Making bad plaster good

[i_am_fubar]

With all the plumbing, electrics, data, gas, alarm and appropriate boxing in done, the kitchen is ready for decorating.

Except the plaster is an awful mess of patching in,flaky paint, blown skim, textured paint and large areas of plaster that is too think.

I just wondered if anyone has any ideas on how to make this good (or at least a lot better) with the minimal of cost (both financially and time). It is being prepared for lining paper.

Just to clarrify, re-plastering the entire room is out of the question.

I am currently implementing the current options:

- Scraping off all old paint (walls not prepared for it, so coming off easily in most place).

- Skim plaster is being taken off if blown (currently an entire wall).

- Large holes are filled with plaster (to past the surface), allowed to dry, and sanded.

- Small holes are being filled with filler, allowed to dry and sanded.

- A random orbital sander is used to clean off all of wall to achieve a smooth (but still wavy) surface (very dusty).

- A grinder with a concrete disk is being used to remove patches of proud plaster (3-10mm and even more dusty), followed by the random orbital. It leaves a very wavy finish.

- Currently planning on glueing a long strip of sandpaper to a float and using that to try and smooth out the wavy finish.

...So, any other tips and tricks I could try? I have the rest of the house still to do.

Cheers,
Fubar.

 

[PrenticeBoyofDerry]

What further advice would you really expect, if you are not prepared to over skim and repair using normal procedures?
Please note that multi finish is not designed to be sanded!
If you are not base coating deep areas, such as chases and failing base coats, then a one coat plaster is you best option, this can also be sanded down, any slight patches/cracks can be filled using easifill and sanded. Also where chased out, this can be filled using bonding coat and then applying easifill, to be sanded.
But TBH, I would prepare walls for a complete skim, you are not going to save time or money bodging it!

 

[Pigeon85]

Financially your best option would be to prep it for a re-skim then get a plasterer in for what would be a days work. You wouldn't have to line the walls then either.

 

[i_am_fubar]

Would love to be able to get a plasterer in and re-do the entire house. But financially we are up against it and can't afford it. And if I we're going to get it all done professionaly, I'd take it back to bare brick and have basecoat put on as well.

Currently, the 2 bags of plaster and 2 rolls of lining paper have cost me about £20, so I'm pretty sure I'm saving money, although not time so much.

I expect nothing, but appreciate anything. And advising that multi-finish isn't designed to be sanded is one I didn't know. Is there any particular reason for this outside of hardness? And if over polished, sanding can provide a good key.

Will start using one coat from now on due to sandability. I take it it's a bit more expensive though?

The reason for the question wasn't so much about making a whole room good (I think the kitchen is the worst of them), but ways of treating different types of defect (rough plaster, blown skim, textured paint... etc) if they appear on an otherwise good wall.

The reason for the lining paper, apart from generally not perfect walls, is because there are a lot of cracks in places. I wouldn't trust a new skim not to crack in the future too, so would end up lining that too anyway.

Cheers,
Fubar.

 

[Pigeon85]

Would you be able to post some pictures? Never know it might not be as bad as I'm thinking.

 

[i_am_fubar]

I'll see what I can get tomorrow. We're really not after a perfect finish, but it needs to be a solid finish.

As first time buyers, we're lacking the funds, but not the energy. I'm fully expecting to spend another couple of days on wall prep. Then 4-5 coats of paint once the paper is up with sanding in between.

I may make a new thread in the 'my projects' section of the forum when the pictures are uploaded. Will link it in if I do.

Fubar.