Hand Plastering Tips & Tricks
Here are some basic plastering tips to get you started in Plastering
Many tools are needed for plastering; however we have listed the most important ones below:
- Plastering Hawk
- Steel Floating Trowel
- Gauging Trowel
- Plastic Floating Trowel
- Hammer
- Internal Angle Trowel
- Aluminium Straight Edge
- Stanley Knife
- Tape Measure
- Saw
- Tin Snips
It is important to keep your tools clean at all times. This involves washing the trowels continuously to avoid the plaster drying up on the tools, which can cause damage to the plaster surface.
The two trowels used are for two different tasks, one for skimming and one for floating, the reason why plasterers use two separate trowels is to protect the skimming trowel from direct contact with harsh surfaces.
Other accessories will be required:- Sweeping Brush and Shovel
- Wheel Barrow
- Hose
- Hoe
- Mixing Plunger
- Plasterers Spot and Stand
- Buckets
- Yellow Mix Bucket
- Black Cleaning Bucket
Stages in Plastering
- First Coat Skimming
- Second Coat Skim Thinner Than First (fill in any gaps/indentations)
- Dry Trowel (flatten with pressure)
- Wet Trowel (fill in any gaps/indentations)
- Wet Brush And Trowel (use brush to clean up edges and corners)
- Dry Trowel (polish/flatten plaster)
Method for Mixes
- Internal Floating. Four scoops of sand mixed with 1 scoop of cstrongent with Febmix. Used for internal walls.
- External Rendering. Four scoops of sand mixed with 1 scoop of cstrongent with waterproofer.
- All Plasters. Mix together with clean water the following: Finish, Dry wall adhesive and bonding. Plaster is mixed with half a bucket of water to make a full bucket of plaster.
- PVA. Used for sealing walls, mix 3 parts water to 1 part of PVA. Apply 3 coats, when sealing coat is dry apply a 50/50 mix onto the wall, wait for around 15 minutes until it goes tacky before skimming the wall.
- Patching. Prepare the patch by wetting it then apply the following mix: Use Carlite Bonding or Universal one coat plaster or sand and cement. Fill the patch level with the plaster and wait for it to dry. Once dry then PVA using 50/50 mix and skim it. If floating the patch cut the floating back 3/8" to skim. Always make sure the completed patch is level with the existing plaster.
Methods for Plastering
- Method. Work from plaster till the mortar is required thickness.
- Floating. Floating is a combination of sand and cstrongent used for coating on stone brick or block work internally.
- Preparing. Place two cstrongent screeds on at the top and bottom of the wall and fill in between. Allow the mortar to dry (it usually takes until the end of the day). Once it has dried rub and scratch with the plastic float. If working round windows or stone, wet the walls before applying mortar. Never PVA walls to be floated on.
- Dot and Dab. Dot and dab is basically fixing the plasterboard to brick, concrete, block, Artex or any wall with a sound structure, using a dry wall adhesive. The thickness needs to be approx 1/2 inch - 1 inch once board is pressed firmly onto blockwork.
- Methods. Before you start, cut any boards that need cutting. Then mix the adhesive, use half a bucket of water to a full bucket of adhesive. This will make a full bucket of mix. Apply the adhesive to the wall in vertical lines, no more than 400mm centres. Then place the board onto the adhesive, and tap on with a straight edge, making sure the board is flat plumb.
- Skimming. Putting finishing plaster onto plasterboard, floating or PVA prepared walls.
- Methods. Start by mixing the plaster with water (half a bucket water will do a full mix), make sure all tools are kept clean. Working from left to right apply the plaster to wall, put a laying coat on first and then a doubling coat all done while plaster is still wet. Apply plaster with a flat trowel, leave until the plaster has tightened up, then trowel up applying a little bit of pressure. As plaster hardens keep adding a little more pressure each time, also opening the trowel a bit each time use a little water if needed. When the wall is finished make, sure it is flat and free of holes and marks.
- Browning. Browning is an alternative to rendering. It is easier to use and costs less. You would build the mortar up stage 1 and 2 then level it out with a 3/2, and then go to stage 4 to smooth it out. Give it 24hrs to dry PVA it and skim over it. Browning must be used inside only.
- Bonding. Bonding is used for several reasons. It can be used for sticking up beading. You can use it for filling holes up i.e. up 2-5 inch depth but when thicker you will need to do it in more than one coat. You can also use it as an alternative rendering on interior walls. It is not for exterior use.
- Beading. There are over 7 types of beading on the market. You get a drip bead, plasterboard bead rendering bead and so on.
- Dry Wall Adhesive. Used for dot and dab sticking the boards to walls and brick. You can also use it for sticking the beading up.
- Plaster Mix. There are 6 different types of plaster on the market. They all do the same job, that is, skim walls. The main difference is the price. Some go off quickly the others won't.
To learn more about plastering take a closer look at our plastering courses.
