Patching Artex

Finally moved in to our new house on Thursday, and have started the destructive work already....

In the main bedroom where some very badly fitted built in wardrobes, that incorporated some coving around the edges that were gripfilled or simular to the wall and the wardrobe units.

Whilst removing the coving and carefully chipping away what was left of the gripfill, a very thin layer of the plaster has come off (say 1 to 2mm). This is also the case on the artex ceiling.


My question is, for the walls - What is the best way for a novice like my fair self to make a decent repair DIY Style???

My thoughts were to PVA over the areas that need repairing and then use a Polyfilla ready mixed plaster repairer and sand if required.

For the ceiling - what is the best way to recreate the Artex rough effect (no fancy swirls or anything, just lots of staligtight style drips), it is a straight line running from one side of the room to the other???

45 views and no help.....

Im starting to feel unloved

BOOO!!! bet that made ya jump EM..... Your solution for patching the thin 1mm 'ish layer of surface patch sounds good to me. The Artex is the tricky bit. You will never patch any textured surface to look perfect, at best, it will look ok. The pattern you described sounds like plain stipple. To re-create it you will need to buy a "small" bag of Artex from the likes of B&Q. Mix it up to smooth creamy texture, say the consistency of whipped cream. Leave it for a few minutes and then thin it down to suit your pattern. Get a sponge 6"x 4" or similar and put it inside a polythene food bag, this is hopefully gonna help you make the stipple pattern.( unless you can get a lend of a stippler) Put some of the mix onto a small piece of plasterboard about a foot square with a trowel or a scraper, and holding the bit of p/board upside down, dab onto the artex with the sponge and see what kind of texture your getting. If it needs it, thin it down with water until it looks similar to what you have on the ceiling. Before you do anything though, give the damaged strip along the ceiling a clean off, patch up any of the deeper bits of plaster if needed, put a sealer/paint onto it when dry, just to hold back the Artex from drying out too quick before you can "stipple it". Put the Artex on with a trowel/4" paint brush or whatever. Don't overlap onto the old Artex. Do a couple of feet at a time if your unsure. When it's on, just stipple as before with the sponge. If all else fails, I would get the ceiling skimmed over, oh and a lot of painters and decorators also do Artexing as well. I hope you can get the idea of what I've tried to explain It's hard to put into words.

Roughcaster.