How to prepare walls for decorative plaster yourself

The final outcome is influenced by the critical step of preparing walls for decorative plaster. To guarantee that the plaster adheres well and lasts for years, the surface needs to be properly prepared, regardless of whether you want a textured look or a smooth, elegant finish.

It is not necessary for you to be an expert to complete this task by yourself. You can prepare your walls for a gorgeous decorative plaster application with the appropriate method and equipment. Making sure the surface is spotless, even, and undamaged is the first step in the entire process.

This tutorial will take you step-by-step through the necessary preparation steps for your walls, making the process easy to handle. Learn how to create the ideal base for your decorative plaster, from scraping off old paint to priming the surface.

Is it possible to apply decorative plaster to an unprepared wall

These days, a wide range of decorative plasters are sold: flock, Venetian, textured, structural, and ones that mimic stone chips. Apart from the diverse surface effects produced, they can also vary in composition, consisting of mineral, silicate, silicone, and acrylic materials.

Whichever variety is selected, the surface needs to be prepared for decorative plaster; this cannot be overlooked.

This adjustment is required in order to:

• Improve adhesion – adhesion between the plane of the wall and the applied material.
• Increase service life. Lack of high-quality preparation can lead to the composition starting to fall off over time.
• Eliminate possible defects that may appear after a certain period of time. This includes – rust appearing from the reinforcement that is inside the wall; fungus growth if the walls have high humidity.

If you want to apply decorative plaster to your own walls, start by completely clearing the surface of any debris, dust, or outdated paint. Next, use putty to seal any holes or cracks. After that, make sure the wall is even and smooth. Sand it if needed, and use a primer to help the plaster stick properly. These procedures guarantee a polished appearance by laying a strong basis for your decorative plaster.

How to prepare walls for decorative plaster – the main stages

Prior to applying the composition, walls must be prepared in accordance with established technology. The actions done vary depending on the type of building base material. However, they typically consist of the following primary actions:

• Removing the old coating.
• Cleaning the surface from dust, dirt, greasy stains, rust appearing.
• Alignment of the wall in terms of eliminating cracks and potholes, as well as bringing them to the plane.
• After this, the base is covered with special compounds in order to eliminate possible negative manifestations. Most often, adhesive mixtures and antiseptics are applied to the surface. Fire retardants are used less often.

Tools and materials required for preparation

Professional preparation of walls for the application of decorative plaster requires specialized tools in addition to specific knowledge, skills, and experience. This is what experts utilize:

• To prepare the solution, you will need a large plastic bucket or a corresponding container with a capacity of at least 5 liters.
• A smaller container to prepare the composition.
• A drill with a specific attachment for easy mixing.
• Floaters and graters – choose from different materials.
• You will need several spatulas. They should be of different sizes so that you can apply different layers of putty.
• A roller with a pattern on the surface to be able to apply relief.
• Flat brushes with hard bristles.
• Sponges of different structures.

How to prepare a wall – removing the old coating

Cleaning the walls is the first step before applying decorative plaster, so it’s important to know how this manipulation is carried out for various finishing materials.

Old plaster, tiles

Every finishing choice starts with the wall that has plaster applied to it. However, this is only guaranteed if it is sufficiently sturdy and rests comfortably on concrete, aerated concrete, wooden beams, or other composed surfaces.

As a result, it is necessary to constantly check the integrity of the old plaster layer and preserve its strength characteristics.

It will need to be cleaned if it has become deteriorated. The following is how renovation work is completed:

• Tap the entire surface of the wall to detect lagging areas.
• Then, where a dull sound was heard, you should draw the sharp edge of the spatula along the wall. The composition will begin to crumble and peel off.
• You need to insert a spatula into the furrow and scrape off the peeling layer. This is repeated in all places where the composition has peeled off. Sometimes it is necessary to remove 2-3 mm of plaster, and in case of severe deterioration, deeper peeling will be required.
• After this, it is necessary to remove all the dust. This can be done in different ways – put the vacuum cleaner on the blowing mode and blow off all the small particles or sweep with a brush. But, at the finishing stage, you will still have to go over it with a damp cloth to remove the smallest particles.
• After that, let the wall dry and you can begin to level it with the starting composition. It should be applied thinly, in several layers, each of which is dried before applying the next one.
• The final layer is applied with finishing putty. When the composition is completely dry, the wall is treated with fine sandpaper, achieving uniformity and smoothness.

The following steps will need to be taken in order to remove the old cladding from ceramic tiles:

• First, with a chisel and a hammer, the tile is knocked down.
• Then performs the same sequence of actions as when removing the plaster. That is, putty is applied to the starting and then finish layers.

