Keeping tools/buckets clean ...

[Bolthosue]

Hey All,

Learning to plaster in the US, very little info about the process left in the us (everything is drywall/mud), most of my info is coming from UK plasterers and the info is not always 1-to-1 with the materials I have access to here.

Just started my first job a few days ago and noticed that while I could easily get my stainless/plastic tools clean, my aluminum hawk was really getting built up with the base coat I was applying (plaster with lots of adhesive and sand).

Additionally, while I could get buckets mostly clean, it was tough to get them totally cleaned when the last bit of each batch cured in the bucket (because my application is really slow at this point).

I know that dirty buckets/tools/water can cause plaster to set unpredictably, but how clean does everything really need to be?

Also, do you have different sets of tools for different materials? Like a hawk you use just for base coat/rendering (lots of aggregate) and another for smooth plaster?

Thanks!

 

[Ktownsend]

Gypsum based products come off in water. Leave a trowel in a bucket of water over night and most of the 'fat' will come off.

 

[bobski]

If stubborn, add baking soda - sodium bicarbonate to the water.

 

[John j]

Use hammer on handboard

 

[Casper]

Use hammer on handboard

Lol

 

[Casper]

Soak overnight in white vinegar.

 

[Cockney]

Soak overnight in wife’s knickers

 

[Casper]

I didn’t know your mrs wore any knickers?

 

[Stevieo]

Hey All,

Learning to plaster in the US, very little info about the process left in the us (everything is drywall/mud), most of my info is coming from UK plasterers and the info is not always 1-to-1 with the materials I have access to here.

Just started my first job a few days ago and noticed that while I could easily get my stainless/plastic tools clean, my aluminum hawk was really getting built up with the base coat I was applying (plaster with lots of adhesive and sand).

Additionally, while I could get buckets mostly clean, it was tough to get them totally cleaned when the last bit of each batch cured in the bucket (because my application is really slow at this point).

I know that dirty buckets/tools/water can cause plaster to set unpredictably, but how clean does everything really need to be?

Also, do you have different sets of tools for different materials? Like a hawk you use just for base coat/rendering (lots of aggregate) and another for smooth plaster?

Thanks!

First thing's first - don't listen to @Casper because he's basically just a vandal.

People keep their gear clean by making washing up part of the process. If you leave the bucket to go off then of course it'll be hard to clean, won't it?

 

[Casper]

And don’t listen to Stevieo. He’s an imposter. Yeah, that’s right, he’s not a plasterer.
However he is a janitor. So he knows a thing or 2 about mops, buckets etc.

 

[Cockney]

I didn’t know my mrs wore any knickers?

 

[The Hobo]

Use hammer on handboard

but not on a hawk you will kill the f**k*r

 

[Casper]

but not on a hawk you will kill the f**k*r

I use my knee

 

[Casper]

Your mrs only wears knickers to keep her ankles warm

 

[Bolthosue]

Gypsum based products come off in water. Leave a trowel in a bucket of water over night and most of the 'fat' will come off.

I know that American drywall mud/joint compound dissolve very easily in water … but are you saying that gypsum based plasters will dissolve in water as well? It was my understanding that one of the qualities of plaster was that it wasn't affected by water once cured.

 

[Cockney]

My mrs only wears knickers round her ankles because the stench helps to keep the flys away!

 

[Bolthosue]

First thing's first - don't listen to @Casper because he's basically just a vandal.

People keep their gear clean by making washing up part of the process. If you leave the bucket to go off then of course it'll be hard to clean, won't it?

Sure, that makes sense, but let's say that I have dedicated buckets for holding/measuring water that never see a speck of plaster, one for cleaning as I go, and another for mixing. I've seen many videos where people use the mixing bucket to also dispense the plaster … but I have to assume that even if they're fast and can clear the bucket out, there's still going to be a fair bit left in the bucket that cures. I assume one would still have to knock this mixing bucket around to break off the hard plaster and scrape it out before mixing the next batch? Is that correct?

What about these boards/tables I've been seeing (not sure of their trade name) where plasterers mix a batch in a bucket, then immediately dump it onto the table so it can be easily scraped off the table and onto the hawk. The mixing bucket is immediately rinsed out and thus stays very clean. As for the "plaster holding table", since it's a flat surface, any cured plaster can easily be chipped off and any remnants are never mixed into new batches because no mixing is ever done on that surface.

 

[Casper]

Your mrs can’t find knickers to fit her

 

[Lastlaff]

@Bolthosue - Get a spot board & stand to put your plaster on then clean your buckets straight away. If you get a build up on your hawk, just give it a scrape with a filling-knife. Same tools for rendering/plastering/stucco - UK tools are the same as yous have.

 

[Bolthosue]

@Bolthosue - Get a spot board & stand to put your plaster on then clean your buckets straight away. Same tools for rendering/plastering/stucco - UK tools are the same as yous have.

Is that what that's called? A "spot board" ... good to know.

 

[Lastlaff]

Poor @Bolthosue - won’t have a scooby why grown men are talking about knickers - wonder if he’s a drawer sniffer?

 

[Casper]

Grown man. Cockney1 is a 16 year old

 

[Stevieo]

Sure, that makes sense, but let's say that I have dedicated buckets for holding/measuring water that never see a speck of plaster, one for cleaning as I go, and another for mixing. I've seen many videos where people use the mixing bucket to also dispense the plaster … but I have to assume that even if they're fast and can clear the bucket out, there's still going to be a fair bit left in the bucket that cures. I assume one would still have to knock this mixing bucket around to break off the hard plaster and scrape it out before mixing the next batch? Is that correct?

