Any tips on plastering smoothly?
Discussion
We are continuing to update the decor in our house, currently concentrating on the main bedroom. We have stripped all the wallpaper back to the plasterboard and I have got some PVA to mix with water and paint on the walls before plastering. I am using 'multi finish' plaster from B&Q (orange and white bags).
Any tips on what method to use to get it nice and smooth? I have plastered the bathroom and one wall in the living room and am fairly pleased with the results although I think they could be a fair bit better. The walls look nice and smooth when the plaster is still wet, but once it dries out it shows up all the little bumps and dips.
The main problem I know I am having is that I can't get the plaster on the wall fast enough, by the time I have got the plaster on the whole wall the part of the wall I started with has already started drying so it is difficult to try and smooth it out! I can't mix the plaster with anymore water as it would just be runny and wouldn't stick!
Any pointers would be great
Any tips on what method to use to get it nice and smooth? I have plastered the bathroom and one wall in the living room and am fairly pleased with the results although I think they could be a fair bit better. The walls look nice and smooth when the plaster is still wet, but once it dries out it shows up all the little bumps and dips.
The main problem I know I am having is that I can't get the plaster on the wall fast enough, by the time I have got the plaster on the whole wall the part of the wall I started with has already started drying so it is difficult to try and smooth it out! I can't mix the plaster with anymore water as it would just be runny and wouldn't stick!
Any pointers would be great
do you wet the wall before you plaster ? it will slow the drying process down. i always use a trigger spray with water handy and keep everything wet , the float etc . and i will spray the plaster after i have laid it on the wall and trowel it again with a wet trowel. obviously not a pro but it works for me
jas xjr said:
do you wet the wall before you plaster ? it will slow the drying process down. i always use a trigger spray with water handy and keep everything wet , the float etc . and i will spray the plaster after i have laid it on the wall and trowel it again with a wet trowel. obviously not a pro but it works for me
I paint the wall with water/pva mix right before plastering. I also keep a bucket of water handy to dunk the float/trowel every so often.I haven't tried spraying the plaster once applied to aid with smoothing so will give that a go thanks
Croakey: I'm not brave enough to try the ceilings myself, despite being quite tall (with a goatee etc..) so will be getting someone in to do it. But would like to tackle the walls myself to save a little money.
jas xjr said:
what kind of plaster are you using ? i have found it makes a difference . bonding seems to go off really quickly. i used to use only browning and spend more time trowelling it and not bothering with finishing if i was going to paper the wall
I am using the 'multi finish' plaster from B&Q, I plan to paint directly on top of the plaster (with watered down paint for the first coat). I won't be using any wallpaper.
Pet Troll said:
I am using 'multi finish' plaster from B&Q (orange and white bags).
When a mate of mine was doing his house (I made the tea) this was the issue we had. A pro will probably be able to do a decent job with a wider variety of plaster, but we found that you really need the fine stuff to put a skim on top to make it properly smooth.Not true. You can get a very smooth finish with multi-finish plaster.
I'm still perfecting my plastering, but at the moment we get the father in law to plaster our house. He's a master plasterer by trade, aswell as window fitter, builder etc etc.
Anyway, he does a pva/water mix first and brushes it onto the wall for sealing and help with adhesion. Plaster mix is same consistency as choc cake mixture, he'll wet wall a little of needed but generally trowels it on, but sprays water at it to keep it moist ish, then allows it to set a little then sprays again and keeps flattening and smoothing, allowing to harden, etc. he told me the most important thing is to keep it moist while your doing it but timing is everything.
I don't know if there's a certain way for applying it from the trowel and when your smooth off, but he tends to hold the trowel so his hand grip is over the handle, knuckles uppermost and a large movement upwards in a arm length radii. I never see him smoothing in a downward motion, always up and trowel slightly tilted.
Bonding - good for covering gaps, filling in wall chases ie from electrics, etc of say an inch thick.
Hardwall - well we had to use this to plaster our bathroom that was taken back to brickwork. Had two applications and then multi-finished over. Hardwall proper sucks up the moisture though!
That's all from watching him do it, I'm learning slowly.
Oh and for the trowel, the blunter the better! I had a brand new one that he refused to use and the edges were to sharp so he just brings his own up now.
I'm still perfecting my plastering, but at the moment we get the father in law to plaster our house. He's a master plasterer by trade, aswell as window fitter, builder etc etc.
Anyway, he does a pva/water mix first and brushes it onto the wall for sealing and help with adhesion. Plaster mix is same consistency as choc cake mixture, he'll wet wall a little of needed but generally trowels it on, but sprays water at it to keep it moist ish, then allows it to set a little then sprays again and keeps flattening and smoothing, allowing to harden, etc. he told me the most important thing is to keep it moist while your doing it but timing is everything.
I don't know if there's a certain way for applying it from the trowel and when your smooth off, but he tends to hold the trowel so his hand grip is over the handle, knuckles uppermost and a large movement upwards in a arm length radii. I never see him smoothing in a downward motion, always up and trowel slightly tilted.
Bonding - good for covering gaps, filling in wall chases ie from electrics, etc of say an inch thick.
Hardwall - well we had to use this to plaster our bathroom that was taken back to brickwork. Had two applications and then multi-finished over. Hardwall proper sucks up the moisture though!
That's all from watching him do it, I'm learning slowly.
Oh and for the trowel, the blunter the better! I had a brand new one that he refused to use and the edges were to sharp so he just brings his own up now.
Edited by PaulG40 on Tuesday 10th January 22:46
So you want to skim a wall?
Okay...
