"Steve Eldridge" wrote in message ...

Self-taught, I can manage small jobs reasonably but when faced with a
large wall I found that I'm too slow and the work was starting to go off
before I could get a good finish. I know that I should become faster and
more adept...

Is there anything I can add to slow the cure down and give me more time
whilst leaving the plaster unaffected once cured?

Water

Self-taught, I can manage small jobs reasonably but when faced with a
large wall I found that I'm too slow and the work was starting to go off
before I could get a good finish. I know that I should become faster and
more adept...

Is there anything I can add to slow the cure down and give me more time
whilst leaving the plaster unaffected once cured?



--
Steve

Steve Eldridge wrote:
Is there anything I can add to slow the cure down and give me more
time whilst leaving the plaster unaffected once cured?

Use very very very fresh plaster. I once mixed a bucket of
plaster from a bag that was a couple of months old. By the
time I'd walked to the wall, it had set solid, trapping my
trowel with it.

JGH

On Friday, October 12, 2012 8:13:59 PM UTC+1, Steve Eldridge wrote:
Self-taught, I can manage small jobs reasonably but when faced with a

large wall I found that I'm too slow and the work was starting to go off

before I could get a good finish. I know that I should become faster and

more adept...



Is there anything I can add to slow the cure down and give me more time

whilst leaving the plaster unaffected once cured?


There's always lime plaster


NT

In article ,
Steve Eldridge writes:
Self-taught, I can manage small jobs reasonably but when faced with a
large wall I found that I'm too slow and the work was starting to go off
before I could get a good finish. I know that I should become faster and
more adept...

Is there anything I can add to slow the cure down and give me more time
whilst leaving the plaster unaffected once cured?

I think there are two things - changing your technique, and
making sure the plaster lasts as long as possible.

Longest setting time is brand new plaster a long way from its
use-by date. As plaster ages, it sets faster. Very old plaster
can set in the mixing bucket (and if it does this, it can get
very hot). It can be useful to keep a small amount of old
plaster for when you need to do something small quickly, like
filling in a plaster chase.

Classic mistake to make is to spend too long titvating an
area of plaster too soon (which won't work anyway), and then
you run out of time.

When I plaster, my order of working is:
1. Mix plaster, and pour out onto plastering board.
2. Next, clean out the mixing bucket and mixing paddle thoroughly;
it's dead easy to clean at this point, and you don't want any
already mixed plaster to infect your next batch, as it will
make it set faster.
3. Slap it on - doesn't matter what it looks like at this point,
as you can't start to tidy it up until it's started setting,
so just concentrate on covering the area, and ignore all the
lines and ridges.

Now, what you must realise is that as it goes off (sets), at each
stage you can only improve the finish by so much. You obviously
can't get a fine polish when it's sloppy, but it's less obvious
that at each stage in the transition from liquid to set, the
finish can only be improved to a certain point.

4. Once the area is covered, try moving to where you started,
and see if you can smooth it. That means that that you pass over
it with the trowel, the size of the new ridges created is smaller
than the ridges originally there. If they aren't, you're working
the plaster too soon, and trying to work an area of plaster too
soon is more likely to make a mess of it than improve it. Move
on to another area. You may very well have to wait for 10 mins.
5. Keep repeating this across the area - see if you can improve it
yet, and if not wait. If you do this right, the ridges will get
smaller and eventually vanish as the plaster gets further set.
6. The final polishing can only take place when it no longer moves,
as it uses the trowel edge to scrape off the peaks and drop them
in the troughs.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

On Fri, 12 Oct 2012 20:06:32 +0000, Andrew Gabriel wrote:

In article ,
Steve Eldridge writes:
Self-taught, I can manage small jobs reasonably but when faced with a
large wall I found that I'm too slow and the work was starting to go
off before I could get a good finish. I know that I should become
faster and more adept...

Is there anything I can add to slow the cure down and give me more time
whilst leaving the plaster unaffected once cured?

I think there are two things - changing your technique, and making sure
the plaster lasts as long as possible.

Longest setting time is brand new plaster a long way from its use-by
date. As plaster ages, it sets faster. Very old plaster can set in the
mixing bucket (and if it does this, it can get very hot). It can be
useful to keep a small amount of old plaster for when you need to do
something small quickly, like filling in a plaster chase.

Fresh plaster.

Classic mistake to make is to spend too long titvating an area of
plaster too soon (which won't work anyway), and then you run out of
time.

Yep, guilty!

When I plaster, my order of working is: 1. Mix plaster, and pour out
onto plastering board. 2. Next, clean out the mixing bucket and mixing
paddle thoroughly;
it's dead easy to clean at this point, and you don't want any already
mixed plaster to infect your next batch, as it will make it set
faster.

That makes sense as I maybe rushed with the cleaning clock ticking away,
done first, no worries except the rush to get on and of course the less
time working the plaster.

3. Slap it on - doesn't matter what it looks like at this point,
as you can't start to tidy it up until it's started setting, so just
concentrate on covering the area, and ignore all the lines and
ridges.

That's what I do...

Now, what you must realise is that as it goes off (sets), at each stage
you can only improve the finish by so much. You obviously can't get a
fine polish when it's sloppy, but it's less obvious that at each stage
in the transition from liquid to set, the finish can only be improved to
a certain point.