What about these boards/tables I've been seeing (not sure of their trade name) where plasterers mix a batch in a bucket, then immediately dump it onto the table so it can be easily scraped off the table and onto the hawk. The mixing bucket is immediately rinsed out and thus stays very clean. As for the "plaster holding table", since it's a flat surface, any cured plaster can easily be chipped off and any remnants are never mixed into new batches because no mixing is ever done on that surface.

Talk about over thinking it.

Knock up as much as you can handle.

Throw it on.

Scrape out bucket on to a bag.

Wash bucket.

Flatten plaster.

Bada bing.

 

[Lastlaff]

@Bolthosue - What plaster do you use - any pics of your work?

 

[Bolthosue]

@Bolthosue - What plaster do you use - any pics of your work?

I literally started my first job a couple of days ago, using National Gypsum brand Kal-Kote basecoat plaster (lots of adhesive and sand). The finish coat will be from the same product line, but I need to get the basecoat on the ceiling today … need to get some scaffolding first, along with some retarder to see if I can extend the cure time enough to avoid having seams and wasted plaster.

I definitely need to work on my speed, but that will come with practice. Overall i'm really impressed with my first attempt and how easy it was to get the wall flat, I thought I would have a much more difficult time, looking forward to the finish plaster.

 

[Lastlaff]

Looks neat & tidy mate - don’t forget to devil-up your base coat (called the floating-coat in UK)

 

[Bolthosue]

Poor @Bolthosue - won’t have a scooby why grown men are talking about knickers - wonder if he’s a drawer sniffer?

HA HA! I'll have to say, I thought you Brits where a more sophisticated bunch. But I guess tradesmen are men no matter where you come from. Frankly, I spent the last 6 years living in Hong Kong and had more British friends than any other nationality … frequented a pub called The Globe … really miss pub life having moved back to the US. British food, weather, and beer may be terrible … but at least you run a proper establishment.

 

[Flatbrush]

Keeping tools in water.they are not the same as koi carp,clean them as you finish using them.

 

[Bolthosue]

Looks neat & tidy mate - don’t forget to devil-up your base coat (called the floating-coat in UK)

Yea I wasn't sure I needed to do that, in the US it's called "raking" or "combing" (so I've read) and you used to be able to buy these big steel combs for that purpose. It sometimes feels like I'm doing an some sort of archeological/anthropological study trying to learn how it's done in the US. The package for the basecoat didn't say it was required, only that you should not smooth the base coat too much so the finish coat can "micro key" to the base coat. The base coat is pretty rough, lots of shallow cavities and drag marks, should be OK … we'll see. No idea how this plaster performs yet.

 

[Stevieo]

HA HA! I'll have to say, I thought you Brits where a more sophisticated bunch. But I guess tradesmen are men no matter where you come from. Frankly, I spent the last 6 years living in Hong Kong and had more British friends than any other nationality … frequented a pub called The Globe … really miss pub life having moved back to the US. British food, weather, and beer may be terrible … but at least you run a proper establishment.

British weather is bracing. It's f**k**g good weather. Makes a man of you. Wind and rain are your friends - they demoralise the enemy.

British beer is excellent - it's just you daft cnuts don't appreciate proper beer.

You cheeky cnuts eat that (with rubber cheese) and you knock us?

 

[MakeItSmooth]

British beer may be terrible

You can't judge British beer on the basis of a pub the other side of the world from Britain.

There are a small number of American beers that I've liked, but many mainstream American beers are sickly-sweet to my tastebuds.


...and Stevieo makes an excellent point about rubber frankencheese.

American plastering tools are pretty much on par with European brands, though.

 

[The Hobo]

I didn’t know your mrs wore any knickers?

she does or did that night enough said

 

[Lastlaff]

This is devilling-up. Plastic float with 4 screws/nails in the end protruding about a mill. Always do it on basecoats (even if the bag doesn’t say). The comb scratcher isn’t the right tool - that’s for render/stucco.

 

[Bolthosue]

British weather is bracing. It's f**k**g good weather. Makes a man of you. Wind and rain are your friends - they demoralise the enemy.

British beer is excellent - it's just you daft cnuts don't appreciate proper beer.

You cheeky cnuts eat that (with rubber cheese) and you knock us?

View attachment 56806

There's actually a larger history to our "American cheese" than you would imagine. Also known as "government cheese", it was part of a federal program dating back to the late 1940s. The "cheese product" was developed as a method of long term storage for dairy product bought by the US government to prop up a failing dairy industry. To avoid the high cost of refrigeration, the USDA converted natural caves into cheese storage (cheese caves) that still exist to this day.

How the US Ended Up With Warehouses Full of 'Government Cheese' | HISTORY

In the early 1980s, the U.S. government distributed some 300 million pounds of pungent‑smelling processed cheese that had been produced with federal funds.

www.history.com

In the 1980s the US government offloaded some 300 million pounds of this low cost cheese product into the US market, which is why every school lunch program, jail, government cafeteria, and fast food restaurant had menus laden with this melty "cheese". (Coincidentally, it may have also been the start of America's obesity epidemic.)

I remember my grandmother used to always keep an innocuous brown box of "US government cheese product" in her fridge and would use it to make grilled cheese sandwiches for us. It was horribly salty and tasted nothing like cheese, but it melted like a charm.

These days I'll go for a nice French brie if I want a good melt, but I'm sure that would offend your delicate British sensibilities as well.

 

[Lastlaff]

What did you work at before?