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Like with any other paint or plaster job, you need to make sure areas that you don’t want plaster on such as baseboards and switches are properly covered with tape.

Cover the floor with drop cloth or old newspaper to protect it too. This is of course after you have purchased enough plaster from the hardware or paint shop to finish the job. You will also need to buy a Venetian plaster trowel if you do not have one. A trowel, in case you are unfamiliar with home decoration tools, is the spoon-like object with a metal blade and wooden handle used to scoop and spread the plaster onto the wall.

Before you begin applying the plaster to the wall make sure every hole or crack on it is properly sealed. Now you can begin applying the plaster. However, it is advisable that you do some practice on a piece of board before plastering the wall. Using your trowel, scoop out a small amount (say half a trowel-full) of Venetian plaster and apply it on the wall with an overlapping motion, as if you were drawing an ‘X’. The first coat needs to be as thin as possible and to achieve this, limit yourself to working on small areas at a time and avoid leaving clumps of plaster at the edges. After applying the first coat of plaster on the entire surface, give it a couple of hours to dry (drying time will depend on which product you use and the weather. Please give us call on 02077369876 if you need some advice).

Next, clean the trowel and apply the second layer of plaster. For this layer, apply the plaster while holding the trowel at 90 degrees to the wall in order to skim the surface and fill lower level areas with plaster. Finish the entire wall and allow some time to dry again. To get the glossy finish, use a piece of sandpaper or the flat surface of the trowel to rub the wall in a circular motion. This is what is called burnishing the surface. The longer you burnish, the more polished your wall will look. With some persistence you can have remarkably shiny walls, gleaming with the magic of Venetian plaster.