Skimming A Wall With Bulges

Hi,

First thank you so much for making this course - nothing else I've
found online or in print compares in quality or would have given me
much chance up against the clock. Having taken what you'd taught to
the (bare brick) wall, I've been rewarded with some pretty fair
results - and a ton of points of learning!

I'd be extremely appreciative if you could advise on two questions I
cannot find answers for:

1) Several walls in my house have really large bulges at corners and
around mouldings - presumably the cumulative effect of casual repairs
and re-skims. I'm considering sanding these areas flat prior to
re-skimming. Would you approve this approach in these circumstances,
and if so can you recommend a relatively gentle way of abrading
plaster (since some of the walls are lath + plaster)?

2) I have a fresh base-coated wall with an 11mm depth that is flat and
plum to around head height, but which then slants slightly inward to a
thickness of circa 8mm at the ceiling (my bad). Could I add plaster to
the top section to bring it flat prior to skim or is there a reason I
should avoid applying base-coat plaster material at skim-coat
thicknesses?

Many thanks,

and do keep this up!

James


Answer

Hi James,
Really glad to hear that you're doing well!

If I were to do the job and remove the bulges I would:
Scrape, or gently chisel away the bulges. Sanding could work, but would take time.

Firstly I'd try scraping with the sharp edge of my trowel or something similar. If the plaster proved to be very hard then I would use an old wood chisel to gently remove high spots. This does risk digging in too deep, but if so I'd have a bit of base coat plaster ready to fill prior to skimming.

The only base coat that I'd risk putting over another base coat is Bonding Coat, as this will properly adhere and can be blended in to quite a thin thickness. However, it is worth noting that when it is skimmed, you probably wont notice this slight undulation in your base coat!

Good luck
Paul

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