In article , N.
Thornton writes
It shrinks and cracks during that time?

Not if you do it right in the first place. However the joy of lime
plaster is that even the less than competent can push it around for
hours and get it looking half decent.

I ask cos I have this insane
idea of trying a small bit of lime plastering one day later in the
year. I've never plastered anything.

Its a really good way to start.

I was reading up on making the stuff, and I gather quicklime is whats
wanted, slaking it yourself.

Its the cheapest way to do it, but not really recommended. Buy a tub of
lime putty from Bleaklow or somewhere similar.

I have some hydrated lime here - is it
possible to put it in the oven to dry it out?

You can dry it out, but you can't get it hot enough to turn the
carbonate to oxide.

I looked up quicklime manufacture, but that process is quite different
to just driving off moisture, and I would expect one need not use the
same kind of high temps just for drying. I did google but didnt get
what I wanted to find out.

I think lime industries have a web site, which explains the process
quite well.

J.
--
John Rouse