Should I be doing the same ?

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pristineplastering

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Passed a shop today being re-furbed and cos there was a plastering van parked outside couldn't help but have a nose in the door. There were 2 young spreads using a sponge float over what appeared to be a pretty good ceiling and then another lad trowelling up after them

I was always told that a sponge float is only used to get you out of sh*t but these lads seemed to be using it as an everyday tool

I always manage to get good ceilings / walls without ever using a sponge float or does it make for an even better finish - Should I be using one every time ??
 
dunno never used one but how big was this ceilng?
and what does a sponge float do that a trowel doesnt? apart from follow every dip and hollow in the job?
 
ive tried it its for one coating finish, dub youre beads scrim joints out and lay a nice thick coat on then let it pick up put a trowel over it then spray it with water and put the sponge over the lot like youre floating then trowel it up applying a fair bit of pressure ........carry youre hawk with you to keep scraping the fat onto off youre trowel ....then trowel again and its pretty much finished
im no expert and its an art in itself too late and youll leave the float lines in and too early and itll all be a stodgy mess .........could be the future .....teach youre lab how to spray the ritmo and float and you could be in ::)
 
i only ever use the sponge wen using knauf fp90 it just seems to get the finish spot on and sets it off because if you have ever used it you will know what a bitch it is for hanging about before i started using the sponge on it a set was takin almost 4hrs.
 
thats probably because you were getting 20 bags on per set napper ;D
 
mickey bomb that 1 day courser off youre job mate and get napper involved ;)
 
I say pop back and have a look at the ceiling when the jobs painted and finished , then make your mind up . ;)
 
pristineplastering said:
Passed a shop today being re-furbed and cos there was a plastering van parked outside couldn't help but have a nose in the door. There were 2 young spreads using a sponge float over what appeared to be a pretty good ceiling and then another lad trowelling up after them

I was always told that a sponge float is only used to get you out of sh*t but these lads seemed to be using it as an everyday tool

I always manage to get good ceilings / walls without ever using a sponge float or does it make for an even better finish - Should I be using one every time ??

best thing is m8 just to try it and see if it works for you , some people like it some dont, it doesnt give a better finish just a lot quicker set , do it as spunky says but we dont scrape fat of just lay fat back into surface.
Click to expand...
 
I sponge ceilings loads of times i think it leaves a better finish, i find it dosent need much water on your next trowel after the sponge
 
now im not trying to sound smug, even though this might look like it...
but i think the idea is not to use much water anyway? i find if i have to use water i.e. flick it on, im behind the set...
in other words, what im suggesting is that 'finish plaster' is 'designed' round a 20-40 metre set (depending on your speed) (and believe me, 40 metres perfect is going some...)
so...
anway you can get the customer to pay you is bonus to the job yes?
so if its flat, smooth,looks good painted and you can get away with it...why not?
on the other hand, ive reskimmed, recently, work that looks like the blokes lost a 7m ceiling....
i dunno.. maybe i should invest in a sponge float for 2nd trowel, maybe not... i'd need to see it done to save me any work tho..
 
let me tell you a sponge float is NOT for use on multi finish if you do end up using one then you have put too much on, if i was a site agent and a spread turned up using a sponge float id sling him off site.
 
sponging multi weakens it......to much water adding to surface......yes u can get a good finish with it...but it aint how its supposed to be done....sponges are for one coat plasters not multi or board finish.......anyone who uses one on every job is a bit of a chancer in my book....
sorry if i offend but to use a sponge on anything other than an emergency with multi you a bit of a cowboy......you can layon nearly a 1/3 more with a use of a sponge.......but.....quality is quality even in these times....so its a big no no in my book
Ive even heard of people put multi on with a roller before.....just cause they do it dont mean u should...
 
lol...yeah silly cok asked me for a job then told me the new roller technique...funny he didnt get the job..also heard of some herbert on another forum telling me it was the way forward too........lol
had a job just after that, i was being silly boy lemon and ran out of multi on final mix looked in van , not any shite...lets get the roller out then and give it a go ...lol....needles to say i wernt happy with finish so i came back the next free day and hit it again...this time with what god intended a plasterer to use ....ie a trowel.....ill try anything once.......lol
 
i dont use sponge float for bringing life back to skim thats wrong, i use it in much same way as we used to use floats to skim with ,ie to flattern surface, and if the finshed product is ok with client, whats so wrong with it?
 
same here merlin, i use it before troweling sometimes i find it closes the skim in and being time served dont think im a cowboy for doing this. :eek:
 
whats wrong with it is its not the correct way of doing it, ive seen it done a nd when its dry it feels very dusty
 
my "time served mentor" always used to say to customer, how do u want it silk ....satin...or sack.....prices change accordingly .....
ive seen some fecking awful so called time served spreads, im not sujesting in any way that you are awful using a sponge to each their own......................
now where's that saloon, i need a whiskey
 
Cheers for the replies lads, some good advice as usual - I'll stick to the trowel I think although any of you lot heard of the trowel -float-trowel set ?

Lay your second coat on with a plastic float, the idea being that as its solid and wont flex, it highlights any hole / imperfection such that you can fill in before your final trowel

Ive tried it a couple of times and been quite impressed with the result
 
i thought plastic trowel were for epoxy resins.....i get the finish i want with a 14 for laying on and final flatten with a 13...all same direction....never need to use a different trowel for getting it flat, but to each their own
 
when i was taught we was taught to put skimming on with a float , everybody used to, it was the way, then someone obviously realized there was an easier way of putting it on, as in with a trowell, im not saying a sponge float is a better way of skimming but it is easier sometimes , as for it not being the correct way of doin it, no one from bg ive spoke to has ever said you cannot use a sponge float.now wheres me horse ;D
 
So your more or less saying if you use a sponge on skim your works s**t, im not saying i do this all the time im saying have used the sponge loads of times on ceilings and im saying i always leave a good finish,sponge included. yee haa!
 
i did a 2 1/2 bucket one coat set today it took 2 hours from mixing to scraping the floor and looked very passable ..didnt sponge it just troweld it up the only thing i didnt like was laying it on cause it has to be pretty good ;D
 
I think you are all losing it here, sponge float for one coat, any other finish steel, before the days of multi syrophyte was used on S&C laid on 2 coats and then floated with syrophyte float, i still have one, then polished, plastering is that easy why are people complicating it.
Lucius
 
people just do things differently,no right or wrong just what your comfortable with, siraphite was fooking luvely to skim with, wished they still made it!
 
Ive still got mine and use it when i need just a bucket its quicker sometimes than getting electric and washing your whisk etc. but im old school, I hav'nt used my bath and rake in a long time though they are s**t
 
Does it fook ,just get the lumps out mate..... ;D jetman i think our days of 25 big bags of browning mixed in a bath are over what say you
 
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