Skim over Artex??

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Thumbs

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Hello to all!!

I have been asked to skim over Artex, Has anyone got any tip or advice on this subject??

Was going to scrape over the high bits then PVA then use multi-finish, does this sound ok?

Hope to hear from you soon

Thumbs
 
tbh ive never been a lover of going over artex,even with pva(altho bondit works ok)if poss i try and plasterboard over it just to be on the safe side
 
Sounds like its going to be fun!!!!!!!!!! :mad:

Re-plasterboarding it is not really a option as they won't to keep the cost down.

Just will have to give lots of scapes to smooth it down to start with.

Cheers
 
Try giving it a coat of a bonding agent instead of PVA, will seal the artex and make it less likely to turn into a carpet
 
Is that like uni bond?
never used that before do you apply like PVA?
You only need 1 coat of it and it needs to be dry before you start skimming, I think Wickes bonding agent can be skimmed after 2 hours but the ones bt BG & Knauf need 24 hours i think.
 
Hi Thumbs,
Every other ceiling i am doing at minute seems to be artex to flat. Always recommend taking off as many high points as poss then because of painted finish always use bonding agent nowadays as pva just hangs around for ages. Wickes is good stuff but really like using Thistle bond it on ceilings and although can take 24hrs to set is worth wait in my opinion. Then lay first coat on and flatten out as much as poss. Let this tighten up before doing normal 2 coat skim on top. I found that it helps to let first coat stiffen up as much as you can get away with before going onto it with other 2 to prevent any ridges/bumps from appearing. Hope this helps. Just finished 30x12 artex ceiling last week so got plenty of practise. Hardest bit tbh is feathering joints between each section when doing large area.
 
Hello Chaps,

I can honestly say I take pride in my artex to flat I am always doing them.

I use a hamilton scraper...rake it back real messy... get the labourer to do it

Then I use wickes bonding agent, 2 hours is ok if your not raking the artex back but because you are scraping it back the agent sucks in quicker and normally i rake it back first then go over it with agent then by the time I have unloaded the van with skimming gear its ready to start slapping it on.

I do however sometimes do a 3 coat skim, not the gold trowel way but I still sometimes give them 3 coats.... this also looks wicked on the invoice and people pay me more for doing it...lol

If you notice any high spots when starting to skim just give a scrape or t**t it with a hammer...lol

I take pride in my ceilings

Danny
 
Thankyou for all the advice!!
Think im going to use the 'wickes bonding agent' as i think you can skim onto it the sameday, about 2 hours?

I have never used it before, how do you apply wickes bonding agent? With a roller?

Do you let it dry, or skim when its tacky?

Thankyou all for your knowledge its very helpfull!!!
Thumbs
 
Roll it on, be careful around woodwork real pain to remove,

Anyway, only skim on it when its dry, I cocked one up last week cos I jumped on it when it was wet...long story!

give it a good stir too...lol

Danny
 
you cant skim over artex..it aint a good job,when u put the uni bond on it kinda melts the artex..just re-board the ceiling best job and you will have no probs in future...
 
Are you crazy of course you can skim artex, sometimes you get probs but nothing that cant be rectified quickly. thats only in my opinion, If the artex is bad i bond it first and bonding sticks like SH!T to a blanket. (this is only my opinion)

Reboarding si not alway the best answer

Welcome to the forum Pink. ;)

Danny
 
HELLO mate the best thing to use on artex ceilings is to unibond the ceiling first dosnt matter about the big bits unless they are really big but go and buy a couple of bags of bondng coat fron builders or b and q . Aply the bonding coat to the ceiling first , that will get rid of the artex then let that go off ,, then scratch it up with a scratching comb then aply your first coat of plaster let tac up then put your lay down coat on and i promise you now if you are as good as me then you will get it perfect L.O.L
REMEMBER if the ceiling is old or should i say if the artex is old say 20 yrs or older the chances are that the artex is of the old type of powder and the chances are that once you put unibond or even just water onto it then your plaster etc your in trouble .
EXAMPLE ... if you run your fingers over the artex and tou get dust on your fingers that is the old type of artex . Its no good you will have to eighther scrape all the artex off (easy once wet ) or you will have to over board
If wen rubbing fingers over artex and it sticks in your fingers depending how hard you press and it feels solid then you know it is of new artex
If it is old artex and you skim that your in trouble cos it will proberly have distempa in it .
Yes i know you may think of distempa as being assoscated with dogs but its true
you do get distempa in old artex
GOOD LUCK
SORRY FOR KEEPING YOU SO LONG BUT I TRY TO HELP AS MANY PEOPLE AS I CAN
 
