Bond first or straight to skim?

Hi Paul,

I put some bondingCoat on the ceiling (over artex) last may. New job and new addition to the family has meant I've only just got back to it. Question is do I need to put another layer of bonding on or can I just skim it? There is still PVA over the bonding. Do I need to out another coat of PVA on first before doing either of the above. Hope this makes sense.

Joel

Answer
Hi Joel,
You don't need to put another coat of bonding coat on. If it is flat enough, then that is all good.
PVA
The PVA that you've already applied will have sealed the bonding coat to some degree, but to see if it is enough you can do the suction test: https://www.diyplastering.co.uk/plasteringpreparation.html

This will tell you if the suction is high or not. If it is then you may need to put a liberal coat (or even 2) of PVA on. Even if the suction test reveals it is okay it may be best to apply just a thin coat to help it out.
So what I am trying to say is apply PVA to be on the safe side, but the suction test will actually indicate how much you may need to put on!

Good luck
Paul