plastering noob!!

[sophski01]

So I'm struggling with getting my plaster mix right. It seems to either go off way too quickly and becomes a too thick to work with or its way too thin. I'm teaching myself whilst renovating my home. Any tips at all? Also how long should you leave a freshly plastered wall before painting it? These might all be silly questions but y'know, if you don't ask.....

 

[roy c]

Have a look thru the forum and you will find most of the answers to your questions, they are all there somewhere and if you cant find them come back and ask again

 

[NickB_99]

how long should you leave a freshly plastered wall before painting it?..

Try the plastering wiki.
This one is certainly on there - other useful stuff you benefit from too.

 

[sophski01]

i'll have another look through thanks guys!

 

[Guitar_man]

Getting the mix right is crucial. As you say it has to be right for the area to cover. Only mix up what you can cover in halftime the time before it goes off. For a newb I'd say half a bag max. First cost you want to get as much on the wall as flat as poss but don't spend time smoothing. Get it on. Once the wall is covered, it should not be going off. Now you can mix the 2nd half and apply it to the 2nd half of the wall. While doing this keep an eye on the already plastered wall. Obviously different areas will go off at different times, so you might need to finish the already plastered area. Bigger areas would require a thinner mix, to give you longer. For ceilings, I would even suggest mixing less and but doing it as previously. Practice plastering is both directions ie trowel left or right moves on the easy bits. Plaster is a fluid thing, if its thicker it will go off quicker.
Good luck!

 

[Greenie9657]

Hi sophski

I had a mate come round and try and show me how to plaster as I like to have a bash at anything once. Plastering is nails though.

Anyway, I was told to mix it to the consultancy of angel delight. And I nail it everytime now. I suppose different teachers/plasterers have different ideas but this definitely worked for me.

 

[loply]

So I'm struggling with getting my plaster mix right. It seems to either go off way too quickly and becomes a too thick to work with or its way too thin. I'm teaching myself whilst renovating my home. Any tips at all? Also how long should you leave a freshly plastered wall before painting it? These might all be silly questions but y'know, if you don't ask.....

You might just be working too slow? As someone who plasters a wall once in a while I'm not very quick, so I have to work as fast as possible else the plaster catches up with me and dries out. Don't play with it when first getting it on, just whack it right on. Try to get into a routine of the same motion for each trowel so you can move swiftly along.

Also, make sure it's cool and not drafty. No heating on etc.

Spray bottle of water can help if it starts going off on the wall too quick, but if it's going off in your bucket/board I find there's not much you can do...