4. Once the area is covered, try moving to where you started,
and see if you can smooth it. That means that that you pass over it
with the trowel, the size of the new ridges created is smaller than
the ridges originally there. If they aren't, you're working the
plaster too soon, and trying to work an area of plaster too soon is
more likely to make a mess of it than improve it. Move on to another
area. You may very well have to wait for 10 mins.
5. Keep repeating this across the area - see if you can improve it
yet, and if not wait. If you do this right, the ridges will get
smaller and eventually vanish as the plaster gets further set.
6. The final polishing can only take place when it no longer moves,
as it uses the trowel edge to scrape off the peaks and drop them in
the troughs.

Yep, I try all this but, invariably, it has set too much because I'm too
slow...

On Oct 12, 8:13*pm, Steve Eldridge wrote:
Self-taught, I can manage small jobs reasonably but when faced with a
large wall I found that I'm too slow and the work was starting to go off
before I could get a good finish. I know that I should become faster and
more adept...

Is there anything I can add to slow the cure down and give me more time
whilst leaving the plaster unaffected once cured?

--
Steve

If you get some of the Polyfilla stuff to practice with, it goes off
much slower.
Also does not crack if put on thick.
Also in the tub is a plastic "spatula". Much easier to use than a
float.
You can buy spatulas, a bit of stiff plastic about 200mm x 100mm.

I have used Polyifilla for a final coat when plastering mixed with PVA
& water. Gets a much better result. (Covers up my ****ty plastering.)

On 13/10/2012 07:14, harry wrote:
On Oct 12, 8:13 pm, Steve Eldridge wrote:
Self-taught, I can manage small jobs reasonably but when faced with a
large wall I found that I'm too slow and the work was starting to go off
before I could get a good finish. I know that I should become faster and
more adept...

Is there anything I can add to slow the cure down and give me more time
whilst leaving the plaster unaffected once cured?

--
Steve

If you get some of the Polyfilla stuff to practice with, it goes off
much slower.
Also does not crack if put on thick.
Also in the tub is a plastic "spatula". Much easier to use than a
float.
You can buy spatulas, a bit of stiff plastic about 200mm x 100mm.

I have used Polyifilla for a final coat when plastering mixed with PVA
& water. Gets a much better result. (Covers up my ****ty plastering.)


Similarly Artex powder or Gyproc joint filler. Even with the float it's
far more forgiving

On Fri, 12 Oct 2012 12:51:46 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

Is there anything I can add to slow the cure down and give me more
time whilst leaving the plaster unaffected once cured?

Use very very very fresh plaster. I once mixed a bucket of
plaster from a bag that was a couple of months old. By the
time I'd walked to the wall, it had set solid, trapping my
trowel with it.

It's a bugger that, first time it happens.

On Friday, October 12, 2012 9:06:32 PM UTC+1, Andrew Gabriel wrote:
In article ,

Steve Eldridge writes:

Self-taught, I can manage small jobs reasonably but when faced with a

large wall I found that I'm too slow and the work was starting to go off

before I could get a good finish. I know that I should become faster and

more adept...



Is there anything I can add to slow the cure down and give me more time

whilst leaving the plaster unaffected once cured?



I think there are two things - changing your technique, and

making sure the plaster lasts as long as possible.



Longest setting time is brand new plaster a long way from its

use-by date. As plaster ages, it sets faster. Very old plaster

can set in the mixing bucket (and if it does this, it can get

very hot). It can be useful to keep a small amount of old

plaster for when you need to do something small quickly, like

filling in a plaster chase.



Classic mistake to make is to spend too long titvating an

area of plaster too soon (which won't work anyway), and then

you run out of time.



When I plaster, my order of working is:

1. Mix plaster, and pour out onto plastering board.

2. Next, clean out the mixing bucket and mixing paddle thoroughly;

it's dead easy to clean at this point, and you don't want any

already mixed plaster to infect your next batch, as it will

make it set faster.

3. Slap it on - doesn't matter what it looks like at this point,

as you can't start to tidy it up until it's started setting,

so just concentrate on covering the area, and ignore all the

lines and ridges.



Now, what you must realise is that as it goes off (sets), at each

stage you can only improve the finish by so much. You obviously

can't get a fine polish when it's sloppy, but it's less obvious

that at each stage in the transition from liquid to set, the

finish can only be improved to a certain point.



4. Once the area is covered, try moving to where you started,

and see if you can smooth it. That means that that you pass over

it with the trowel, the size of the new ridges created is smaller

than the ridges originally there. If they aren't, you're working

the plaster too soon, and trying to work an area of plaster too

soon is more likely to make a mess of it than improve it. Move

on to another area. You may very well have to wait for 10 mins.

5. Keep repeating this across the area - see if you can improve it

yet, and if not wait. If you do this right, the ridges will get

smaller and eventually vanish as the plaster gets further set.

6. The final polishing can only take place when it no longer moves,

as it uses the trowel edge to scrape off the peaks and drop them

in the troughs.



--

Andrew Gabriel

[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

Had a bloody good pro plasterer working at my place a few weeks ago. He worked pretty much as
described here. In discussion, he reckoned he deals with every area 7 times in the process.

I concluded that was one of the reasons my plastering has always been rubbish, as I had thought you
slapped it on and smoothed it once-ish. Of course, there are many other reasons why my attempts
have been pretty useless (!)

On the other hand, having found a good reliable bloke, I was surprised what a good deal it is to get it
done properly.