not sure what im doing wrong?

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bailey326

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right, as some of you know im still learning so go easy (certain members lol).

just had a go at skimming my ceiling which is quite big (for me).
so i layed my first coat on, flattened, then my second, flattened, then when i came round to trowelling it again it started leaving rough patches and felt dry.

now i've been taught to not throw water on but it seems like i have no choice most of the time.

am i catching it too late, or too early or holding the trowel at too much of an angle? Its really pissing me off trying to get that perfect finish.
 
if its happening on board then its not on thick enough, you should buy a water spray bottle from wilkinsons that way you are only putting on clean water it may also be that speed and timing may be an issue but keep at it.
 
Brush or spray water on it and trowel up as normal mate. Sometimes it goes off quicker in certain areas than others. Ive had it. A bit of water brings it back again. Just dont over trowel it cos you'll take to much off and it will look patchy.
 
Just a thought - if you normally only do walls you'll be at a un-natural angle with your trowel, if its not well used it might be catching and dragging. Check its clean and you've not got a thin film of dry finish in patches on it either.

Did you knock the second coat up in a clean bucket ? Crap from the first coat can cause that - as can not mixing it well enough. Like the lads say get yourself a spay bottle, If you're worried about chucking water on the ceiling spay a little on the float, lubricate things a little :P
 
sometimes when skimmin a ceilin you get high spots which dry quickly just lay on a bit thicker and take off excess when trowellin up should get easier as you get more experience good luck ;)
 
yeah it was a reskim in my own flat.
it came out ok, but looks a bit rough where you can see i struggled a bit.
mainly do walls and small ceilings so this was a bit of a challenge for me. Its about 15m square.

gonna reskim it again in a few days when its dried out.

do you lot apply much water when trowelling up or not really?
 
Not too much water , just a flick with your brush or lightly run your brush along the required area . practice makes perfect ;)
 
I used to flick water until chunkyboy put me right. now just brush it on and trowel it off. Keep at it mate, it will come. Good luck with the re-skim, let us know how it goes ;D ;D
 
bailey326 said:
yeah it was a reskim in my own flat.
it came out ok, but looks a bit rough where you can see i struggled a bit.
mainly do walls and small ceilings so this was a bit of a challenge for me. Its about 15m square.

gonna reskim it again in a few days when its dried out.

do you lot apply much water when trowelling up or not really?


Bailey it sounds like you missed a bit when you pvaed second time round, i take it you gave it two coats? What i would advise is bond-it or betacontact instead of the pva it gives you more time and guarantees you havent missed a bit.
 
if its going on the second coat ie setting/drying whatever u want to call it....just get on a 3rd mix immediatly dont even think about it...yes u could throw water at it ..but will weaken end product.....sounds like you just run out of time..thats all mate......how many pva did u give it, if its a reskim...maybe give it 2 or 3 to try and buy u a little more
time next time....but if in doubt give it a 3rd coat ......
 
right, i think i know what im trying to explain.

tiger stripes.

not the ripples when your trowel is too dry but the tiger stripe looking bits on the wall.
How do i avoid these?
Get them all over my walls sometimes and although they dont feel very bad when i run my hand over them i think it just makes the wall look s**t.

i really need to get some labouring work with another plasterer, think the bloke i was working with is dead, aint seen the old w**k*r for about a month now.
 
Could bat and ball with this forever :-\, you need to work with someone who knows what their doing for a while then give it a go , either that or keep practising and end up with a 4 foot ceiling height ::).
Flinny he's a newby on a fifteen sqaure metre ceiling i realy dont think he gonna get on it too early mate (imho)
but then i could be wrong :P
 
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