What First Time Plasterers Should Know

Plastering isn’t something that you can do perfectly the first time you attempt it.

For many, it is something of an art form that experts continue to practice for years after they have been doing it professionally. For those who are attempting plastering for the very first time, we have put together some guidelines that should help you achieve better results than the average DIY plasterer.

Prepare Your Plastering Surface

Before you can apply any plaster and expect it to look good, you must prepare the surface you plan to be working on. Plaster is meant to cover up an uneven or unappealing surface, but that surface must be properly prepped for the plaster. If the surface is wet, unstable, wallpapered or otherwise unsuitable for plaster, then your plastering work will come undone quickly.

You want to start by getting rid of any loose sections on the wall. Anything that will fall off after a while or that just isn’t stable needs to be removed. Then you need to prepare the surface with a mixture of PVA glue and water. Be sure you are using the right amounts of each for the kind of surface you are working with.

There are lots of guides that will walk you through that mixing process, if you do a little searching online.

Making Your Mixture

Painterly Dublin will cover a little bit about the mixture here. It should be enough to get you started, but if you run into any problems, then you should consult a more in-depth guide on the mixture process, or call a drywall and plastering expert in Dublin. You want your consistency to be that of melting ice cream. It should be thick and liquid, but not incredibly runny or incredibly thick. If it is too thin, then it will run right off the walls. If it’s too thick, then it won’t spread very well.

A good rule of thumb when trying figure out the right consistency is to put a mixing stick into the mixture. If it can stand on its own, then you have not made it too thin.

Start Small

First-time plasterers sometimes bite off more work than they can handle, and we advise against going for a big project to begin with. Instead, start small and do just a single wall or small surface until you are confident you can handle something bigger. You want to focus on getting through all the stages of plastering before you tackle something that requires a lot of your time.

Don’t Over-Polish

In the final stage of plastering, as you polish off your work, you can continue to polish until it looks as smooth as fine glass. However, that’s not really what you should be aiming for. The finished product should be a little rough and look something like an eggshell. This allows paint and wallpaper to stick to it more easily, and you must be very careful about over-polishing.

We hope these tips and guidelines help you create a great-looking plastered surface.

Call us if you are in need of a plastering service in Dublin from Painterly painting company.

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