Job 1 No. 1 Paint the wall to be plastered with a PVA mix of 1:1 PVA and water and allow to dry.
The purpose being to seal the wall and allow the plaster to 'set' on the wall rather than dry out out because the background substrate has sucked the moisture out of it.
Job No. 2. Paint the wall with another coat of PVA/Water 50:50 and wait until it's tacky.
Now you are ready to plaster.
Okay...
Job 1 No. 1 Paint the wall to be plastered with a PVA mix of 1:1 PVA and water and allow to dry.
The purpose being to seal the wall and allow the plaster to 'set' on the wall rather than dry out out because the background substrate has sucked the moisture out of it.
Job No. 2. Paint the wall with another coat of PVA/Water 50:50 and wait until it's tacky.
Now you are ready to plaster.
Good quality trowel (think Marshalltown pre-worn), bucket trowel, mixing attachment for your drill and a couple of clean buckets plus a 1" paintbrush.
Half a bucket of cold clean water and slowly add the multi-finish (orange bag). Mix slowly with the bucket trowel to the rough consistency of double cream. Half a bucket of water makes approximately 1 bucket of plaster.
Once mixed roughly give it a whiz with your drill/mixer until it's smooth and lump free.
The reason to mix slowly is to reduce the amount of air added to the mix which speeds up the setting time - not what we want.
Half a bucket of cold clean water and slowly add the multi-finish (orange bag). Mix slowly with the bucket trowel to the rough consistency of double cream. Half a bucket of water makes approximately 1 bucket of plaster.
Once mixed roughly give it a whiz with your drill/mixer until it's smooth and lump free.
The reason to mix slowly is to reduce the amount of air added to the mix which speeds up the setting time - not what we want.
B17NNS said:
So you want to skim a wall?
Okay...
Job 1 No. 1 Paint the wall to be plastered with a PVA mix of 1:1 PVA and water and allow to dry.
The purpose being to seal the wall and allow the plaster to 'set' on the wall rather than dry out out because the background substrate has sucked the moisture out of it.
Job No. 2. Paint the wall with another coat of PVA/Water 50:50 and wait until it's tacky.
Now you are ready to plaster.
What if you get the 50:50 and the 1:1 mix the wrong way round? Okay...
Job 1 No. 1 Paint the wall to be plastered with a PVA mix of 1:1 PVA and water and allow to dry.
The purpose being to seal the wall and allow the plaster to 'set' on the wall rather than dry out out because the background substrate has sucked the moisture out of it.
Job No. 2. Paint the wall with another coat of PVA/Water 50:50 and wait until it's tacky.
Now you are ready to plaster.
Now we're ready to start spreading...
I use a trestle with a bit of pre-wet plasterboard on it and tip the gear onto it.
Scrape a manageable amount onto your handboard (hawk) and using your trowel spread about a 2mm or 3mm coat onto your wall. DO NOT WORRY about it being smooth or flat, just cover the wall.
Once the wall is covered move from left to right and up and down and get the wall looking as best you can.
Have a cup of tea/coffee/smoke/chat/whatever and wait.
You are waiting until the plaster on the wall is starting it's chemical reaction and starting to set.
You are waiting until it is still moist but when you press your finger in it it just about makes a finger print.
I use a trestle with a bit of pre-wet plasterboard on it and tip the gear onto it.
Scrape a manageable amount onto your handboard (hawk) and using your trowel spread about a 2mm or 3mm coat onto your wall. DO NOT WORRY about it being smooth or flat, just cover the wall.
Once the wall is covered move from left to right and up and down and get the wall looking as best you can.
Have a cup of tea/coffee/smoke/chat/whatever and wait.
You are waiting until the plaster on the wall is starting it's chemical reaction and starting to set.
You are waiting until it is still moist but when you press your finger in it it just about makes a finger print.
Time now to have a look at your corners and edges.
Wet brush around the ceiling edge, wall edges and skirting board edge. Scrape away using the top edge of your trowel removing any excess plaster.
Using a combination of trowel and wet brush you should start to get a reasonable square edge.
Follow with a final trowel over the first coat to get things looking as good as possible.
You should now be ready for your second and final coat...
Wet brush around the ceiling edge, wall edges and skirting board edge. Scrape away using the top edge of your trowel removing any excess plaster.
Using a combination of trowel and wet brush you should start to get a reasonable square edge.
Follow with a final trowel over the first coat to get things looking as good as possible.
You should now be ready for your second and final coat...
MOTORVATOR said:
Sorry wasn't thinking straight.
The extra 49:49 is what makes it go tacky. Stick with us tradesmen we know all the tricks.
Now I know you're making it up as you go along.The extra 49:49 is what makes it go tacky. Stick with us tradesmen we know all the tricks.
Everyone knows it's the spit in the mix plus the 5 min coffee/fag break that allows the gear to set to the required consistency.
Amateur.
Right.
Final and second coat...
Whilst waiting for coat 1 to do it's thing (whilst chatting/smoking/drinking) you will have cleaned your handboard (hawk), trowel, buckets, bucket trowel, spot board (plasterboard or similar on trestle) etc and be itching to finish the job and amaze your wife/girlfriend/boyfriend/husband/kids with your amazing new plastering skills.
So here we go...
Final and second coat...
Whilst waiting for coat 1 to do it's thing (whilst chatting/smoking/drinking) you will have cleaned your handboard (hawk), trowel, buckets, bucket trowel, spot board (plasterboard or similar on trestle) etc and be itching to finish the job and amaze your wife/girlfriend/boyfriend/husband/kids with your amazing new plastering skills.
So here we go...
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