Lime Plastering in the kitchen

[supermattt]

Hello again all,

I have finally got round to doing the lime plastering in my kitchen. The first couple of coats went on fine, so far so good. I am finding it a little hardre to get a fine finishing coat. I am tempted to do a final very thin coat with just lime putty, I suupose a sort of think limewash. Will this work? Any tips?

Also what's the stuff for filling rotten wood with to make is waterproof again?

Thanks and thanks!

Matt

 

[Gervase]

For a good finishing coat, just use the stuff you've used for the first coat(s) minus the hair.
That way you can also save money on the top-coat plaster a lot of lime specialists sell, which is 1:1 lime putty and silver sand. If you were finishing a top-quality Georgian or Victorian room, with all surfaces to be plumb and square and marble smooth, then that's the stuff to use, but for most vernacular plastering (and certainly a kitchen), stick with 'two-coat cottage' plaster. Hair the first coat and bung it on no thicker than you thumb; close up the cracks and buff it up with a wooden float while it's 'green', scratch iit, then put on your top coat of the same stuff sans hair to a a thickness no greater than your little finger.
Trowel it on as smoothly as you can and let it stay for a few hours until it's 'green hard' - the point where you can't dent it with your fingertip but you can with your nail. Then get a distemper brush or wallpaper brush in one hand and a steel float in the other - dip the brush in a bucket of water and sweep it across the plaster, followed immediately by the steel float, with plenty of pressure. You should be able to polish up a hard, smooth final coat that way.
The steel float (unlike a wooden float) will bring the lime and finer particles in the plaster to the surface where it can be compacted down to make a smooth and hard top surface.
If you don't want the mirror-smooth look, do the same trick using a cross-grained wood float instead of a steel float. Again, wet the plaster with a stock brush and work it hard with the float.

 

[Schoolmarm]

That sounds good and simple. Suggest this goes in pinned or sticky fingies 8)

 

[BMcD]

since it sounds like you've already floated up your undercoat plasters then a skim coat is ideal for giving a smooth surface.
First make sure the float coat is well scratched, this can be done with a nail in each corner of a plastic float protruding through the face a couple of mil. and scoured over the wall in a cicular motion.
Then to achieve a skim of a coulpe/few mil. use a mix of 3:2 lime putty:silver sand. Apply a tight coat from top to bottom across the wall. Then apply another coat slightly thicker in the opposite direction to the previous ie: side to side down the wall. When this has stiffened up scour the surface with a fine grain sponge float (grouting float), it's a similar process to foating up render in so far as you are consolidating the plaster giving strength and reducing the risk of cracking, it will take on a sandy appearance. Then apply a third coat the same as the first. When this has stiffened up slightly scour the surface as per the second coat. Immediately after scouring, trowel up with a wet brush (5" paint) and steel trowel from top to bottom across the wall, so one stroke with the wet brush up the wall is followed by the trowel up the wall and as part of the same movement when you get to the top of your reach, come down the wall with the trowel then back up troweling off the fat then clean the trowel. When this is done go in the opposite direction but only use a wet trowel another pass but in the oppsite direction again will realy close up the surface. Now with a semi-wet or half-dry brush, brush over the wall, first up and down then side to side then both ways diagonally and finally again up and down. This should give you a perfectly smooth finish.

 

[supermattt]

Wow Thanks!

 

[BMcD]

Forgot to mention that the surface onto which you are plastering should be well dampend first.