plasterers trowel?

[andyb30]

Hi

This might sound a bit backwards to you lads in the game but is there a difference between a plasterers trowel and a plasterers finishing trowel?

 

[trowelmonkey1]

shouldn't be, why you ask?

 

[andyb30]

whilst ive got a bit of time on my hands and some space in the garage im going to have a go at learning to plaster,nowt to lose.
i was looking on a site for buying tools and it mentioned these 2 and they were diffrent prices.I just wondered if there was something id missed.
Ive done the theory,watched the vids and now im going to go and try to put it into some sort of practice and then this came up and confused the hell out of me

 

[Alastairreid]

Might be pre worn trowels you have seen which are a tad more expensive.

 

[andyb30]

never heard of pre worn before but read another post about it and i think you could be right.
also they sound like a damm good idea.

 

[MrTinker]

they sound like a damm good idea.

They are I bought a Marshalltown one and it's spot on, expensive but I think it was worth every penny

 

[1john]

Get a stainless steel trowel, especially if you are learning or may be away from the tools for a length of time. They may cost more initially but saves you having to buy another one because you have left the plain steel one unattended for a while and it has rusted up.

 

[UKMICKY]

And remember its mainly all to do with the mix,get that right and your 80 % their

Its very easy at first to make it to stiff ,so think runny poo

Get it right and you have a very good chance of impressing yourself.

 

[andyb30]

After going and buying some tools Im going to have a go today,ive prepped the wall(Brick) with pva 1-3mix and ill go over it again.Ill mix up the browning for the bass coat and when the pva is tacky ill apply it about 10mm thick to a smooth consistency but not over smooth.After about half hour ill put the sctrach's into it ready for the finishing coats another day.
All this constantly cleaning tools and buckets as i go along.
Does this method sound right to you guys?

If i hadnt broke 2 blooming cameras just before crimbo id post photo's.

 

[keyplayer]

ive prepped the wall(Brick) with pva 1-3mix and ill go over it again.Ill mix up the browning for the bass coat and when the pva is tacky ill apply it about 10mm

Note the reversal of ratios for the second coat. (PVA that is). The product I use specs 4 or 5/1 water/pva for priming, and 3/1 pva/water for skimming onto whilst tacky. Plasterers may have their own recipes, but I see no reason to deviate too far from the above.

 

[andyb30]

looking around the forum 3-1 may be a little strong for the first coat,will this effect it or is it just that i dont need to use that much?.

 

[keyplayer]

I'd have thought that would be ok on brick, with cement based mortar. I'd prefer it weaker on a more friable substrate though as you want the water to carry the pva into the material. Too strong and it's liable to just sit on the surface.

 

[NickB_99]

Ill mix up the browning for the bass coat and when the pva is tacky ill apply it about 10mm thick to a smooth consistency but not over smooth.After about half hour ill put the sctrach's into it ready for the finishing coats another day.

Does this method sound right to you guys?

Bonding and Hardwall prob get more use that Browning these days.
If you've bought some, start with it by all means, but for next test maybe switch.
For me personally, I started with Bonding and had a little go with Hardwall at a later date.
The differences are documented on the British Gypsum site. A link is in the Plastering Wiki, if interested.
Tho a lot my come down to what the spread prefers.

With the coarse particles in Bonding (Vermiculite I think) I found it slightly stiffer and less likely to slump. Tho this may just be down to my mixing!
I also lay on Bonding with an old cheapo steel trowel. I find the rustiness between uses makes it more rough and keeps the Bonding on easier. Using my s/s marshalltown it's really easy to slide off. You're also plastering directly onto a rough brick surface sometimes, and I don't think this will do a pristine s/s trowel a lot of good (e.g. take some nibbles out the edge)

10mm may be quite thick for a first hit and it may slump.
But given it's only practice, why not.

Keep an eye on it for applying the scratches.
After 30mins wait after finishing laying down as a novice, it may be too firm by then.

Enjoy yourself

 

[andyb30]

My mistake it was bonding.
anyhow i had a go,found an old rusty trowel which still had the sharp corners (these will be getting ground off,great idea lads) and it went on brilliant after the first couple of goes.
My main problem was getting too much on the bottom where i started the by the time i got near the top it was really thin.Im only doing about 1.5m2.
Is there a nack to this or is it just practice practice.
I will be taking it off and having another go,it is a pracitce wall,but i want to get it right before wasting money on the top coat.

 

[1john]

You will learn to 'roll' the trowel to get a more even coverage sort of starting at say 75 degrees from the wall and upto 5 degrees, really hard to explain sorry if it made no sense