Plaster marks & Sanding

[Tracy Jordan]

Hi I recently gutted our living room and went on holiday whilst the plasterer came in to replaster the ceiling & walls.
The work looked ok (I am no expert at all) so I paid the workmen and left the plaster to dry.

6 Weeks on and I am ready to paint. I did some research online and used watered down emulsion first.
After leaving it to dry I went to apply the colour and it looks awful.

The beading around the corners is showing through the paint. I can actually see the pattern. Any ideas what I should do?

The plaster wasn't smooth. Now I have applied colour I can see it looks 'bitty'.
There is also loads of marks similar to half a rainbow all over the chimney breast. How do I get rid of these marks because they are very noticible.

My question is can I sand down over my colour paint to make the walls smooth and then repaint? If so what sanding paper would you recommend?

Thanks in advance.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

The bead pattern showing through- throw more coats of emulsion at it, it won't ever be perfect but it will quickly blend so only you will notice it. If it is really bad then you might want to get some filler onto the bit where the bead is showing (put a bit too much on) then sand it back to flat

Sanding- yes you can but you'll have to put many coats on the sanded bit before the texture comes back to match the unsanded. Depending how rough the plaster is- get some 200 grade to start with, try it and see how long it takes to get a lump flat. If it takes ages then get some 120, knock the worst off with that and then go over it with the 200 (to give you a finer finish). Oh yes, use a block with the sandpaper (lump of wood comfy size for your hand)- helps get a flatter finish

And next time you need some plastering done, find a different plasterer!

While you have the place empty, check the squareness near floor level (if the plaster bulges out at the bottom of the wall it'll make putting skirting board on a pain if it isn't already on). Sand as necessary

 

[Doggit]

As above, or wallpaper the room. Work out which is the lesser of the two evils.

 

[Tracy Jordan]

Thanks ever so much.

Ahhh I tried more emulsion over the corner beads and it made no difference. It looks terrible. You can see the bead from the other side of the room it is that visible.

Feeling rather annoyed because the plaster was damaged (thanks to my teen son who flooded our bathroom). Finally got around to having it plastered and really hoped that I could paint and get moved back in. Had all the dirt when I removed the laths & plaster so I really dislike the thought of making a mess sanding,but so be it.

Squareness near the floor looks ok thankfully.

Couple of questions:

1) Is there an easy way to sand the ceiling where it is rough and messy?

2) Emulsion isn't helping cover the corner bead. Is filling difficult?

3) There is visible lines on the ceiling which I am guessing is where the plaster board joins? Any way to make them less visible?

Tracy.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Ceiling- no easy way- ladder, sandpaper, hours of tedium. Given what you're saying about lines in the ceiling (are they straight lines joining in a sort of brick bond), sounds as if they haven't bothered using scrim tape at the joins either. Only way with those lines is again fill and sand- same deal.

Filling isn't difficult- but it isn't easy to do well either. With your corner beads you are trying to go from a millimetre or 2 deep (at the corner bead) to no thickness about 75mm later. Get a bag of filler (get stuff that says easy to sand), try a smallish section (say about 100mm) and see how you get on.

The whole thing sounds like a nightmare. Nuclear options are

1) Get someone else in to replaster
2) Lining paper on the walls, textured paint on the ceiling (lining paper might work but papering ceilings is v good fun)

 

[sparkwright]

It seems to me when plasterers have to go back and 'correct' their work, they tend to use 'easi-fill'.

A good decorator can often overcome many plastering problems just enough to make it look acceptable at least.

Sanding plaster to great extent can be a nightmare, and no doubt could cause further issues when trying to paint over.

Are the plasterboard join lines on the ceiling actual cracks; or 'dimples'; or the scrim tape not fully covered; or something else??

Send photos if you can.

 

[opps]

"Had all the dirt when I removed the laths & plaster so I really dislike the thought of making a mess sanding,but so be it."

Sanding plaster needn't result in mess provided you have a decent sander connected to a dust extractor (read:vacuum cleaner)

You can hire sander/vacuum kits. Perhaps you should ask the plasterers to pay for it...

 

[Robbie uk]

Any pictures would help ?