How to prepare trowel for plastering...

[Sarah_W]

I've got a small bit of toch up plastering to do and want to teach myself. The first stumbling block is how to prpare my trowel. I've bought a £15 Ragni one an believe they may need to be preped for first use. Is this the case and if so, what should I do?

Thanks :-

[pits]

Get someone else to do it, plastering is a st of a job, you will end up with more over the floor than on the wall

[Justayellowbadge]

Sarah, do you consider 'Pistonheads' to be a replacement for 'thinking'?

[elster]

I only do minor plastering and leave finishing to someone who can do it.

I have never "prepared" a trowel. I slap and slide.

However I am usually just filling in holes that a friend will skim over to finish.

[GreenDog]

Justayellowbadge said:

Sarah, do you consider 'Pistonheads' to be a replacement for 'Googling'?

[Stig]

GreenDog said:

Justayellowbadge said:

Sarah, do you consider 'Pistonheads' to be a home-improvements website?

[sleep envy]

Sarah_W said:

I've bought a £15 Ragni one an believe they may need to be preped for first use. Is this the case and if so, what should I do?

you need to do some rendering first, this will give the trowel an edge for the muck to key onto whilst your spread

bear in mind it's not the trowel that gives plaster a smooth finish - you'll need a float



best left to the experts, it's a black art

Edited by sleep envy on Monday 27th July 13:47

[Simpo Two]

For small areas I use B&Q ready-mixed plaster. Very lightweight, sticks to the wall rather than the trowel/float, dries quickly, can be used up to an inch thick, easy to sand down if you need to.

[mk1fan]

Sarah,

Can I suggest you invest in a new copy of Coliins DIY Manual. Given your type of venture into propery development it would prove very useful.

'Preping' a trowel is just taking the sharp edges of it. Most plasterers will use a new trowel for cement rendering first as the course mortar dulls the edges of the trowel. The reason for doing it is to make it easier to get a smooth finish in the plaster.

If it's only a small area of plastering to be done then I wouldn't worry too much about it. It will happen with time the more you use it.

ETA: too slow typing!!

Edited by mk1fan on Monday 27th July 13:51

[blindswelledrat]

Justayellowbadge said:

Sarah, do you consider 'Pistonheads' to be a replacement for 'thinking'?

[Deva Link]

Plastering can't be that difficult otherwise plasterers wouldn't be able to do it.

[IanMorewood]

It’s a black art but a few tips I got off my plasterer when he was skimming the bedroom walls.

Take the sharp corners off a new trowel with an angle grinder as these will drag and cause a line.
Use some fine sandpaper to polish the working side of the trowel.
Dip the trowel in water
Brush wall with PVA glue/Water mix
Mix plaster to correct consistency
Apply freshly mixed plaster no thicker then 3mm to wall
Allow to dry for 20 mins or so before smoothing the plaster to perfection, use a wet wall paper type brush to add water, take off plaster if needed

[blindswelledrat]

There you go Sarah.
According to Neil all you need to do is pop out and buy an Angle Grinder.
Just remember the best way to prepare and angle grinder is to kango hammer the edges and then rub them down with molten diamonds.

ANd don't forget that brilliant tip 'mix the plaster to the correct consistency' in case you were toying with the idea of mixing it badly.

[sleep envy]

blindswelledrat said:

ANd don't forget that brilliant tip 'mix the plaster to the correct consistency' in case you were toying with the idea of mixing it badly.

there's a good technique to work out the right consistency taught to me by my uncle; a plasterer and tiler

mound some plaster on a hawk and split it with the corner of the trowel - if it opens up like a woman's pussy lips when they're moist it's ready to spread

Edited by sleep envy on Monday 27th July 14:05

[blindswelledrat]

Last time I tried to open up a woman with a trowel she didn't like it.
Nor did the Police.
Political correctness gone mad.

[sleep envy]

did you go in with the handle end first?

[blindswelledrat]

No, normal way
It was something about me not knowing her and public transport.
Not really sure what their point was.

[IanMorewood]

blindswelledrat said:

There you go Sarah.
According to Neil all you need to do is pop out and buy an Angle Grinder.
Just remember the best way to prepare and angle grinder is to kango hammer the edges and then rub them down with molten diamonds.

ANd don't forget that brilliant tip 'mix the plaster to the correct consistency' in case you were toying with the idea of mixing it badly.

Kango hammer wont do the job right, would buckle the disk of the grinder. If you havent got a grinder find a piece of gritstone and use that, just makes the job take you a couple of hours instead of a couple of minutes.

As for mixing, big drill with whisk attachment, big deep bucket, start off with water about a quarter full, slowly add plaster and whisk until smooth, add more plaster until you get to a consistency a bit like philadelhia light. If you havent got a whisk and a suitable drill then its possible to mix by hand (use a solid piece of wood) but your plaster will go off very quickly so dont mix up very much this way. If its a very small area then something like polyfilla would do the job and stop you havign to mix up the plaster.

Easy solution is of course to get someone in.

[sleep envy]

also depends how much humidity there is in the air - it's a fker to float off a ceiling when it hasn't rained for a week

you'll be fine this week though, it's not stopped pissing it down so you'll have more than enough time to have a cuppa betting spreading and floating off

[King Herald]

Justayellowbadge said:

Sarah, do you consider 'Pistonheads' to be a replacement for 'thinking'?

You have 9614 posts eh, Yellowbadger?