Prepare the surface

·         Clean the surface to make it free of any dust, grease/ oil, paint or any loose mortar, which will impair the bond between plaster and the surface.

·         Any efflorescene must also be cleaned with scrapping or brushing.

·         Ensure that there are no leakages through the surface which needs to be plastered.

·         The mortar joints of the wall should be raked to a depth of 20mm to provide a good key for the plaster.

·         The surface should be thoroughly washed with water and should be kept wet before starting plaster work.

·         If the surface to be plastered is very uneven, a preliminary coat is applied to fill up the hollows, before the first coat.

·         Any holes left in the wall by removal of scaffolding should be properly filled in advance.

·         If plaster is to be applied on an RCC surface, then make keys on the surface with a chisel and hammer before plastering.

·         Making screeds

To ensure even thickness and a true surface, plaster screeds of about 15 × 15 cm size should be first applied, vertically or horizontally, at not more than 2 metres intervals over the entire surface. These screeds serve as gauges and the surface of the plaster coat will be made in plane with the screed surface. Plaster is then subsequently applied on the wall, between the gauges.