Skimming Artex

[dangallimore]

Hi Guys,

New here so bear with me, Ive had a search but wasnt to sure with the result that came up.

Just want your opinions on skimming over artex. Now I own a terrace house and its covered in the stuff. We had a space between the kitchen and bathroom (anti-space) which was artex, Now i skimmed this, knocked all the nipples off the artex, PVC glue and multi finish. Now its not to bad of a job really for my first attempt.

Now a mate of mine has had some artex skimmed by professional, now he said they used a dark plaster before skimming, im taking this as a bond (is that correct, i forget) now would this be the best option, bond over the artex then skim with multi finish? or would you recommend the way I did the first room, just looking to see which would be the easier way.

Cheers

Dan.

 

[Richard C]

Not sure what you mean by “dark plaster”; most gypsum products come in either pink or grey depending on where the raw materials originate. His plasterer could have used a light skim of Bonding plaster before the Multi if the Artex pattern was particularly deep. Some use Bonding initially as it can make it easier to fill out the Artex pattern than Multi which, apart from the possibility of crazing, can get difficult if laid on too thick. If the pattern is not too thick, just skim with 2 coats of Multi as normal.

 

[dangallimore]

thats what he must of ment then by "dark plaster" as he saw my skim and said that came after the original skim of the "dark plaster" meaning the bond.

Can I ask, what do you mean by "apart from the possibility of crazing" whats crazing?

Cheers

Dan.

 

[Richard C]

thats what he must of ment then by "dark plaster" as he saw my skim and said that came after the original skim of the "dark plaster" meaning the bond.

Can I ask, what do you mean by "apart from the possibility of crazing" whats crazing?

Cheers

Dan.

Multifinsh is a finishing coat intended to be applied at around 2mm thick; if it’s applied too thickly (say 4mm or so), it will crack & craze as it cures & look a bit like a dried up river bed. Bonding plaster is an undercoat/base plaster that is used before finishing plaster & can be applied up to around 11mm in one coat, onto suitable backgrounds. But it’s not a “bond” coat in the sense you describe & it won’t “bond” any more to prepared Artex than if you just use Multifinish; it’s just sometimes more suitable to use an initial coat of Bonding plaster over heavy Artex patterns simply because it can be applied thicker to hide the pattern more easily.

 

[roy c]

You would be surprised Richard how thick you can get away with putting "Multi" on

 

[Richard C]

You would be surprised Richard how thick you can get away with putting "Multi" on

Bet I wouldn't but probably best not to encourage beginners to try it.

 

[roy c]

Fair comment Richard we cant give too many trade secrets away Eh??

 

[Richard C]

Fair comment Richard we cant give too many trade secrets away Eh??

Not really bothered about that but best to learn to walk before you attempt to run.

 

[dangallimore]

cheers for the input guys, we had the bathroom skimmed and they only used multi finish.

This is pretty much the extent of the artex that i just used the multi finish on in the room ive just done

Now heres another quick Q- on an outside edge even covering artex would you use the metal edging strips which are used when tidying edges with plasterboard etc?

 

[Richard C]

It can be useful to give a nice straight edge to plaster to where it’s noticeable & more difficult to achieve normally but about the only place I use stop edge is in window/door reveals against the frames; it’s a very narrow strip of plaster & makes finishing a doddle whilst giving a very nice tight line against the frame.
Personally, I wouldn’t need to use it on a ceiling but if you put it over the Artex you will be raising the edge all the way around the room; you will end up with a nice line but, I guess, it will be 2-6mm below the rest of the ceiling!

But, obviously, use corner bead on all the corners!

 

[dangallimore]

yeah, ive finished with that room now, i only ask as ive the next room to do, wife is nagging me. So just wanted to know if its still worth using the corner bead when skimming artex. I'll get some.

Cheers for the advice