Question About Skim Coating Process

plazaman

Just came across a job where the entire house needs to be skim coated. Customer wants perfect smooth smalls. Walls are currently painted with semi gloss/gloss paint. Walls need to be scraped and have large cracks. What is the correct process of skim coating these walls to bring them near perfect?

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Westchester Remodeling Contractor
Hartsdale Remodeling Contractor
Ardsley Remodeling Contractor

Teetorbilt

I'm not the pro on this but would add a clause in the contract about not being responsible for the cracks. You're just the wall guy and have no control over a settling building.

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Tom R

Cheapest method in a PERFECT fashion??

BEWARE of DARKNESS !! . . .

AtlanticWBConst

If they want to keep the 'look' of the walls by skimcoating, I would definitely include a clause...absolving you of any 'guaranties'

The 'right way' to do it would be new sheetrock, whether it is applied as 3/8" over the existing walls, or gutting down to the studs and going new...

There are no logical guaranties that an old wall will not crack and will come out completely smooth.... That's a fact....

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Robie

I was hoping more folks would chime in and answer your question, as I too would like some hints,tips and techniques on skimcoating.
Maybe no one else knows how to do it correctly either.

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Big Dave

After doing drywall for a number of years the one thing I hated most was skimming over a painted surface. The biggest problem is pinholing in your skim coats. For some reason the paint will make the mud bubble and cause pin holes.

Dave.

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DaveH

I would patch the holes prime the surface then spray it with a sprayplast or tuffhide finish. This will give you a smooth new finish. As the others have said I would also put in a clause against future cracks. By the way is it plaster you are going over, or drywall?

P.S. The spray finishes need to be applied with a fairly large spray rig

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kgphoto

Other than what is already covered, there is a sheet membrane that is put on the walls with plaster and bridges all the cracks. Of course if there is major movement, it will still crack, but the surface glazing will not show through.

Throughly clean and then scuff sand the walls and apply a mud bonder materials and then skim coat is another way.

Phil

I just did a job approx. 2000 sf. It took three days to skim coat the wallpaper ready to paint. One day was sanding. It is miserable work, but the moneys alright

krobinson

I'm with DaveH, another product is BPB Smoothwall. I have never used it but have heard it is similar to Tuff-Hide. Like Dave sez, you need a sprayer capable of 1 gpm through a min. .027 tip ( I have found .031 is better).

Kim

aiocinc

It has been my experience with the older houses, or the ones in really bad shape, that it almost becomes a losing battle. I know it's not the solution or answer you are looking for but, unless you are really good with a pan and knife and have a lot of patience, the walls will still crack and you can even have trouble with waves in your walls if the skimcoat is not applied evenly. If the customer is willing to pay a good price for the work and they are going to be picky and want a near perfect job, it would be a much easier solution to talk to them about hanging 1/4" drywall over all the surfaces and finishing it from scratch. Another option would be to patch the bad spots and talk to them about a very subtle texture. A growing number of new homes are now even going to knockdown texture walls. When done right, it looks great. We usually talk to our customers about installing bullnose corner bead to further enhance the look. In a nut shell, if the money very well worth your time, then skimcoat. If the job isn't paying top dollar, maybe talk to your customer about other options that will take you less time and will produce better and more consistant end results. Hope this helps.