Had a nightmare reskim today, any advice

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sedoplastering

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Hi everyone, first post so be gentle. Basically I done a reskim today room about 3m by 2m and lid and it did not go well! I dropped my kit off sheeted up and applied thistle bond it the afternoon before as I notice the walls seemed like they had silk paint on of some sort anyway I got there this morning and thought I would do it in 2 quick sets(lay in with one mix) as mixing was a nightmare due to carpet everywhere. Any way it went on real neat and well and the econd coat seam to close everything up lovely then my first 2 trowels seemed to get a lot of fat of so I eased of as it was still mega wet then I go to give it my usual side trowel before a hard trowel and it just tears to **** but didn't seem like it was pulling in just and putting water on it just maded it grainy and although it limited the tear I'm still not happy with finish and a hard trowel was nearly imposs. Any suggestions guys?
 
Yeah I know I rolled it on about 2 the day before so it weren't to far off and I thought this but it's not the first time I hasn't waited 24 hours. Do u think it needed at least the 24 hours as it was on a silk paint? My only other fear is the bags may have been a little damp but again i have had slightly damp bags with no probs before. Also If I reskim should I wait for it to cure before pva'ing and reskimming.
 
Quite often to quick sets when I have to be tidy so I only mix once, have you had this happen to you or is that your eductated guess Ashleyscoob
 
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When you lay in with the first mix its always a risk, if the mix is wet enough to lay down then the 1st layer is probably still to wet.(Unless you know what your doing).You may have also played with it to much.

Hard to say with out seeing it.
 
Tricky one jj I would have thought with all you're G** trowel knowledge you would now how to tackle a little reskim or maybe they didn't teach you well enough lol
Sedo it's pretty obvious you havent got a clue what you're doing mate so the best thing you can do is stick you're bucket trowel handle up you're bum and get some fun out of it
 
I'm going 2mo to prep another room so I will see then, I'm convinced it's either the backing or damp multi as like I said I quite often lay it in with the same mix when space and knocking up is a problem I know it makes a smaller set but I find it works well either at the end of a site day or on little bits. Think you've got a point about it being too wet underneath so I guess my bond it wasnt ready and it was hanging wet at the back while setting on top. I thought maybe I had played too much on my first set so I did let it pick up on the second but it just seemed to all of a sudden be unworkable, never seen anything like it! Like I said the hard trowel was impossible. Got to be the worst day ever! Even worse than topping skimming hardwall the next day just not nice.
 
spunky said:
Tricky one jj I would have thought with all you're G** trowel knowledge you would now how to tackle a little reskim or maybe they didn't teach you well enough lol
Sedo it's pretty obvious you havent got a clue what you're doing mate so the best thing you can do is stick you're bucket trowel handle up you're bum and get some fun out of it
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:RpS_lol:
 
spunky said:
Tricky one jj I would have thought with all you're G** trowel knowledge you would now how to tackle a little reskim or maybe they didn't teach you well enough lol
Sedo it's pretty obvious you havent got a clue what you're doing mate so the best thing you can do is stick you're bucket trowel handle up you're bum and get some fun out of it
Click to expand...

Ha ha
 
Nice one spunky! I get it, You've been here the longest and probably never had a bad day in your life I bet every set trowels up like butter for you. Just wanted a bit of advice as my work today was not upto my usuall standard, it happens mate that's why there are parts of the forum for genuine questions.I am a spread mate and always cover my money on site and have a lot of repeat business, this job may not have been my finest hour but I will put it right.
 
Dont worry about Spunks mate,its just what happens when re***ds for got to take there medication.He has a point about that bucket trowel though.
 
Started taking too much off on first set got about a couple of tennis balls on first trowel on a bag and a half and obviously noticed it didn't trowel well after that so on my second set I let it pick up and didn't take much off when I did trowel it but it still didn't go well it was like any pressure would get **** loads of fat and if you let it pick up then any pressure would tear it. It didn't go hard until a couple of hours after I mixed up which is about right with the multi I've been using recently but I did notice that it was still soft if you squeezed it really didn't feel nice, have you ever had problems with damp bags.
 
i always put a tight coat of bonding over such surfaces now,for this reason.....if only a few patches have shelled of you could let wall dry then repair with easyfill.:RpS_mellow:
 
Cheers kebab, I hope your not suggesting I'm a bucket digger tho! Coz I'm totally not unless there is no other way. I'm not saying I don't have handles up my arse I'm just not a bucket digger.
 
Interesting, spread1970. Gonna try and use the multi I have left on a small area on a site job Monday and in the meantime give all the walls a nice coat of bond it and let it dry over weekend. Then if it turns out it is me I will try a tight coat of bond on this reskim should take long and I have 4 bags leftover from last week so it could be the answer.
 
