In article ,
"Wisefrog" writes:
I too embarked on my first plastering project this week using the wickes
guide.
Definitely practices, on plasterboard first! A couple of sheets both sides.

Having spoken to a few people and done a few test runs, I found doing it in
two finishing coats with the later in a more diluted mixture (so you can
only just make peaks in the mix) applied about 30-45 mins after the first
gave me the best finish.

It should be runy enough so it easily runs off the trowel if
you hold it vertical. Scratch coat is thicker -- it should stay on
a vertical trowel unless you give it a slight vertical jolt to
make it slide off.

Also, I ditched the Wickes universal finishing plaster for standard
finishing plaster. I find it easier to smooth out after the initial
application.

Make sure you get a good level/flat surface to apply it too using bonding
plaster first.

And some form of electric mixer is well worth while. Mixing be hand can get
very tiresome and frustrasting when you still have lumps in there. The
attachments you can get for a drill work well but prepare for the mess! In
fact prepare for mess full stop. I'm still getting plaster dust on
everything I touch a week later!

Also watch the drill temperature -- it's easy to burn out a
cheap drill with a plaster mixer. Torque is quite high, but
speed to too low to adequately cool the drill. It kind of
relies on rest periods whilst you are plastering before you
mix up the next load to cool down.

But I'm still wondering how a hawk should be used - I gave up with it...

It's used to transfer plaster from your board to the trowel, and to
size and shape the plaster on the trowel. I'd love to explain, but
my descriptive powers aren't up to it. Actually, I couldn't do it even
having read how to and looked at the pictures -- it only worked for me
once someone had actually shown me how to use it and then it was easy.

I've seen someone plastering (not a professional plaster) by using
the trowel to directly scrape the plaster from the mixing bucket.
If you can do this with finish coat, it's far too thick (I didn't
see the end-result in this case).

--
Andrew Gabriel