# Plastering practice, how many Sq yds/M2 till you can skim ok?



## dean king (Mar 20, 2012)

With the work i am involved in i have to turn my hand to all of the 
trades to a point. And plastering is one i am having more to do with 
seemingly on every project.

So i was wondering how long or how much people had to do befor
they could skim a wall in with reasonable time and finish?


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## DSJOHN (Apr 5, 2010)

With out any experience-- not much-- A bag usually yields 120sft[10x12 wall] and most veterans can apply and finish between 2 and 3 bags at a time--DONT TRY THIS- you should try 1/2 bag at a time until you get the timing of the plaster figured out-- you wont get much more than 50-60 minutes to apply before it kicks[ of course I,m not sure what type you are using] they differ. Little more detail, type of plaster and substrate youre going over!!!


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## TonyM (Aug 4, 2008)

Thousands of metres until you get it right. It's not like spreading a bit of mud on a joint and sanding it down. Solid plastering is a skill.


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## dean king (Mar 20, 2012)

Thanks for the replies,
i know it takes time to get it right and im not calling myself a plasterer by any means. i will take a pic of the stuff we use so you can see the pack. with the amount ive had to do, my skill has improved a little but
far from what my plasterer can do.

cheers all.


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## betterdrywall (May 4, 2010)

DSJOHN said:


> With out any experience-- not much-- A bag usually yields 120sft[10x12 wall] and most veterans can apply and finish between 2 and 3 bags at a time--DONT TRY THIS- you should try 1/2 bag at a time until you get the timing of the plaster figured out-- you wont get much more than 50-60 minutes to apply before it kicks[ of course I,m not sure what type you are using] they differ. Little more detail, type of plaster and substrate youre going over!!!


So basically it is about the same as 60 minute durabond? 
I don't know about 3 bags ,but I could get 2 ,, then again I am thinking of coating hand work . Not full skim. With diamond veener, would you have to order plaster board or blueboard? not sure if there is a difference in the boards. Seriously thinking of going with V/P on my remodle project , So anyway John, I am going to have to re-study this plaster stuff, and check with my suppliers. I want to test the stuff out soon.


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## SlimPickins (Aug 10, 2010)

betterdrywall said:


> So basically it is about the same as 60 minute durabond?
> I don't know about 3 bags ,but I could get 2 ,, then again I am thinking of coating hand work . Not full skim. With diamond veener, would you have to order plaster board or blueboard? not sure if there is a difference in the boards. Seriously thinking of going with V/P on my remodle project , So anyway John, I am going to have to re-study this plaster stuff, and check with my suppliers. I want to test the stuff out soon.


Yes, the blue board is essential, unless you want to coat all your regular drywall with something else.

I wouldn't go with the tinted on your first project, it's tricky to not have the joints flash.


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## betterdrywall (May 4, 2010)

SlimPickins said:


> Yes, the blue board is essential, unless you want to coat all your regular drywall with something else.
> 
> I wouldn't go with the tinted on your first project, it's tricky to not have the joints flash.


So slim how would you finish out ,without using tint or wax? I thought that was what made it stand out? 

Plus I seen another vid , Old guy haulin azz appling diamond to a block wall. Not sure about using the durabod to first coat with. That stuff is pretty strong and will shadow if your not careful


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## SlimPickins (Aug 10, 2010)

betterdrywall said:


> So slim how would you finish out ,without using tint or wax? I thought that was what made it stand out?
> 
> Plus I seen another vid , Old guy haulin azz appling diamond to a block wall. Not sure about using the durabod to first coat with. That stuff is pretty strong and will shadow if your not careful


A lot of plaster gets painted I guess.

Veneer does not equal Venetian.

I've only done Diamond in two applications, same job, different scenarios. One was new Blue board, and the other half was over existing wall finishes. On the blue board job the guy (smart builder, not so good finisher) wanted to skip steps and hit joints with Ultra-fill. They all flashed (tonal color differences in finished plaster). The second one we had all kinds of funky issues going over paint, old drywall, a partial gallon of Plaster-Weld etc. One wall had spiderweb cracks all over it. Another wall had the shape of the old cabinets flash through the tint. Another wall the joints flashed where we tried a double back method using the tinted plaster....not sure why that one happened (unless there was more color build-up in that area?) It was a mess, but still overall looks pretty awesome in comparison to standard wall finishes.


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## 2buckcanuck (Jul 9, 2010)

betterdrywall said:


> So basically it is about the same as 60 minute durabond?
> I don't know about 3 bags ,but I could get 2 ,, then again I am thinking of coating hand work . Not full skim. With diamond veener, would you have to order plaster board or blueboard? not sure if there is a difference in the boards. Seriously thinking of going with V/P on my remodle project , So anyway John, I am going to have to re-study this plaster stuff, and check with my suppliers. I want to test the stuff out soon.


I played with the stuff a bit BT, My old partner came from a family of plaster masters.

I found one bag could set off real fast, then the next bag you could play a few games of cards waiting for it to set off. Mixing some cream of tartar with it slows it down. I would also go with the proper drywall too.

Also, maybe the guy I worked with really sucked at it (think he may of:whistling2, but we had horrible results with it on ceilings. On walls it looked sharp, looking at it dead on. But in our world of smooth obsessed walls, when they shined a halogen light down the walls, it was like oh oh:blink: 

Can you say walls waving at you


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## DSJOHN (Apr 5, 2010)

betterdrywall said:


> So basically it is about the same as 60 minute durabond?
> I don't know about 3 bags ,but I could get 2 ,, then again I am thinking of coating hand work . Not full skim. With diamond veener, would you have to order plaster board or blueboard? not sure if there is a difference in the boards. Seriously thinking of going with V/P on my remodle project , So anyway John, I am going to have to re-study this plaster stuff, and check with my suppliers. I want to test the stuff out soon.


Unless, youve done some plaster I would not try that much sft by myself, you might be getting VENETIAN and VENEER mixed up---Diamond is correct word, thats the one 2buck is correct about cream of tartar slowing down set time-- can give you an extra 15 20 min-- you also need to watch some one finish it not just apply it, getting it on the surface as quick as possible and doubling back is key,but finishing with a blister brush[felt] and trowel is the #1 key. Keep the brush in a bucket of water and clean--- all your tools need to be super clean! There is no reason to wax Diamond, but you can tint it-- wax goes over venetian----- you can shine the hell out of Diamond tho .


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## betterdrywall (May 4, 2010)

I am getting them mixed up,, it has been awhile since I have even read up on this stuff. Not sure where I could actually watch someone apply the plaster. Nothing like it around these parts at all.


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## betterdrywall (May 4, 2010)




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## Bazooka-Joe (Dec 31, 2010)

I slung Darby at work as a Taper, made a fix good the first time 3 days later I Troweled out a Patio wall


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## SlimPickins (Aug 10, 2010)

Bazooka-Joe said:


> made a fix good the first time


:thumbsup:


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