Help! - Plaster on skirting boards

aberned

We have recently had a conservatory built. In their wisdom, the joiners secured the skirting boards before the plasterer arrived to skim the walls. The plastering work is good, but inevitably its a messy job and the skirtings have been splattered with plaster leaving white marks on the wood. Unfortunately this was before they were treated (intention is to apply 3 coats of Ronseal satin natural stain). The plasterer suggested that we allow the marks to dry out properly then rub them down with a sanding pad and clean them. I have been over the marks twice with a dap cloth and twice with some sandpaper, hoovering out the dust when I'm finished, but the marks are still there.

The plasterer has suggested going ahead and staining them as the marks will disappear - but I'm concerned that if it doesn't, it will become my responsibility.

Any suggestions how best to remove the marks?

ariba10

The only thing as I see it is to let it dry out completely, as the man said and try to sand paper it out. Wetting it will not remove it.

r.black

The same thing happened to us. I stripped the skirting boards in our bedroom before getting the room plastered, and afterwards they were covered in a film of plaster where the plasterer had wiped the plaster off but some had still stuck on. I washed it down a couple of times with warm water and a bit of Flash, (I even used a toothbrush to get into the moulding) But it was really exasperating as it looked as if that had worked - until it dried and the marks would just come back! In the end I found the only way to get rid of it was to sand it off.

aberned

Thanks for your thoughts. Looks like I'll have to get the sleeves rolled up then !!!!

busymumof3

I would be really annoyed and would make sure that the joiners carried out the task of sanding them down to your satisfaction prior to staining.

shammyjack

Plaster is alkaline, try rubbing the marks with a 50% vinegar 50% water solution to neutralise and then rinse with clean water .

shammy

bothymonger

Why blame the joiner ? Surely it is the plasterers fault for not protecting the skirting with masking tape..no ?
Alex the Joiner

boogiemaster

It’s better to plaster first then attack the skirting boards after as they will be no mess, the joiner should have waited till the plaster work was finished before fitting the skirting boards.
The plasters had to plaster up to the skirting board and will have made a mess as they had no choice.
San back to wood and re-apply stain or replace the skirting board with new ones as they are fairly cheap from Wickes etc.

Tom_Jones

boogiemaster wrote:

It’s better to plaster first then attack the skirting boards after as they will be no mess, the joiner should have waited till the plaster work was finished before fitting the skirting boards.
The plasters had to plaster up to the skirting board and will have made a mess as they had no choice.
San back to wood and re-apply stain or replace the skirting board with new ones as they are fairly cheap from Wickes etc.

Absolute rubbish you should always fix the skirting before a plasterer, mainly because it is a better finish with no gaps on the skirting line.

Wait for the palster to dry and sand the skirting with a fine sandpaper, I assume your staining the skirting.

BTW ALL plasterers are messy b@s@rds

wanttosave

i agree with boggiemaster . you should never put the skirting on first . as the skirting is only thin and the base coat and plaster would have to be rizla thin to make it look right . the norm for base coat and top coat is about 20mm thick a lot thicker than the skirting .i think the joiner is passing the butt. if i was doing that job i would have got back in my van and gorn to another job . till it had be thaken off . yes plastering is a messy job but you cant open a bag of plaster with out mess .

boogiemaster

Tom Jones
Quote
Absolute rubbish you should always fix the skirting before a plasterer, mainly because it is a better finish with no gaps on the skirting line.

Wait for the palster to dry and sand the skirting with fine sandpaper; I assume your staining the skirting.

BTW ALL plasterers are messy b@s@rds

Tom Jones
It’s you that’s talking Rubbish!!!!! They attach a wooden baton to the bottom of the wall and then they plaster up to the baton.
They attach the skirting board to the baton as well as the wall, my dad is a builder and when my house was renovated that’s how the dam builders did it.