Questions raised from first plaster attempt

[rborob]

Hi all,

Ok so I tried my hand at plastering on the weekend and did my first wall...I learned from my mistakes pretty fast (first attempt at taking off the hawk just falling onto the floor), but I had some questions that I didn't have the answers for and was hoping someone could shed some light

1. I thought I was mixing the plaster right, but by the time I'd coated the wall it was already going off, so I was at the smoothing stage pretty quick. I had all the windows/doors open so it wasn't the temperature and I PVA'd the wall (once around 12 hours before and again about 30 mins before), so didn't think it was the suction. Should I just make it wetter next time?

2. What do people do with the crap in your cleaning bucket? Does it go down the drain? I took all the leftover plaster after each coat and put it in a binbag, but was wondering how people disposed of the rest of the crap

3. I did one big wall with a 13" trowel, but the room I'm doing has a couple of narrow parts either side of the door frame which are around 4-6" across. Since the technique i used wont work in that kind of space, what would be the best way/tool to plaster those areas?

Many thanks in advance to anyone who helps me answer these questions

 

[NickB_99]

1. If it’s too wet it’s tough to handle, you’ll find your happy medium. You need to lay on a mix in about 30 mins - it’s quick. For big areas I do my two coats in two mixes, that helps.

2. I trowel the spare out of bucket and dispose in old plaster bag and take to tip when set. For slurry, I dig a spot in flower bed and tip in there. Drains away leaving sludge there. Diy only!

3. There are mini trowels and margin trowels only a couple of cms across.

 

[rborob]

1. If it’s too wet it’s tough to handle, you’ll find your happy medium. You need to lay on a mix in about 30 mins - it’s quick. For big areas I do my two coats in two mixes, that helps.

2. I trowel the spare out of bucket and dispose in old plaster bag and take to tip when set. For slurry, I dig a spot in flower bed and tip in there. Drains away leaving sludge there. Diy only!

3. There are mini trowels and margin trowels only a couple of cms across.

Thanks..just found a decent stainless steel 20x7cm mini trowel...will try that!

 

[NickB_99]

Thanks..just found a decent stainless steel 20x7cm mini trowel...will try that!

Good choice.
I've got one the same size. I find it gets almost as much use as my two bigger trowels!
Beyond the obvious, really useful for touching up with easifill and filling/patching chases.

 

[Doggit]

You do your first coat, and flatten it slightly, and then wait a bit, and as it starts to firm up a little, you then add your second coat; hence as Nick says, mix a second batch. A wet and sloppy mix can give you more time to work the wall, but you need to put a smaller amount on the hawk otherwise it just slides off. It takes a bit of a knack and speed to get half of a sloppy mix off of the hawk without losing the other half, but it means you're not going back and forth to the bucket to get more. It's a practice thing.

As a beginner, the bottom of the wall may be iffy, so make sure you tidy it up the bottom it goes off, as it'll be a bugger to do when you're trying to fit the skirting board, and some plasterers will not go to the bottom of the wall, as that can pick up crap and dust. You PVA'd the wall, but did you do the side walls as well, as it can go off quicker on the edges where the walls at the side are dry.

Keep an eye on the mix left in the bucket, and scrape it out into the old bag before it sets, even a slurry will go off eventually unless it's basically water, in which case tip the water down the drains (not surface), but make sure no sludge goes down. Sometimes, if you've got some plaster left over and you're not going to use it, then just throw it in the slurry, and let it set.

 

[rborob]

Good choice.
I've got one the same size. I find it gets almost as much use as my two bigger trowels!
Beyond the obvious, really useful for touching up with easifill and filling/patching chases.

One more Q (if you dont mind), I've done 3 walls now (gettting better), but as the walls are drying, small "dimples" appear in the dried plaster that werent there when i put the plaster on....they're not massive, but slight flat recesses. Is this normal? Should i skim over them?

 

[Doggit]

It means that you haven't flattened the wall sufficiently on the 2nd coat - or had it way too wavey on the first. You need to keep an eye on the trowel and the wall as you go, and check to see what's happening. How good is the light in the room though. Try sticking a light on the floor in a corner, and look for any shadows.

If you skim over them, you'll then have edges to deal with, but it might give you some good practice.

 

[rborob]

It means that you haven't flattened the wall sufficiently on the 2nd coat - or had it way too wavey on the first. You need to keep an eye on the trowel and the wall as you go, and check to see what's happening. How good is the light in the room though. Try sticking a light on the floor in a corner, and look for any shadows.

If you skim over them, you'll then have edges to deal with, but it might give you some good practice.

Thanks again! The light isnt great..i have an inspection light i could hang closer for the remaining walls. The blemishes are more in the corners (which make sense given your explanation as my corner work needs improvement)
Appreciate the quick feedback

 

[Jonsend]

Hi all,

Ok so I tried my hand at plastering on the weekend and did my first wall...I learned from my mistakes pretty fast (first attempt at taking off the hawk just falling onto the floor), but I had some questions that I didn't have the answers for and was hoping someone could shed some light

1. I thought I was mixing the plaster right, but by the time I'd coated the wall it was already going off, so I was at the smoothing stage pretty quick. I had all the windows/doors open so it wasn't the temperature and I PVA'd the wall (once around 12 hours before and again about 30 mins before), so didn't think it was the suction. Should I just make it wetter next time?

2. What do people do with the crap in your cleaning bucket? Does it go down the drain? I took all the leftover plaster after each coat and put it in a binbag, but was wondering how people disposed of the rest of the crap

3. I did one big wall with a 13" trowel, but the room I'm doing has a couple of narrow parts either side of the door frame which are around 4-6" across. Since the technique i used wont work in that kind of space, what would be the best way/tool to plaster those areas?

Many thanks in advance to anyone who helps me answer these questions

Did you do 2 coats?

 

[rborob]

Did you do 2 coats?

I did yes.