what should wall look like after skimming?

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rated_2000

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hi i just done my first skim job alone (at home) came out well, but on the wall (one in particular) after drying out there is white marks on the wall not above or below the surface but just there :-/

what should a skimmed wall look like after the wall is dryed out i know it goes light pink/white is it common too have white marks on the surface? is this a problem? or the norm?

also how near perfection is acceptable in the final product when skimming or is it impossible to be perfect and will there always be minor imperfections??

cheers all. :cool:
 
the white marks are probably water marks which is very common for beginners who use more water when troweling up, as for imperfections look for them when your troweling up as for whats acceptable if you make every set you do your best set then you will not go far wrong
 
it should be a blemish free matt finish and i think???......... british gypsum tolerance say imperfections should be noticeable via a 1 metre strip light 3m from the wall ..........or did i dream it ???......sure i heard it on site after painters were shining halogen lights down the walls
the lighter areas could be where it's drying quicker or fat marks at worse, the best way to tell if youve done a good job is to see it the next day if it all looks a nice even colour and no stripes,bumps or misses it's pretty close to perfect ;)
 
You should always try for the perfect finish but dont expect it :)

If its nearly perfect some things can be easily fixed - (Ill probably get shot for this but .... ) Misses and pockets can be fixed with a wipe of filler, fat and water marks can be hidden with a misscoat.

Things you wont be able to hide - judders, scratches and ridges. You'll need to take special care if there are wall lights near or if the final surface will be silk paint. Both are the spawn of Satan and will show EVERY imperfection.

If its your wall slap a misscoat on it in a day or 2 - you'll soon see of its a good enough surface.
 
You should always try for the perfect finish but dont expect it  :)

If its nearly perfect some things can be easily fixed - (Ill probably get shot for this but .... ) Misses and pockets can be fixed with a wipe of filler,  fat and water marks can be hidden with a misscoat.

Things you wont be able to hide - judders, scratches and ridges. You'll need to take special care if there are wall lights near or if the final surface will be silk paint. Both are the spawn of Satan and will show EVERY imperfection.

If its your wall slap a misscoat on it in a day or 2 - you'll soon see of its a good enough surface.
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what u mea by misscoat ?

i hav no judders scratches or ridges, a few little holes that i missed thats all :'(

should have paid more attentions its nothing major

i think the white marks r dissapearing, must be the drying process, ive never witnessed a whole drying process b4 :-/, its been 2 days, so guess its not completly dry yet
 
go over it again with the trowel....the white marks should disappear...
 
go over it again with the trowel....the white marks should disappear...
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they dont move, but they seem to be fewer of them now and getting smaller ? think its just drying?

is 2 days too soon to be completly dry?
 
The white patches are areas where you have left a little lime fat on the surface. The holes or indents are called misses or cats faces. Stop being so hard on yourself, a near perfect finish will come with practise and you will surprise yourself how easy it can be acheived. The trouble with plastering is there are so many variables eg. Background, temperature, humidity, draughts, energy levels, consistancy of mix, etc.
 
The white patches are areas where you have left a little lime fat on the surface. The holes or indents are called misses or cats faces. Stop being so hard on yourself, a near perfect finish will come with practise and you will surprise yourself how easy it can be acheived. The trouble with plastering is there are so many variables eg. Background, temperature, humidity, draughts, energy levels, consistancy of mix, etc.
Click to expand...

i was wondering what people meant by fat, this was the first time i ever plastered a room on my own with no back up, yeah i got a few misses here and there, nothing too bad, could have got them if i had double checked i guess

is fat marks common ?
 
