Any tips on polished plaster would be a win!

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tomahawk

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Alright fellas!

I am a plasterer and thought I would have a do a polished plastering as I have been looking into it for a while. Really enjoying it and slowly getting some results.

I am having Problems with clouding on my final coat, anyone know why this is and what i can do to get away from it. I end up burnishing the life out of it to try and get rid of it but it dosent seen to work. I am using lucidato.

Also I am working on sample boards of mdf, I was thinking of building a cabinet and plastering it, is this a bad idea, what is the lifespan on wood?

any opinions welcome nice one!
 
Welcome along but, by any chance do you have an older brother called Chopper and a younger brother called Chipper :RpS_confused:

and i'm sure someone will come along and answer your question :RpS_thumbsup:
 
Not sure about the clouding as ive not used lucidato before. Maybe changing to a plastic trowel for thefinal polish.As for mdf as long as its primed the polished plaster will stay on and last. We do tv housing units every now and then made from mdf and we havent had a problem yet
 
cheers for the reply, I am using a separate bruising trowel but would you recommend the plastic ones over the stainless?
 
If the finish is white then when burnishing the steel will oxidise the finish and could be whats creating the clouding. Especially if your burnishing the life out of it. Plastic will stop this from happening.
Also you dont need to rub it up that much to get your shine. Get it nice and then a wax will bring out some depth to the finish and a good buff up will bring that high shine. Ifyou want to get iteven better then apply a second coat of wax (obvoously leaving drying time in between wax coat, buffing then second wax and buff).

Welcome to the forum by the way. You might want to drop in and introduce yoirself in the new members section bit. Not sure what its called
 
It is clouding while I am burnishing, it does calm down after a while but when you look at it from a side it is more apparent. when burnishing do you need to go over it a lot or just a couple of times?

I am using a decor lacquer and a buffer, would you suggest wax for a better finish.

I think i will buy a plastic finishing trowel and give that a do, thanks for that.
 
Lucidato is a very natural lime based stucco, it pulls in on your second coat and is best to put on as tight as possible. Make sure you mix/ agitate the mix well before application as it will be like applying paint with a trowel. Sounds like your missing ares when burnishing so this is the cloudy effect. Use a small trowel for burnishing and practice in 3 different directions.
 
It is clouding straight way, from what jamesthefirst just said it sound like I am maybe putting to much on. Ot feels like i don't have time to to get it on a burnish it, some parts are coming up nice and i guess where I am going on thick where the application overlaps and thats where it clouds.

I am using a decor lacquer with a buffer, do you think wax would be better?

sounds like a plastic trowel could be worth a purchase as well.

thanks for the help fellas!
 
Forget about the wax and buffer, they are later stages. Yes it's easy to put the Lucidato on too thick so you need to master this first. With marmorino it is sometimes encouraged to spray a mist of water before the second application therefore killing some of the suction.
Lucidato is different and you could sponge over the first coat very lightly so it goes dark then leave for 5 mins (this is for sample boards) then apply your second coat followed by your third coat. You will notice the material spreads further and thinner, but in the real world you need to be able to learn to handle the natural suction.
Im guessing you bought the material from phil or Cain in Yorkshire or Paul from Bristol?
 
Yeah the policed plaster company. They give me some good pointers. when you are applying the last coat how long between putting it on to burnishing it would you say
 
tomahawk said:
Yeah the policed plaster company. They give me some good pointers. when you are applying the last coat how long between putting it on to burnishing it would you say
Click to expand...

They are good blokes and helpful.

On a sample board just leave it for around 3 minutes and with your smallest trowel just glide it over the top very lightly, this compresses it before a further two passes.
imagine using a compass with the point on the edges and this is the arc movement you need.
Have you been trying marmorino?
 
Sounds like i have been truing to burnish to early, no not tried marmorinio yet just the lucidato, got a tub of black.
 
tomahawk said:
Sounds like i have been truing to burnish to early, no not tried marmorinio yet just the lucidato, got a tub of black.
Click to expand...

Well the black is going to pull in more than most. The darker colours tend to do this but you can get away with two coats with black if you like. I use a small spatula in my right hand to scoop out the material and lay it onto the trowel in my left. Remember on your second and third coats that less is more! On sample boards just put on the same amount as if you were brushing your teeth, which is not a lot of material.
Did you attend there training course or just ordered the gear?
 
haha! yeah I have been caking it on then! thanks for that man!

I don't think they do the training corse anymore so I just been trying to look in to it and have a go.
 
Hi Tomahawk. Answer is quite simple as James mentioned. Clouding is created by going to thick on final coat.. Don't know what procedure you are using, can also be because the lime in the polished plaster that you are using is of not great quality aswell as not going tight enough on the final coat. It cannot be taken out with wax and polish, it will just contain it. Try compressing more beforwe you burnish it will sort it out. Also certain colour contain various oxides in them and just sometimes these to can have an adverse effect on the final coat and what I have mentioned already
 
also i am putting my last coat on with my burnishing trowel, is it a better idea to only use it for burnishing?
 
Always have separate trowel for burnishing. As for products, yes it should be but it does depend on what you are using aswell.
 
iam guesing you are putting the last coat on to thick , never do more than 1m2 before you start to polish, all polished plastering coats
including prep need leaving 24 hrs, and for wax you should try to leave it at least two days, try using a good light angled against the wall
this helps a lot and helps you to trowel the product, did you sand down the prvious coat ? always sand down the previous coat- and like the others have said the final coat is really tight , are you making your own product ? if you are try using a off the shelf one , one of them has oil in it and it makes a lot easier to use, most polished plaster has dull spots it just practice, have a look on you tube theres a chap on there doing a lovely job on a fire place.
 
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