PAINTING TIPS & OTHER TRICKS

Fresh plaster takes roughly 3 - 5 days to dry depending on a few factors such as Heat, Thickness and Airflow.

We advise for the application and drying heat to be no higher than 30°C and no lower than 5°C as too high can make it dry too fast and craze, whilst too low can effect the strength of the plaster and it will dry very slowly sometimes up to a few weeks.

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Thickness of plaster can usually vary from 2mm to 5mm depending on the surface underneath. however if there are places that are any deeper the use of an undercoat such as bonding may be needed, this will increase the drying time by a few days on those areas. 

We also advise to leave any windows open when you can to let the water vapour out and stop condensation, this will help to speed up the drying time. The use of heaters or dehumidifiers will help if you need to speed things up.

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Whilst drying the plaster will turn into a dark deep purple to start with, then gradually over a few days will start to turn to a light pinkish white with a marble type effect, once it has all turned to pinkish white then you can start painting!.  

PAINTING OVER FRESH PLASTER

So to start with if you have had fresh plaster work we highly advise you to get a painter you can trust in, for the simple fact that if you have already spent the money to get it plastered why not put  a little more aside to ensure that it gets finished to a top quality standard.

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Now for those of you who wish to DIY here is our list of what to do.

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1. Make sure the plaster is fully dry.

   
   

2. Lightly sand all over the plaster with a pad sander using a very light 100-grit sand paper. This will give the plaster a key for the paint to adhere to as it was polished, if not the paint can slip off.

   
   

3. Create and apply a mist coat of paint, Mix together 70% white matt emulsion paint with 30% water and apply with a roller, this will suck in and dry rapidly. One huge don't is using Viynl Silk paint over fresh plaster! it blocks off the plaster from breathing which can cause mould.

   
   

4. The mist coat should reveal any blemishes and scuffs you will need to fill, with either easy fill or polyfilla apply a coat to the area scraping off any excess wait for 10 minutes and apply another coat. wait for it to fully dry then sand it down and mist coat it.

   
   

5. Double check for any scuffs blemishes if there are any repeat step 4 if not you can now apply 2 coats of paint in your chosen colour.

   
   

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REMOVING WALL PAPER

Removing wall paper can be very time consuming and frustrating we have a couple tips that can save you some time and stop potential problems. 

1. Taking off wallpaper can vary in ease sometimes it might come straight off and others not a chance, we have seen customers using steamers with great results however sometimes you can over do it by holding the steamer in one spot for too long and blowing the plaster underneath. This will happen on walls that have sand and cement as their base coat on top of bricks or block. just to be safe try not to hold the steamer in the same spot for too long.

2. You may find that the 2nd layer of light brown wallpaper is too hard to get off, create a mix of PVA glue with water 50%-50% roller it on and wait for it to absorb, in about 10-15 minutes the paper will go a darker brown and slip off with ease don't let it dry out or you might have to do the process again.