A guide on plastering

If you would like to get perfect results when plastering, then it requires good techniques and practice. For areas that small, then it is possible to tackle them on your own. Before you can begin plastering, you will need various tools and equipments. These includes, a plastering trowel, bucket, hawk, big mixing budget, paint brush, paddle accessory & power drill, angle beading for the external corners and a scrim tape for the board joints.

Begin the procedure by preparing the room. Remove any furniture from the area and spread some plastic sheeting on the floor. In case you are working over some new plasterboard, then you should press the scrim tape over the screw metal and board joints to help reinforce the angle bead to the external corners.

Begin mixing the plaster. You should do this in accordance to the guidelines on the bag. Ensure that you add plaster to water using a mixing bucket that is clean. It is important to mix the water and powder thoroughly to create a thick creamy consistency without any lumps. Use a paddle accessory that has been fitted to an electric drill to mix. Bear in mind that the plaster may set in quickly, particularly during summer and therefore, you should only mix the amount that you are ready to use. Avoid adding plaster to the old one or even add water to make the plaster workable after it has dried.

The next step involves applying the base coat. Scrape a trowel with plaster off a mixing board & onto the hawk. After this you should transfer half of the plaster into the trowel. Keep the waist of your trowel straight & use a flicking action with the hawk hand to move plaster from the hawk to trowel. Begin working from the wall's bottom, pressing the plaster with smooth strokes onto the part of the wall you are working on. If you happen to flatten the trowel against the wall's surface, it may end up pulling out the new plaster from your wall. Work on the entire area while applying a base coat. At this juncture, you should mind about the holes and the uneven areas. The coat should have a thickness of about 2mm.

After this, it is time to clean the surface. Use a wet paint brush to remove lines and lumps of plaster on the adjacent walls or ceiling. After this, wait for the plaster to harden before leveling and smoothening the surface. The time that you will wait will vary depending on the weather. It may range from 5 minutes during the summer to over20 minutes during winter. Use a trowel at an angle that is shallow to smoothen the surface.

You should then let the plaster dry for a period of about 30 minutes. After this, you can polish the plaster. Wet the trowel's face ad use a large paint brush to flick some water on the wall. This offers your trowel enough lubrication to enable it float over a surface and fill the imperfections and tiny holes. Work using some regular sweeping strokes, finishing with the long and continuous strokes. After finishing, wash the tools and mixing board. Avoid keeping any opened plaster for over a few weeks.