Plaster Skimming vs Lining Paper? Which Is Best? 

Absolutely delighted to hear your story. Congrats indeed! Best wishes, Des

Thank you, Des

Wow, thanks. You're most welcome. Best wishes, Des

Thanks very much mate. Appreciate your kind feedback. Remember - practice does indeed make perfect. The more you do it the better you will get. Best wishes, Des

Hi there. Thanks for your valuable input. Agree with your comments but with one minor caveat. It can be very difficult to smooth out or sand multifinish when dry so it needs to be flattened and feathered when wet. However, this can be achieved with a flexible blade, a a brush and a spray gun (i.e. wet plaster can be sprayed with water, brushed over to reduce thickness and then smoothed with a flexible trowel). Works a treat. Done it zillions of times. Best wishes, Des

Hi there and apologies for the very late reply. That will depend upon two main factors. Firstly, how stable the existing paper is. If it's still stuck down well and in good condition, I can't see any point in removing it to be honest. Secondly, is the surface underneath smooth and flat enough and does it appear solid and stable? If so, same answer as above. If it's a bit of a mess then take the old paper off, sort out the background and start from scratch. Hope this helps, Des

Lol. How so? Thanks, Des

Hiya Jay. Thanks for your input. I do, of course, wish you the very best of luck. Take care buddy, Des

Thanks buddy

Hi there. Most people probably would to be fair but you'd be better off using a lime plaster to match existing. This will enable the property to 'breathe' unlike modern gypsum products. ATB, Des

Hi there. That really depends. Is it heated? What's the room to be used for? Will the walls suffer knocks and bangs? If the room is heated (i.e. warm) then no problems. If not, then you've got to consider the possibility of dampness due to water vapour in the air. You might be begtter of getting the boards skimmed. If the walls may suffer knocks and bangs then it'll be better to get the boards skimmed as the finish will be far more durable. Hope this helps. Des

@@21stcenturycaveman33 many thanks for your response. The conversation is a bedroom with ensuite. For the ceiling I used vapour plasterboard. The shower area I am going to use moisture plasterboard. The other sides of the room I would use soundbloc plasterboard. Walls are insulated with PIR insulation. The ceilings are insulated with roll insulation. The shower area with have an heater and likewise there will be a heater in the room. What will you recommend, 2000 grade lining paper or skimming.

Hiya buddy. That depends whether it actually needs sealing. If the paint is in reasonable condition, it will just need scuffing up to create a key for the lining paper so it will 'grip' the wall. It will then need washing down with sugar soap and left to dry. This will remove grease, dust and debris. Next step is to paste. I now always use a paste the wall rather than paste the paper as it is so much quicker. So basically, the existing paint on a previously painted surface will have already sealed the wall. If, however, the painted surface has exposed plaster where it has flaked off or chipped then you have 2 options: first, simply water down the paste and seal the wall using this, or, alternatively seal the wall using PVA watered down 5:1 (i.e. 5 parts water to 1 part PVA). Hope that helps. Des

@@21stcenturycaveman33 Hi Des, thanks for the long detailed reply. I did exactly what you suggested prior to posting my comment as I had read online about using watered down PVA to seal the wall prior to hanging lining paper was all that was required. However a day after hanging the paper I noticed the paper coming off the wall where it butts up against the next piece. On close inspection the paint had come of the wall and forced the paper to come loose. I ended up removing everything I had done as it came off so easily. I then tried again with a 50/50 PVA solution and it seems to work much better but even then it wasn’t great. It could be that I was using solvite wallpaper paste you mix yourself as apposed to a ready mix paste which apparently is much stronger and has lower water content. To say this is driving me nuts is the understatement as I want to get it right and not have to redo it in 6 months time. It has been suggested that using an oil based undercoat or zinzeer gardz might solve the problem.

Yes, it should. If the prices were similar though I would definitely get the walls skimmed instead. Hope that helps, Des

Hi there. That really depends upon how severe the artex is (i.e. how deep the ridges are). If it's very deep then definitely not. If moderate ridges then I would fill out with a plaster such as Easifill and then lining paper over this. I've utilised this method before and it works great. (step 1 - pva area to seal surface; step 2 - apply plaster with a spatula to fill in depressions and flatten ridges; stage 3 - when everything is dry and you've very lightly sanded any uneven bits of plaster just paper over). Hope this helps, Des

there. So glad it helped. Yes, lining paper is breathable and will add a little protection as described. BUT, what you paint the paper with may be the issue, i.e., if it is a washable / scrubbable paint this may not be breathable. Check with instructions. ATB, Des

You da Man!! Don;t forget to give me the thumbs up buddy! ATB, Des

Hi there. That is true. You've got to be careful for sure. ATB, Des

you wouldn't put it on bare board prime it with a solvent alkali resisting primer first leave over night to dry will protect your boards and save future problems and cost always better off spending more on the job in the first place to save overall

Hi there. Lining paper will definitely be so much cheaper - guaranteed!. PROVIDING you do it yourself and don't get a decorator to do it for you. Once the existing stuff is removed you will need to clean the surface thoroughly before papering over. Sugar soap is a great idea. Also, check out on line for products which can inhibit growth of mould. Good luck my friend. ATB, Des

Then obviously they'll need someone to do it for them! ATB, Des

Would love to have seen the finished result. Bet it looked great??? ATB, Des

@@21stcenturycaveman33 flat smooth and ready to paint as it should be, that's why I see lining paper as a complete waste of time and money if I'm honest

Blimey! That Plasterer obviously doesn't do it for any profit with them prices!

I'm in London, you couldn't even get an apprentice plasterer to show up for those kind of prices 😂

Dose he leave 9 metres of sandpaper behind?

Errr ...... nahhh