How to level /smooth plaster walls?

I have plaster walls (1950s) which are in pretty good condition but they have lumps and bumps I would like to smooth off.

Any advice on how to get even/smooth plaster walls?

Is it fibrous plaster? or lath and plaster?

Most likely fibrous plaster I would think.

How to repair it will depend on the type of lumps and bumps does it look like where a join or nail hole has been filled or someone has attempted patching? Maybe a pic if you can.

cheers Rod

not fiberous...no..

I am just sanding with a really fine sandpaper and that is working...Very slow work but its ok..

Now I have hit another issue..I have ripped off some tiles and the sparky has put a groove into the wall to drop down some conduit for the oven.

The groove is a few cms deep. Do I render the gap (render IT cement) and then plaster or do I just plaster the gap up after he is done?

The larger area where I removed the tiles I thought I could just render it as splash backs will be installed and as long as I get it level it wont really matter about the way it looks...

(I'll keep reading posts and try to learn something..It's kind of hard if you havnt watched someone do it before)

Hi Chromis go to this page it will tell you exactly how to fix the differnt types of cracks in Lath and Plaster.

The chase for wiring is fixed the same way, (no need for sand and cement).

Just remember to underfill and scrape back between coats rather than sanding.

Cheers Rod

One tip is that you should sand with one of those sanding floats that they sell with the plaster supplies. The sanding sheets that look like flyscreen are good as they don't clog and last a long time. I've got a float approx 30cm x 10cm (it's bigger than the CSR ones they sell in Bunnings).

If you are covering a large area with plaster filler, and sanding it using a cork block or particularly a power sander, then you can easily over do it, making a new low point in your plaster. Using a sanding float is just as fast in my experience as a power sander but you'll get it done faster because you won't have to repair your sanding stuff ups.

A sanding float makes less dust than a power sander. Also don't try to fill a large hole in one go. Multiple coats means less sanding (unlike what they show you on TV).

Another thing is that all plaster filler products are not the same. Some of them don't stick to other brands. Personally I wouldn't again buy the retail products aimed at handymen (of which I am one), but instead the brand-name products from the plaster aisle.

If filling deep holes, you want a non-shrinking filler (there are also some top-coat plaster fillers that shrink).

CSR pre-mixed joint cement is a pretty good all-round product.

Good luck if you've got fibrous plaster. Any cracks in it are liable to open up again after you've filled them. Nordsjo Super Filler (a general purpose indoor-outdoor filler from the filler section, not the plaster aisle) is pretty good in that case but probably better to replace the plasterboard.

Rod's website is well worth a look.

I had the ceiling guys in and one of them gave me some base coat which I applied and then a top coat...That seemed to work well...

You can kind of see it in the picture...

He left me a whole bucket of top coat...Great stuff..

In the right bottom corner of the pic shows a wall I removed with the gap. I cemented in the couple of loose halves, applied three base coats over time and two top coats so far.

That might be a little over the top but the goo kept on sliding if I applied any more then a few cm.

I really appreciate the skills of a plaster now..It's not that easy is it.

I need to fill a round hole in the ceiling that an extractor fan came out of.

This page would be the method to use yeah?

http://www.how2plaster.com/tips%20patching.html

Yes Chromis that is the one.

Patching a larger circular hole can be a bit tricky, if you want a really flat finish (which you should). Scrape back well you will find that you will tend to hollow out the center of the circle and get excessive build up over the tape, therefore make sure you scrape more over the taped area (without scraping right back to the tape). I normally fill out away from the tape with a fist coat with a heavily salted mix to make it go off quick. Then fill the center in flush with the tape. Then with the 2nd or subsequent coat I trowell across as if it were a large square patch, working in the opposite direction for each coat. A patch for an extractor fan will end up about 800 x 800 mm to really get it flat. This should give you a good idea. Wider is normally means flatter and really it is very little extra work!

Cheers Rod

Ok I'll give that a go...Thanks...