Ceiling Top Coat
More plastering this weekend as I attempt to finish off the ceiling with a final top coat. I have 2 coats of fine plaster on the ceiling so this 3rd coat will use the extra fine Master of Plaster. Originally I thought I’d knock out the ceiling and then do the walls, but things end up taking many more hours than I wanted so I’m only able to get the ceiling done.
The existing ceiling has the plaster washers covered up, but has a rough troweled look so the goal with the 3rd coat is the smooth everything out and then burnish the plaster with water and a trowel for a glassy finish.
Before starting with the extra fine plaster.
The extra fine plaster goes on smoothly and does start evening out the imperfections of the surface. The problem is that working on a ceiling is tedious and between moving the platform I’m standing on, along with my shoulder and neck getting sore, it’s a slow process. After I get all of the first coat on, I then go back and do a second coat with the same plaster, but this time mixed in with some water to make it even more spreadable. After that coat, I go back through with just a spray bottle and a trowel to burnish the surface. The problem is that at this point, the sun has set so it’s hard to see the imperfections in the plaster and my body is shot. Burnishing is the most physically demanding part of the process because you’re applying pressure to reshape and compress the plaster, but that doesn’t work well if your shoulders are aching. Also, I find that if I press too hard in some areas, I start wearing away the plaster to see the washers so I have to be careful to not ruin my work.
Extra fine plaster with some water added.
Ceiling after the extra fine coat.
The next day in the sunlight I see a bunch of imperfections and it’s still hard to understand how smooth and perfect the old plasterers were able to get their walls and ceilings to. I may try another thinned coat of extra fine later or I can just live with it and apply the clay paint. I’ll let this cure for a week before deciding.
Now back to the woodwork. The doors get some light sanding to try and work out any of the imperfections. After I sand I wipe down with mineral spirits and keep checking for any glossy areas to knock down. At this point I’m using just steel wool because sandpaper is too aggressive.
Some more sanding and wiping down with mineral spirits.
Sanding the main door.
After sanding and wiping down with mineral spirits, I finally move to the shellac coat. I start with a very thinned coat to start. This goes on with no issues although there’s still a few areas I want to touch up. I’ll let the shellac dry for a week and then next week, I’ll try using the burnt umber glaze to smooth out any remaining imperfections.
First coat of shellac.
First coat of shellac.
Outside of the door, I dye a pair of hinges that I bought to replace the broken closet door hinges. Then back to the woodwork stripping. This time I focus on the door frame. I use the SpeedHeater where I can, but most of the work is using the liquid stripper along with washing down after the stripper does its work.
Prepping the hinges for dying black.
Mostly stripped door frame.
