jal wrote:
In article ,
tester wrote:

Not exactly plaster, but some product you can spread directly on
wallpaper and smooth to give a pseudo plaster-like effect - I wonder
how good it is to get a smooth finish over horrible surfaces.

I didn't think it was wallpaper they talk about in the ad (maybe I
misheard). I assume that it is _artex_ that they're talking about:
this is a notoriously difficult substance to remove - in fact
virtually impossible. (See D-I-Y for years past)

Best way to deal with Artex is to get it skimmed by a plasterer -
those time-served Wizards who can do wonderful things with sludge.

Enter Polycell, who are saying "skim it yourself - dead easy!". It's
*that* bit which I, too, am very curious to know about: even watching
the advert, I just cannot believe that the guy'n'gal slapping this
stuff on are going to end up with something you can paper, or
emulsion.

Polycell don't sell products to do the job they are sold for, they sell
watered (and dumbed) down versions of the 'real thing', often for
extortionate prices - a 5L tub of this 'smoothover' crap would probably
cover about 6m2 *, or to put it another way, less than one 12ft by 8ft wall
and costs £25...oh and it doesn't work.

Bag of finishing plaster (25kg) is £3, add to water (free) will cover easily
20m2.


There must be something in it (in the notion of doing this with
Polycell's product I mean, not something in the product itself; (that
too I suppose)). However I would say that if you have a wall or a
ceiling of Artex to deal with, then grit your teeth and employ a
plasterer to skim it: fast, and a perfect finish.


@ £3 a bag, I don't know why more people don't just buy some and
learn...even if it all ends up being scraped off and thrown in the bin, at
least people are getting better every time they try.

* a bedroom of 12ft by 12ft by 8ft high is approximately 45m2, even if this
stuff covered 8m2 (not a hope) it would still cost a householder £150 to do
it himself, probably over a fortnight or so...one plasterer would do it in
one day for approx £200, less if the householder sheeted up and cleaned up
afterwards.