Sanding down plaster

knip

knip

knip

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Somewhere in Bristol
So I live in a flat, and I've just had to have the place rewired. Because it's a flat, they've had to chase out the walls to put the wires in and cover up the sockets now not being used (I've had sockets moved, and storage heaters removed)

They've plastered this with like a white type substance. A quite gritty type of plaster is how I would describe it.

My question is that some of the areas aren't exactly neat and tidy. What should I get/use to smooth them out a bit so I can shove wallpaper over the top of it without it looking horrible.

I can take pics if that would help.
 
Dis86 said:
I'd get them back in to finish the job
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They're electricians, so they're good at that. I knew it wouldn't be perfect. He's a family friend so did me a deal on the electrics. I now don't have enough spare money to pay a plasterer to sort things.
 
It'll only be poly filler or dry wall adhesive knowing electricians. Get some fine sand paper and a sanding block and get sanding! Jobs a good un :)
 
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Just pick a finer grit.

Personally I used one of them sanding sponges on exactly the same job as yours and it looks fine.
 
Ok thanks. The plaster was put up on Wednesday. Do I need to leave it a certain number of days for it to have set properly before I start sanding it?
 
joelk2 said:
It could already be easi fill if it's white. Which would be good as it stands down really well.
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He's left a bag of it (without water added) for me, in case I need to mix up any more when I start sorting the walls out.
 
Get 180 grit sandpaper and a block and get to work, shouldn't take too long, polyfilla and the like sands down quite easily!

Just make sure you wear some form of mask. Plaster dust isn't good!
 
R.O.S.S.I said:
Get 180 grit sandpaper and a block and get to work, shouldn't take too long, polyfilla and the like sands down quite easily!

Just make sure you wear some form of mask. Plaster dust isn't good!
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And unless you have an airlock on the door will get literally everywhere :(
 
I've just finished sanding down a silly amount of polyfiller from my walls over the past week. (Old occupants seemingly destroyed the walls from the number of holes and chunks missing.

Fine grit sandpaper and a dust mask will do the job, might take some time depending on how long you want to do it and what result you're looking for.
 
knip said:
Genuine question. Will regular sandpaper work? As in wont the stuff on the wall be too coarse for sandpaper
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If it’s easi-fill then use fine sandpaper with solid sanding block. Use a flat piece of wood rather than those soft sanding blocks you can get from DIY stores to give a better finish.

As others have suggested use a dust mask and possibly even eye protection as that stuff is nasty if you get it in your eyes (particularly if sanding from a height).

Must have quickly mixed it up as easi-fill should be nice and fine if mixed properly. Sounds like not enough water in the mix or they left it too long before applying it. It's fantastic stuff (I use it to fill walls after chasing cables) but it does have a use by date and suggest you don't go beyond it as it definitely isn't as good.

Also, before painting it I would recommend using an undercoat such as Zinisser Bullseye 123 over it or 50/50 mistcoat but definitely give it time to dry as the stuff can peel if it's either old filler or not had time to dry properly. I recently had to fill several 2mtr sections after paint came off from bedroom border removal and I used Bullseye the day after filling/sanding and it was absolutely fine.
 
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If you can find one get a block that attaches to the vacuum cleaner. It makes a massive difference to the amount of dust created. It's a bit more of a pain than a simple hand one by does save on the dust. :)
 
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