Speedskim causing long low spots

L

Leeper

New Member
Hi guys.

When using a speedskim to flatten my plaster i always seem to leave vertical low spots on my walls. Please see the pic attached.
Its as though im going over the wall with a flexible trowel, but im not im using a MT Permaflex gold.

This is my process:
1 - Get first coat on.
2 - Flatten with speedskim straight away (sometimes half way through if im doing a big wall), first horizontally, then vertically.
3 - Wait until the plaster has firmed up a little (so i can put my finger in the surface but not be able to push it right into the plaster.
4- Get second coat on.
5 - Flatten straight away. First horizontally, then vertically.
6 - Wait until the plaster has firmed up a bit.
7 - compress/trowel over the plaster.

When im doing stage 7, the plaster is firm enough so that i dont leave too many trowel marks, but soft enough to push around, however the low spots created with the speedskim are just too hard to push out.
Ive tried filling the low spots with plaster left over from the second coat however it is too thick to do a decent job. I have tried using a layer of fresh plaster in the low spots however it is too wet to trowel, if i let it firm up a little the rest of the wall goes off so much i cant push the high spots out.

The low spots only ever seem to be vertical, no other direction, so i can only assume its from the horizontal flattening process.

Any advice please?

Speedskim causing long low spots
 
Leeper said:
Hi guys.

When using a speedskim to flatten my plaster i always seem to leave vertical low spots on my walls. Please see the pic attached.
Its as though im going over the wall with a flexible trowel, but im not im using a MT Permaflex gold.

This is my process:
1 - Get first coat on.
2 - Flatten with speedskim straight away (sometimes half way through if im doing a big wall), first horizontally, then vertically.
3 - Wait until the plaster has firmed up a little (so i can put my finger in the surface but not be able to push it right into the plaster.
4- Get second coat on.
5 - Flatten straight away. First horizontally, then vertically.
6 - Wait until the plaster has firmed up a bit.
7 - compress/trowel over the plaster.

When im doing stage 7, the plaster is firm enough so that i dont leave too many trowel marks, but soft enough to push around, however the low spots created with the speedskim are just too hard to push out.
Ive tried filling the low spots with plaster left over from the second coat however it is too thick to do a decent job. I have tried using a layer of fresh plaster in the low spots however it is too wet to trowel, if i let it firm up a little the rest of the wall goes off so much i cant push the high spots out.

The low spots only ever seem to be vertical, no other direction, so i can only assume its from the horizontal flattening process.

Any advice please?

View attachment 72806
Click to expand...
Fuk me 7 stages of skimming that's madness. Just use a decent trowel from start to finish and launch that speedskim in the nearest canal
 
Leeper said:
Hi guys.

When using a speedskim to flatten my plaster i always seem to leave vertical low spots on my walls. Please see the pic attached.
Its as though im going over the wall with a flexible trowel, but im not im using a MT Permaflex gold.

This is my process:
1 - Get first coat on.
2 - Flatten with speedskim straight away (sometimes half way through if im doing a big wall), first horizontally, then vertically.
3 - Wait until the plaster has firmed up a little (so i can put my finger in the surface but not be able to push it right into the plaster.
4- Get second coat on.
5 - Flatten straight away. First horizontally, then vertically.
6 - Wait until the plaster has firmed up a bit.
7 - compress/trowel over the plaster.

When im doing stage 7, the plaster is firm enough so that i dont leave too many trowel marks, but soft enough to push around, however the low spots created with the speedskim are just too hard to push out.
Ive tried filling the low spots with plaster left over from the second coat however it is too thick to do a decent job. I have tried using a layer of fresh plaster in the low spots however it is too wet to trowel, if i let it firm up a little the rest of the wall goes off so much i cant push the high spots out.

The low spots only ever seem to be vertical, no other direction, so i can only assume its from the horizontal flattening process.

Any advice please?

View attachment 72806
Click to expand...

How flat is the wall to start with as you can only do so much with skim? If the wall is well out to start with, anything with a big blade will accentuate the low spots if you’re after perfection.
 
Leeper said:
Hi guys.

When using a speedskim to flatten my plaster i always seem to leave vertical low spots on my walls. Please see the pic attached.
Its as though im going over the wall with a flexible trowel, but im not im using a MT Permaflex gold.

This is my process:
1 - Get first coat on.
2 - Flatten with speedskim straight away (sometimes half way through if im doing a big wall), first horizontally, then vertically.
3 - Wait until the plaster has firmed up a little (so i can put my finger in the surface but not be able to push it right into the plaster.
4- Get second coat on.
5 - Flatten straight away. First horizontally, then vertically.
6 - Wait until the plaster has firmed up a bit.
7 - compress/trowel over the plaster.

When im doing stage 7, the plaster is firm enough so that i dont leave too many trowel marks, but soft enough to push around, however the low spots created with the speedskim are just too hard to push out.
Ive tried filling the low spots with plaster left over from the second coat however it is too thick to do a decent job. I have tried using a layer of fresh plaster in the low spots however it is too wet to trowel, if i let it firm up a little the rest of the wall goes off so much i cant push the high spots out.

The low spots only ever seem to be vertical, no other direction, so i can only assume its from the horizontal flattening process.

Any advice please?

View attachment 72806
Click to expand...
how thick you putting it on?
 
