Polycell Smooth Over

nelly_2

point3 wrote:

Nelly,

What materials do you use to skim an Artex ceiling?
Do you need a bonding coat as well as the skim layer?

Thanks!

If its mega thick? then yes bonding coat 1st, dont forget to pva it 1st too or else when you slam the door it 'll end up on the floor.

Also a top tip is throw a handfull of skim in the pva when you mix it,

A. it sets quicker

B. you can see where you have pva'd easier, so you dont miss any.

weekendwarrior

Personally I would have a go at plastering, some people even beginners can soon get a half decent finish. If you need a small bedroom doing or under the stairs then this is a great place to practice before doing a living room.

I did a back bedroom by following the advice Here

I had my friend helping and I drylined the room first and then skimmed it to a reasonable finish.One wall was a bit rough and so I pva'd it and skimmed over it again. Obviously nelly would of done it a lot faster and acheived a better finish but I like having a go and love DIY.

There is a thread here on polycell smoothover Here Check out the pictures of the plastering that the guy has done on his first attempt!

If you enjoy diy and like to have a go then have a go, if not get a pro like nelly in to do it for you, the finish will be far better than that of smoothover!

point3

Thanks for the tips, peeps.
I've always thought I'd like to try my hand at plastering :rolleyes: , so I'm off to find an unsuspecting friend with an Artex ceiling to practise on

flang

This stuff is rubbish, plaster is cheaper and goes on easier and you get a better finish!

JDPower

weekendwarrior wrote:

Personally I would have a go at plastering, some people even beginners can soon get a half decent finish. If you need a small bedroom doing or under the stairs then this is a great place to practice before doing a living room.

I did a back bedroom by following the advice Here

I had my friend helping and I drylined the room first and then skimmed it to a reasonable finish.One wall was a bit rough and so I pva'd it and skimmed over it again. Obviously nelly would of done it a lot faster and acheived a better finish but I like having a go and love DIY.

There is a thread here on polycell smoothover Here Check out the pictures of the plastering that the guy has done on his first attempt!

If you enjoy diy and like to have a go then have a go, if not get a pro like nelly in to do it for you, the finish will be far better than that of smoothover!

Thanks, very enlightening.

beccatt

Today we discovered a whole new smoothover horror... We tried (unsuccessfully) to use some on our artexed bathroom ceiling about two or three weeks ago, then gave up and sealed the tub up again.

We needed some polyfilla today so thought we might as well use the smoothover, opened it up to find it had gone mouldy!!! :eek:

One of those DIY disasters that we will laugh about in the future I'm sure...

mparter

beccatt wrote:

Today we discovered a whole new smoothover horror... We tried (unsuccessfully) to use some on our artexed bathroom ceiling about two or three weeks ago, then gave up and sealed the tub up again.

We needed some polyfilla today so thought we might as well use the smoothover, opened it up to find it had gone mouldy!!! :eek:

One of those DIY disasters that we will laugh about in the future I'm sure...

Get in touch with Polycell. I contact them a while back as I wasn't too happy with their SmoothOver. Especially the fact that if you buy the smaller tub, the tool they recommend you use doesn't even fit in the tub.

They sent me a cheque for my money back

Malestrom

As others have said, you really would be far better off having a bash at plastering it yourself. Its really not that hard to get an acceptable finish although it is a lot harder to get an excellent finish. We had Artex EVERYWHERE in our house when we moved in, that horribly thick dribbly !!!!!! all over the walls and a multitude of effects on each ceiling. After being let down several times by a plasterer I went to college and did a DIY plastering course. Lasted 5 weeks, two nights a week and it taught us the basic techniques for plastering walls and ceilings. Cost me £140 and was worth every penny. No, it doesn't make me a plasterer and I wouldn't want to be one, bloody hard work! However I have plastered about 15 of the walls in our house and it gets easier and quicker each time.

Could be an alternative worth thinking about.

IM

I'm starting a beginners' (10 weeks x 3 hours) course in plastering tomorrow.

It's taken ages to get on and it's costing me £300, but my theory is that even if I'm only able to get a less than perfect finish at the end, I'll save money after a couple of rooms.

You never know, I might end up on one of those "I gave up my office job to become self-employed and now I'm going to retire in 2 years" TV smug-fests...

nelly_2

IM wrote:

I'm starting a beginners' (10 weeks x 3 hours) course in plastering tomorrow.

It's taken ages to get on and it's costing me £300, but my theory is that even if I'm only able to get a less than perfect finish at the end, I'll save money after a couple of rooms.

You never know, I might end up on one of those "I gave up my office job to become self-employed and now I'm going to retire in 2 years" TV smug-fests...

Learning to do it isnt that hard getting fast enough to make money takes ages annoyingly.