I normally scrape off the high points of the artex with an old cheap trowel untill its as flat as i can get it.
Then make sure that the artex has not been aplied on top of lining paper ::)
I try not to bond out ceilings, as it adds a helluva lot of weight to a ceiling that someone else has artexed on.
If it needs bonded out, then i normally either rip it down and put up a new ceiling, or just lower the ceiling.

But if its just a fine stipple or something, i scrape it down as flat as i can get it, then PVA it a couple o times.
Then hit it with Multi.
Sometimes after i have taken the lines out the second coat, and flattened it a bit, i will mix a little bit on the hawk to fill in any pits etc....This can make a world of difference.

If the artex has been put on top of lining paper, then either re new the ceiling (Gyproc) or you might get away with just plastering it, but with no gaurentee ;)
 
do pretty much the same as that but i tell customer that i wont go over it if there is sign of backing paper and recommend they use wallpaper steamer as this strips it pretty well!
Stopped using pva on artex now since using bonding agents as spent ages hanging around with pva whereas thistle is good if doing ceiling following day, with wickes once on can do anything else you need to do (couple of walls etc) and go straight onto it as only takes couple of hrs to dry so you keep working and earning! ;)
 
Thanks for all your help completed the job today went well got a good finish!!
Was impressed with the wickes bonding agent!! :)

Rolled it on the evening before then skimmed the following day had no problems at all!!

Thanks again for everyones advice,
Got another ceiling sat hope it goes just as well ;)
 
Thistle bond it on ceilings and although can take 24hrs to set .

whats this then?
like pva?

i guess you only need one coat and you can plaster on it dry?

what does it cost?

thanks in advance.
 
Hello there the names Craig i'm from Middlesbrough. Just bin reading through the convo bout skimming ova artex. Remember that after all this discussion bout lining paper, two coats, three coats, bonding agents n pva that artex is not a weight bearing product. Its not happened to me yet (fingers crossed) but I do know plasterers that have had full ceilings come down on them bcos the artex cant hold the extra weight. Its a good way of putting a bit of extra cash in your pocket if you explain this to the customer as you can charge mor for ova boarding.
 
plastered over alot of artexed celings and we have had this a couple of times.

once half the celing and other time just couple of areas, but as you said we do mention to the customers now that this could happen and we are not responsible if it does.

aj
 
Thistle bond it on ceilings and although can take 24hrs to set .

whats this then?
like pva?

i guess you only need one coat and you can plaster on it dry?

what does it cost?

thanks in advance.

Same as Wickes Bonding agent really. It's an acrylic based gloop (as opposed to PVA which erm isn't) and it has a gritty aggregate in it. The gloop dries (thistle 24 hours and wickes 3-4hrs) and seals the suction creating an acryllic barrier and the grit provides the dog's b******s of a key.

I prefer Wickes cos it's pink and I like pink! ;)
 
Sorry it's polymer based not acrylic!
Not sure what I was thinkin
 
lol@pink.

whats the cost of it? and do you water it down or anything?

i pay about £4-5 for my tubs of pva from up north and it does the job, but i think the stuff your talking about is around a tenner isnt it?

i suppose it doesnt matter as the customer pays for it at the end of the day anyway.

cheers aj.
 
Hi Hve done quite a few Artex covers, and what you said is spot on....only thing just be prepared to do 2-3 skims to get that perfect finish. I think if you have other rooms to do, set out to do 3 fast skims, rotating rooms, works out a bit quicker and much better finish

Gav :-?
 
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