I have an old brick wall in my garden that looks a bit scruffy. I am thinking of plastering it and then painting it to make the garden look a little more attractive for the summer. I have heard that plastering is a tough job but can someone give me an insight into what materials i.e types of plaster etc i would require.

Many thanks.

You could just put a coat of cement on it and rough it up a little using a brush

The plaster is white stone plaster. The Plaster has streaks of pink starting to show on it.

Unless you can discover if something was thrown onto the surface, it is likely something is bleeding through it. You may end up painting over it.

I am repairing a wall and it needs to be plactered to match the other walls. I wasn’t able to get back to it for a few days and had herd that I should get the plaster damp before adding the next coat. Is this true?. Or can I just start where I stopped?

If you think the plaster will dry to fast then you could get it damp first. But if it’s all wet it will not stick very good.

I’ve had to peel away loose paint off a wall and have ended up taking off several layers going back years. Now I have a one foot square patch 1mm deep to ‘fill’. Tetrion and the like only recommnd themselves where the depth is at least 3mm. Therefore my question, is skimming plaster the answer and can I can a small bag of the stuff?
Or perhaps a ready mixed fine surface product?
So much disagreement!

without actually seeing it I would say yes on the information you have given and most small DIY shpos will sell you a small bag

Hi all, first time using this question thing,
Ive recently bought a house and the wallpaper in the living roof is really bad, im ripping it off and the walls poor behind, my mate has agreed to plaster it, hes been plastering for about 10 years, how will i know how much plaster to buy for him? its about 15ft x 10ft and about 8ft high walls, theres no major holes or anything, it just needs smoothing over so i can get it looking fresh with abit paint. Also… big question is, he says he will do it as a favour but i want to give him some money, whats the going rate for this sort of thing?

he should be able to tell you how much plaster its needs ask him how much he would charge a customer for doing the job so you know roughly how much it will cost so say he says £100 offer him about £60 or more if he flatly refuses to take money get him in a few beers.

i want to chip off the old plaster that is directly on cement block in my basement so that I can drylock insulate and drywall. My question is how do I clean off all of the loose particles? Is there a type of brush with a vacumn I could use? Any ideas?

You didn’t tell the whole story. Hard to tell what you mean. But here goes. A side grinder with a wire wheel will remove loose. But if you are going to frame , insulate and drywall, why remove. Just frame.

I’ve never made a plaster mould type of thing before and I need to know all the details. Like what to put over my hand to get the shape then like what to do next and what to pour into the mould to get it and then how to get it out.
I’d also like to know what plaster to use, where I can get it and what sort of price it would be.

with plaster you only want to use plaster bandages not solid plaster as the latter will get hot and can burn you. The plaster in plaster bandages is not as thick, so won’t produce as much heat. You can get plaster bandages in some art supply places as well as in medical supply places.
If you just want to make a mold of your hand I would recommend using alginate (dental supply or art stores), should be about $10 for a pound. First play around with small amounts so you know what it does. Mix enough to fill a large soft drink bottle as high as you want your mold. Stick your hand inside the alginate, don’t move for about 3-5 mins, then it should be set. Gently remove your hand – alginate is like jello, so it is flexible. It needs to be used soon after you made the mold as like jello it changes shape when it dries out. You could pour plaster into it. The drawback of alginate is that you only get one cast out of your mold. The advantage is that it is nontoxic, safe and produces great surface detail.

I have an antique glass lamp base that needs to be rewired. The metal top that holds the bulb is attached to the glass with plaster of paris, which prevents us from taking it apart. Is soaking it in water for a long time the only way to remove the plaster? Won’t that damage the metal? I believe it’s called Sauereisen cement.
I would suggest that you write to these people: http://www.wateronline.com/ecommcenters/sauereisen.html The fact that you were even able to come up with the name Sauereisen made things so much simpler. They have (for several decades) made what are called “potting compounds” . These are cements used to secure electronic gizmos inside a variety of plastic or metal containers. Email them, and if you can bend a sympathetic and interested ear down at that company, you will have everything you need at your fingertips. You can probably break it down with hydrochloric (muriatic) acid, available at some hardware stores, but I don’t want to send you there unless you need to be there. It can give you chemical burns. If THEY send you in that direction, I’ll warn you now: buy a face shield, gloves and a plastic apron.