Making a wall smooth

chabsey

This is a two part question.

Firstly, I'm doing up my house and in the kitchen, after removing shelves and boards than in some cases were set into the walls, I have lots of holes/gaps to fill. This is the wall onto which the kitchen cabinets are going to go so it's not 100% important to get them perfectly smooth, but I'd like at least to get them even. My current options would be to polyfilla the holes or use what my electrician referred to as 'bond' which he has used to fill gaps in plaster. Any ideas/opinions on what I should use to fill these holes?

Secondly, after stripping walls and painting an undercoat I've noticed that the plaster has lots of small scrapes/dips/gouges in it. When painted this looks awful. I can't afford to get all the walls skimmed, so can anyone recommend an alternative that I can do? I'm not that fussy, the walls don't have to be perfectly smooth, but I would like to remove the majority of the small nicks/scratches in the plaster. Is polyfilla the way to go?

Thanks!

FrankGrimes

What your electrician refers to is Bonding and its used to fill medium to large size holes, gaps and cracks in walls. If the surface needs to have a decorative finish then you would generally skim with plaster over the bonding, but if you are putting kitchen units over it it should be fine. Note that getting this level over anything but a small area (i.e. if its a wider area than the width of your trowel/float you will have to use your own judgement to get it right. If doing a large area cut a piece of timber that you know to be straight to size and continually check your levels on both planes by putting a good spirit level up against the length of timber.

Wet all your tools before use to avoid stickiness and bonding trying into them.

For your skimmed walls - yes polyfilla is the way to go. There is always a certain amount of filling to be done even after the best plasterers but if theres a major amount haul back that plasterer.

Put on one coat of paint before filling as this will fill the smallest dents for you.

Get a 2inch and a 3 inch filling knife and use these together - one for applying the filler and one for holding a batch of it and cleaning of the edges of the other one after each application. Use the self mixed powder rather than the ready mixed stuff.

Get a sanding plate (about 3 inches by about 9 inches and you secure some sandpaper to the surface) and screw it onto the end of a roller extension handle and sand all filled spots when dry before applying subsequent coats, patience is the key here.

chabsey

Thanks for the informative reply!
Looks like bonding will be the way to go for the cabinet wall.

I wouldn't mind trying my hand at skimming as well, just to see if I'm any good. Buying it is a problem though, I presume I dont ask for 'one bag of skim please!' when I go to the hardware shop, what's the stuff called that becomes 'skim'? Plaster?

mad m

You would be amazed at what polyfilla can do for walls if you take your time and be patient.Firstly if you have never tried skimming(DONT DO IT).It drys fairly fast plus when its nearly dry you need to trowel it up with a stock brush,and to be honest its better to look at someone doing it to get the gist of it.Each trade to his own.


I would recommend getting a spatula around 6 inch in width and you can apply the polyfilla with this over walls keeping it flush.Polyfilla normally sinks so go easy and try not to fill holes in one go.You would probably be there all day with a 3inch filling knife but it can come in handy for arkward spots.

FrankGrimes

have to second mad m's point on skimming: skimming is one thing I wont throw my hand at, though I suppose if you're not worried about the finish cos it will be hidden its not too risky - but in general stay away from it.

He's right aswell you can do a lot with polyfilla but if you use bonding it won't sink so you can fill even big holes in one go (if you want to paint them leave it a bit shy of finishing surface so you can polyfill to get a paintable surface, otherwise just bring it up flush if it will be unseen). When bonding is dry touch up with polyfilla to the desired finish level.

redman

Chabsey

If you need a good plasterer for skimming I got referred one by Carpenter and he did a fantastic job at a very reasonable rate for me. (Dublin)

Otherwise, the comment on using the powder based polyfilla is dead right, avoid the premixed variety. I did use a very good Polyfilla product(can't recaall name) for DIY skimming on some small areas but you can't beat a pro.

Redman

GreeBo

what about that roll on skim finish stuff?
You put it on with a roller and then smooth it down, never used it myself, has anyone?

tcs

I used the Polycell SmoothOver stuff and while it's possible to get an ok finish with perseverence, I wouldn't think it's a viable option for large areas - nearly €40 a tub! The Polycell SmoothOver for textured walls/ceilings is a disaster but the one for uneven walls is a bit easier & you get better coverage from your expensive tub.

I haven't tried that stuff you roll on (have seen it recently in shops & suspect that it'd be similarly labour intensive). These things depend on how much time you want to spend sanding to get a smooth finish etc.

I found a reasonably priced plasterer to skim for me and don't regret it for a second.