Like crispy said if the wall isn’t flat and has it’s low and high spots you can’t fill them out with skim regardless of using a speed skim or spat,or you can do is trowel and follow the contours of the wall to minimise the low spots
 
Sitemonkey said:
Fuk me 7 stages of skimming that's madness. Just use a decent trowel from start to finish and launch that speedskim in the nearest canal
Click to expand...
Absolutely bizarre, plaster as we know it hasn't changed much in the modern age,
Slowly but surely the snake oil salesmen have got into plastering, so now you've got unnecessary "tools" that have to be incorporated into a very simple process that has too many years behind it to mention.

I will say that a speedy thing does help on larger ceilings.
 
I have never been able to finish with a speedskim... even the metal blade ones I couldnt do it.

A quick flatten and pull in the edges and that is it :D
 
Danny said:
I have never been able to finish with a speedskim... even the metal blade ones I couldnt do it.

A quick flatten and pull in the edges and that is it :D
Click to expand...

It’s more about a quick flatten Danny. I have got pretty close to finishing with one, but I don’t do enough to perfect the method.
 
Leeper said:
Hi guys.

When using a speedskim to flatten my plaster i always seem to leave vertical low spots on my walls. Please see the pic attached.
Its as though im going over the wall with a flexible trowel, but im not im using a MT Permaflex gold.

This is my process:
1 - Get first coat on.
2 - Flatten with speedskim straight away (sometimes half way through if im doing a big wall), first horizontally, then vertically.
3 - Wait until the plaster has firmed up a little (so i can put my finger in the surface but not be able to push it right into the plaster.
4- Get second coat on.
5 - Flatten straight away. First horizontally, then vertically.
6 - Wait until the plaster has firmed up a bit.
7 - compress/trowel over the plaster.

When im doing stage 7, the plaster is firm enough so that i dont leave too many trowel marks, but soft enough to push around, however the low spots created with the speedskim are just too hard to push out.
Ive tried filling the low spots with plaster left over from the second coat however it is too thick to do a decent job. I have tried using a layer of fresh plaster in the low spots however it is too wet to trowel, if i let it firm up a little the rest of the wall goes off so much i cant push the high spots out.

The low spots only ever seem to be vertical, no other direction, so i can only assume its from the horizontal flattening process.

Any advice please?

View attachment 72806
Click to expand...
It could be because you haven’t controlled the suction on the bonding enough, as it pulls in it literally pulls into the wall
 
I think the guy questioning the thickness is onto it. Tighter second coat and think the indentations would lessen. For what it's worth, I follow pretty much you trowel up pattern. Lay in, speed straight away. MT permashape 14x5 without water, then one with water. Final dry trowel with MT 18" permaflex.
 
How long have you had the speed skim?
I bought a new one back in the summer and noticed something wasn’t right. When I took a good look at it there was a manufacturing fault and it had a warp in it. Fair play they swapped it no questions
 
Hi giys,
Thanks for all the replies.
I figured out my problem...i was wrong about it being the speedskim.

When applying the plaster to the wall i try to overlap the previous trowel. Where the plaster is thicker in the middle of the trowel, and thinner towards the edges, it was the thinner parts that were overlapping, this caused the low spots because the plaster towards the edges was thinner.

I ended up running a few trowels of plaster up the wall vertically, then pushing the low spots out horizontally, and worked like that across the wall.

I sacked the speedskim off and used just my trowel, the result...the flattest wall ive ever done.

Sadly i messed up on the first wet trowel, i thought the plaster had dried out more than enough but when i wet the wall and troweled it left a layer of fat where i took the trowel off that i had great difficulty getting off.

Every day is a learning curve.
 
Leeper said:
Hi giys,
Thanks for all the replies.
I figured out my problem...i was wrong about it being the speedskim.

When applying the plaster to the wall i try to overlap the previous trowel. Where the plaster is thicker in the middle of the trowel, and thinner towards the edges, it was the thinner parts that were overlapping, this caused the low spots because the plaster towards the edges was thinner.

I ended up running a few trowels of plaster up the wall vertically, then pushing the low spots out horizontally, and worked like that across the wall.

I sacked the speedskim off and used just my trowel, the result...the flattest wall ive ever done.

Sadly i messed up on the first wet trowel, i thought the plaster had dried out more than enough but when i wet the wall and troweled it left a layer of fat where i took the trowel off that i had great difficulty getting off.

Every day is a learning curve.
Click to expand...
You're talking absolute nonsense.
 
Leeper said:
Hi giys,
Thanks for all the replies.
I figured out my problem...i was wrong about it being the speedskim.

When applying the plaster to the wall i try to overlap the previous trowel. Where the plaster is thicker in the middle of the trowel, and thinner towards the edges, it was the thinner parts that were overlapping, this caused the low spots because the plaster towards the edges was thinner.

I ended up running a few trowels of plaster up the wall vertically, then pushing the low spots out horizontally, and worked like that across the wall.

I sacked the speedskim off and used just my trowel, the result...the flattest wall ive ever done.

Sadly i messed up on the first wet trowel, i thought the plaster had dried out more than enough but when i wet the wall and troweled it left a layer of fat where i took the trowel off that i had great difficulty getting off.

Every day is a learning curve.
Click to expand...
 
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