the problem with fat is its watered down plaster that sticks to youre trowel when youre troweling up with water, if you get a painter who cant be arsed thinning his paint it will pull it off the wall and exagerate it .........if you rub youre finger over a very fatty mark you can even rub it off , youre best bet is keep a little of the plaster aside you used on the second coat and fill hollows with it rather than the stuff on youre trowel
 
not watermarks then, must be fat lines...fat lines are where youve had a slight hollow in the wall and have troweled 'fat' into it...fat bein the wet stuff you have on your trowel when your trowelin up...good tip is not to use to much water when trowelin up and keep the trowel as flat as you can with the pressure on, increasing pressure with each trowel but NOT angle of trowel attack...this takes plaster back off the wall causing little stripes/hollows which you then end up troweling fat back into...pointless...
an experienced plasterer can achieve a pretty near perfect finish with 2 trowels..all about the timing..
leave it too long between trowels and u find yerself using fat to flatten the last trowel...
too early and youll just end up givin it another trowel anyway...
best to give it extra trowels than try and get it in too few...long as your flat with the trowel...
lets say plaster went on 1.5mm thick
first flatten your trowelling 1.3mm of plaster...try and take any hollows out..
1st trowel your trowelling 0.8mm of plaster...make sure you get all hollows out..
2nd trowel your doin 0.3mm of plaster...if you aint got your hollows out by now..
one more and your pretty much polishing it...theyll be full of fat by now..
time it right between flatten, first and second and second becomes third...
therin lies the art of plasterin...assuming youve got it all on even,level and the background is consistent so its all goin off at the same speed...

:D
yeh i know...theres nothin on the telly...
 
sorry i spent so long fannying around i should have just said...take the hollows out early and you wont need fat!
 
not watermarks then, must be fat lines...fat lines are where youve had a slight hollow in the wall and have troweled 'fat' into it...fat bein the wet stuff you have on your trowel when your trowelin up...good tip is not to use to much water when trowelin up and keep the trowel as flat as you can with the pressure on, increasing pressure with each trowel but NOT angle of trowel attack...this takes plaster back off the wall causing little stripes/hollows which you then end up troweling fat back into...pointless...
an experienced plasterer can achieve a pretty near perfect finish with 2 trowels..all about the timing..
leave it too long between trowels and u find yerself using fat to flatten the last trowel...
too early and youll just end up givin it another trowel anyway...
best to give it extra trowels than try and get it in too few...long as your flat with the trowel...
lets say plaster went on 1.5mm thick
first flatten your trowelling 1.3mm of plaster...try and take any hollows out..
1st trowel your trowelling 0.8mm of plaster...make sure you get all hollows out..
2nd trowel your doin 0.3mm of plaster...if you aint got your hollows out by now..
one more and your pretty much polishing it...theyll be full of fat by now..
time it right between flatten, first and second and second becomes third...
therin lies the art of plasterin...assuming youve got it all on even,level and the background is consistent so its all goin off at the same speed...

:D
yeh i know...theres nothin on the telly...
Click to expand...

thanks for the tips so it best too not fill with wet plaster on ya trowel thats come off when trowelling, use a fresh bit from the bucket :cool:
 
thats it..but if your trowelling up correctly, keeping yer trowel flat, at the right time, you dont get hollows, you just flatten off better each time..
in theory...
in practice though... ;D
 
thats it..but if your trowelling up correctly, keeping yer trowel flat, at the right time, you dont get hollows, you just flatten off better each time..
in theory...
in practice though... ;D
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i dunno if theres a difference but i found it easier plastering on board than on existing plaster :-/

nice tips though :cool: i know it comes with more practice

yeah i think maybe sometimes i dont keep my trowl flat enough

roughly how flat is best
 
flat as it goes without sticking to the wall mate...maybe 5-10mm at leading edge
in practice if its gone off a bit youll end up pickin the angle up a bit but you should have any hollows sorted by then anyway and youll be on your final trowel...
 
flat as it goes without sticking to the wall mate...maybe 5-10mm at leading edge
in practice if its gone off a bit youll end up pickin the angle up a bit but you should have any hollows sorted by then anyway and youll be on your final trowel...
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so r fat marks a big no no?

do they cause trouble regards to painting?
 
so r fat marks a big no no?

do they cause trouble regards to painting?
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Best not to leave huge streaks but theres nothing wrong with a little fat  :D

Depending on how / when the wall is painted, the paint could pull the fat off the wall, equally annoying though are highly polished areas, these cause the paint to skid.

If you put on a 50/50 emulsion/water mix on the wall any old cheap muck will do (it needs to be watered down otherwise the wall will just suck the life out of it) most of your problems will disappear those that dont will be easier to see & fix.
 
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