sample board is worth everything.
What you can check is on the right. What you should actually judge is the board he makes for your wall, in your room, before you commit to anything.
On your project
What Jonathan does personally
Not a values statement. The specific stages of a decorative job that he does himself rather than delegates, and why those are the ones that matter.
- 01
Walks the job himself
Decorative work is quoted off a walkthrough, not off a photograph or a square-foot rate. Substrate, light and the room's actual use all change the answer.
- 02
Makes the sample boards
Boards are made with the material, the pigment and the hand that will do the wall. A board made by someone else is not a sample of your finish.
- 03
Views them in your light
Boards are left in the room and looked at morning and evening before anything is committed to. Valley light is the reason this is not optional.
- 04
Is on the wall for the finish coats
On plaster, the finish coats and the burnishing are where the result is decided. That stage is not handed to whoever is available that week.
- 05
Keeps the batch record
Formula, pigment and technique are recorded per project, so a repair in three years starts from the right mix instead of a guess.
- 06
Tells you when the answer is no
A wall that isn't ready, a substrate that will crack, a finish that is wrong for the room. Saying so early costs a job occasionally and saves a complaint every time.
The work
The finishes he applies
Six named materials, each with its own page, because they behave differently and choosing between them is most of the decision.
- Venetian PlasterLime and marble dust built in thin coats, then burnished until the wall reads as stone rather than paint.
- LimewashBrushed mineral wash that settles into a soft, cloudy matte and keeps breathing with the wall underneath.
- Roman ClayTroweled mineral finish with soft cloudy movement and a flat matte surface. Venetian depth without the sheen.
- MicrocementSeamless cement-based coating a few millimetres thick, over floors, walls and showers, with no grout lines anywhere.
- TadelaktMoroccan lime plaster burnished with stone and sealed with olive soap. Waterproof without a film, seamless around every curve.
- MarmorinoVenetian lime plaster left at a suede sheen rather than a polish. Stone-like depth without the mirror.
Free written estimate
Have him make you a board.
Free walkthrough, a sample made with the actual material for your actual wall, and a straight answer about which finish the room wants. Preparation and finish quoted as separate lines.
- Licensed, bonded and insured in Arizona, AZ ROC #364076
- Itemised scope: preparation and repair listed separately from coating
- Walkthrough on site, because we don't quote painting over the phone