The answers staring you in the face mate if you take a step back and look at the the situation logicaly.

If the background was a high suction background then yes by all means use the same mix to 2nd coat your work as in effect the first will have pulled in and the gear your laying in is wet enough to act like a new ie seperate mix.

However if your saying that the background was paint then it is going to be of a low suction so obviously your first coat hasnt pulled in sufficently to accomidate your 2nd coat which will already be starting to pull in before applied leaving the situation youve described ie your plaster smudging over your walls etc.

Not having a dig mate just trying to explain how i see it from your description. I think over the years ive had just about every imiginable bad day going with skimming etc and as much as its nice to pin the blame on **** gear through my experiance in 95% of the time i always find that when ive thought about it after the biggest factor is human error ie bad judgement.

zombie
 
Mate I really don't thick it's got naff all to do with damp bags, I've used no end of damp bags on site over the years without to much problem. I know we all lay in with the same mix from time to time but it really is asking for it to not work well and should be avoided if at all possible IMO.

Sorry zombie I'd spent so long chatting whilst typing that your post got there first and I agree with all you say.
 
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it is sometimes best to flatten first coat then apply 2nd sounds like dodgy bags to me ive had this b4 skim stays wet then just rockets dry you have to give it plenty of water and troweling almost like when your putting it on
 
Kind what I was afraid of zombie and Essex I have used damp bags before with no probs apart from when you get on with rocks obv, thinking back I reckon I could have left the first coat on all day and it wouldn't pull so I've def ****ed it, bit ****ed of with my self as I have turned into a quick set monster. Pretty sure I've closed it in well enough to aims the odd tear, so I guess it's a big set on these walls from now on, is there any advice you can give me that will help the first coat pull in quicker
 
The second coat needs to slip over the first whilst not affecting it too much. So if you're skimming on a low suction background and you intent to use the same mix, you need to let your first coat pick up a bit, take the lines out of it, leave it as long as you dare. Then knock up the mix like piss and and lay it down fast before it picks up.

Then put on your flowery frock and do the funky chicken.
 
These walls were so small there was no roughing on I just layer on neat as I had the time it was tight but neat so no need to flatten 1st trowel unless I worked the first coat to set it off more maybe that would help
 
sedoplastering said:
Kind what I was afraid of zombie and Essex I have used damp bags before with no probs apart from when you get on with rocks obv, thinking back I reckon I could have left the first coat on all day and it wouldn't pull so I've def ****ed it, bit ****ed of with my self as I have turned into a quick set monster. Pretty sure I've closed it in well enough to aims the odd tear, so I guess it's a big set on these walls from now on, is there any advice you can give me that will help the first coat pull in quicker
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With any amount of skimming mix small amounts (10lts water) of multi at a time and put on a bucket at a time until the first bucket is starting to tighten up. Then turn back and start laying in. Because you've only mixed sensible amount it'll not get away from you, but you won't be getting on it to quick. Essentially every set is a rolling set on a small scale.
 
weve all had bad days mate...hell ive had bad months lol

key is to learn from each situation and be your own harshish critic.

Some sets may take 1 thick coat, some 2coats from same gear, the remaining 90% most likley2 coats from different mixes (always the best imo!!!). Some situations your able to apply 1st neat and get away without a flatten before 2nd. Some first coats on re-skims are nearer to a float coat and may even need 2 flattens!!!.

You just need to realise that each situation is different and as comforting as it is to have a skimming system etc. That you need to adapt and apply forsight to each set prior to starting.

Example theres no point trying to fight your first coat hanging. Turn it into your advantage ie put a bigger set on or once on start prepping another area whilst it pulls in or once on set another set going with a new mix somewhere else and do a rolling gauge etc.

Zombie
 
Wish I could zombie but they are moving the furniture for me one room at a time, it's one of those where I said yes coz we didn't have full weeks and now I am rammed and if i sent my mate he would have left a plaster trail up the stairs. It's a shame coz the room is a bit to big for a big set so I broke it into 2 quick ones plus it saved me moving buckets etc in between trowels. Defo take inboard what you said about letting first coat pull in more just wish I could speed it up all though the next room is a bit big bigger so might be better for room although I bet they don't move the bed.
 
If your that desperate for your first coat to pull in bit quicker could always buy couple of small fan heaters from argos or wherever can get them for about tenner or so wack them on one at each side of the room with all windows and doors shut will help speed it up a bit.

Always Usefull to have kicking about for jobs when you need to get the pva to dry before staring to skim ie painted surfaces etc so wouldnt be a waste of money mate.

Zombie
 
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