First time plastering

Googling plastering "gritty paste" the only real match is this thread, so I doubt anyone else knows what it is either :p
 
My first wall was a wall that i literally plastered straight onto paint. Seems to be sticking ok but I wouldnt do it again :D

For my hallway I got in a pro, the walls were covered in bits of paper, old plasterboard that most the paper had come off when removing the wood chip etc.

He just stuck a load of PVA and plastered straight on. Oh and much flatter than I could get :D
 
Had a break from plastering as I still have the nursery and another room to decorate so... I have one wall left to plaster and it's the one the TV will be mounted on. I am thinking of chasing the wall for the cables etc and plastering over. Do I need another sort of plaster to fill in before skimming?

Plus I left this wall last as it the most uneven one because it had a fire place in years ago and was filled in and plastered over. Bit of a crap job.

I plonked a bit of emulsion on part of the first wall I did today just to see how it looked and its not too bad. I can see a few crappy bits and was wondering what to do. After a long think I decided to get another bag of plaster next week and do a second coat on all the walls but a thinner one at 1mm. The first was roughly 2mm.

All taking shape any way. I will make a new thread at some point when I have got my carpets all laid and the rest of the rooms finished off.
 
The gritty paste will be somthing like this, Bond It. Good stuff but not cheap so I only use it when spreading a terrible area.

You could grab a bag of bonding for the chases.

Don't forgot to PVA the walls you've already plastered before you start again, let it go tacky and your good to go with your second coat.

Although I'd personally PVA it, skim it, wash kit up, flatten (usually wouldn't need this stage) have a cup of tea, mix up second coat and get it on. rinse and repeat until you've had your second tea, now you can start polishing.

Problem with plastering is its all in the moment, touch and feel to see when its ready for a trowel up, look at the colour of the plaster to see where its drying.

Getting it on the wall is more important then getting it flat from the off.

Once on the wall you need it to set a certain amount before you can start to get a good finish otherwise your just moving wet plaster around.

The cup of tea is integral to a good finish!
 
I posted a similar thread just few months ago but I gave it a go 2-3 times but nah was not for me, I was game though but a good idea like others suggested to try it on a wall or plank outside first.

I also think the consistency must be right with the plaster which I know I got wrong ;)

Just like yourself I noticed with wallpaper removal you can end up with 1000s of dents and nooks made on the wall and these will 100% show up regardless of how many layers of paint.

Having just spent 3 months painting and decorating I would say plastering the walls is the best bet and would have got the pros in and then paint. Once the walls are like new your paint job will make it look excellent.

Perhaps I may have also considered just adding new plasterboards ? perhaps faster and you get new ones but not sure about this but something to perhaps consider.
 
Had my first test go on a small wall today and whilst it initially looked good ive got some cracking in the base coat so i'm going to take it off tomorrow and use more pva and water on there first.
 
I took my original trowel back to screwfix as there was a lot of roughness after just one use and upgraded it from one around £17 to one around £50 and wow what a difference on my second go, it's still drying but it looks a million times better.

Droolinggimp how did you do inwards corners? Did you use a specific trowel or brush it or another method?
 
Internal corners can be done with your trowel quite easily, if you've got two wet walls then you can buy a corner trowel but realistically it's not needed the odd few walls.
 
Hi guys.. Been busy doing other rooms as of late so missed the latest posts in this thread.

I have still got one more wall to do plus a bit of the widow area which I will finish off today. The corners I have not done yet. I have plastered to the corners but not having done the second coat I see no reason to make them finished yet. However the corners I did so far have just been smoothed/levelled with my finger. :-) then sharpened with the trowel edge.

Something like that anyway. haha.

Its looking good and my best wall so far is the window bay, I applied the plaster a bit thicker than the other walls I have done and it seemed to make it better. So the walls I already done with the first coat will get a slightly more than 1mm skim to smooth them off.

All in all for a first timer, not too bad. Also to add. I wish I took some before shots of all the house as I would have liked to make a thread but hey ho. I may have soon photos knocking around somewhere i'll see if I can find them and make a thread later.
 
Having done a load of reading and watching videos I'd love to have a go at plastering...lol

I might have to find a hidden away space somewhere in the house so I can have a practice...
 
I'd give you a 6 if that's before "smoothing the cheese" but very good for a beginner, plastering is 10% know how and 90% practice.

I learned the same way (renovating houses) and I've since had a bash at venetian plaster with good results, it's addictive when you know how :D
 
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Bump. I've just skimmed a wall in my dining room, my first ever attempt at plastering.

Like many others I watched a lot of youtube videos and read a lot of the diyplastering.co.uk website, then got down to screwfix and bought trowel, bucket trowel, a fairly wide paint brush for the corners, a few large buckets, a drill whisk, a hawk, and a big bag of thistle multi finish from B&Q.

It's currently going off after two coats and a few trowel ups / polishes, and looking pretty darn good if I say so myself.

One thing that strikes me is that after the initial investment in gear (£100 or so for reasonable stuff), plastering is cheap. It's also incredibly satisfying to stand back and look at a wall you've plastered.

A few tips I'd pick out in particular:

- Concentrate on plaster consistency, otherwise you'll either drop it off your hawk if too thin or find it harder to apply if too thick.
- Concentrate on trowel angle and pressure. You need very firm pressure and the leading edge of the trowel should only be a cm or so off the wall on the return stroke.
- Break in your trowel if it's new. I used 1200 grit wet and dry paper for a good ten minutes on each edge.
- Do not start plastering until you've prepped and bonded the surface. You'll regret it and it'll waste time in the long run.
- Have a large bucket of water on stand by for leaving your tools in while you trowel off. This will stop the plaster going off on your hawk and bucket trowel etc. while you work on that perfect finish.
- For internal corners, use a damp paintbrush to move the plaster into the corners and even up the finish.
- Use one of those little squeezy sprayers to apply moisture when polishing.

Doing a fairly small wall has really given me the confidence to try more walls and maybe even a ceiling :eek:.
 
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I really must post up my after pics.... The room is all completed and painted and furniture moved in now. I am off work all week now so I will get some close ups and other pics posted.
 
Congrats! Glad it went well.

I find ceilings 'easier' then walls so don't be worried about them, will just make your arm ache that much more.:D
 
When doing a ceiling, do people just use a ladder or a step stool or something? Or do you need a better platform than that? Strikes me that moving ladders around wastes valuable time.
 
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