Removing old paint

There are various methods for getting rid of paint:

• If it is not too thick, then you can do it manually. With the help of a spatula or chisel, the layer simply scraps off from the wall.
• It will be more effective to use the burning method. You can work with a gas burner where the paint is applied directly to the concrete wall or materials that are non -combustible. After the material is darkened, it is cleaned with a scrap or metal brush.
• You can use a construction hair dryer, which also heats the surface. But since the temperature in this case will not be so high, the process will take longer.
• There are also special chemicals. They corrode the paint layer, it turns out to be a kind of solvent effect. When working with such substances, it is necessary to observe safety precautions to protect the eyes, mucous surfaces and respiratory tract.

To get a smooth surface, the wall will probably need to be puttied after the paint layer is removed.

Removing old wallpaper

Wallpaper removal is a very simple task. You must use a fine sprayer to apply water to the entire surface in order to expedite this process. In order to give all of the paper or vinyl layers time to soak, it is best to leave the wallpaper in its wet state before starting the process again.

Next, remove the wallpaper by removing all of the layers and making sure that no small pieces remain on the wall. You can do this by using putty or a knife with a rounded edge.

A leveling layer is applied where the paper and plaster have come off. Finishing paste is used for this.

Removing whitewash

It will be necessary to first prepare the surface if decorative plaster is applied to a ceiling that has already been whitewashed. Additionally, the putty layer is reached by washing off the cladding, guaranteeing the necessary degree of adhesion.

The following manipulations are used to remove whitewash:

• Thinly applied whitewash can be washed off simply with warm water, wetting the sponge and treating the surface with circular movements.
• A thick layer can be removed using liquid boiled paste. It is applied to the ceiling and left to act for 20 minutes. After this, the paste is removed with a spatula. This method is good because by cleaning in this way, it is possible to avoid the formation of a large amount of dust.
• You can use the preparation of a special solution – for 10 liters of water take 200 g of soda + 1 piece of laundry soap, which is planed with a knife or grate on a fine grater. After this, mix everything and apply the composition to the whitewashed surface. In this case, no additional cleaning is required.

Surface repair

Removing the previous layer is not the end of the preparation work for the surface. Making sure the ceiling and walls are perfectly smooth is crucial. Experts describe this illness as being "like an eggshell."

You have to repair it first in order to obtain such a surface. To accomplish this, take the following steps:

• Wet the required surface, including the edges.
• Plastering in several layers. Each is dried.
• If it is necessary to treat cracks, then they are first slightly expanded to prevent cracking of the edges. After this, they are filled with gypsum mortar with lime admixture. Pure gypsum is not recommended for use, since it will stand out in a brighter color on the finish due to the intensive absorption of the pigment.

Re grouting the surface is necessary after repairs. In this manner, the surface is homogenized, preventing any distinctions between the areas that have been repaired and those that have not undergone such manipulation.

Alignment of walls

There’s another, more involved step involved in hand-preparing walls for decorative plaster. This is the surface alignment until the flatness is met.

Use:

• Puttying. It is carried out with two spatulas of different sizes. The small ones apply the mixture onto the large one and then level it along the wall. If it is necessary to apply 2 layers, the first must dry completely. This method is good only if the deviation from the plane is small.
• For significant differences, use plastering. In this case, beacons are set to know how much to apply the mixture. If it is necessary to level differences of more than 20 cm in height, a plaster mesh should be used. It will not allow the layers to crumble later during the operation of the room. This manipulation is carried out by throwing the plaster mixture on the wall. Then it is leveled using a falcon and a trowel. A thin putty is applied on top.

The walls must be flawlessly smooth because any imperfections will be apparent once ornamental plaster is applied.

Priming of walls and its importance

Applying specific concoctions, also known as primers, to the putty and plaster layer that has been prepared is essential. This is carried out because the necessary degree of adhesion cannot be ensured by a putty layer alone. The primer has the following abilities:

• Increase the reliability of adhesion of a plastered wall with a decorative finishing material.
• Prevent the development of fungus.
• Increase the service life of finishing materials.

Different kinds of compositions exist:

• Concrete contact is used on concrete surfaces. Has an acrylic, water-dispersion or epoxy composition.
• For a plastered wall, choose water-dispersion or acrylic compositions.

However, all dust must be removed from the walls prior to applying the mixture of choice. If not, a portion of the intended effect will be lost.

To achieve a stunning and long-lasting decorative plaster finish, proper wall preparation is essential. You can make sure that the plaster will adhere well and have the best possible appearance by taking the time to thoroughly clean, repair, and prime the walls.

Take your time completing the steps. The finished product will look much more professional if the surface is flawless and smooth. Making the effort now will pay off in the long run by preventing problems.

It can be an easy do-it-yourself project to prepare your walls for decorative plaster if you have the right supplies, equipment, and attention to detail. If you follow these instructions, you should have no trouble adding a gorgeous plaster finish to your space.

Video on the topic

✅ SUPERMETHOD | HOW TO MAKE WALLS FOR PAINTING QUICKLY AND INEXPENSIVELY | SIMPLE DECORATIVE PLASTER

Putty with a roller.Putty with a roller. Finishers Russia.

Preparing walls for decorative plaster