Repairing Cracks In Plaster Walls Before Painting

The process is different for plaster than for drywall.

Repairing cracks in plaster walls before painting.

For finishing you ll need primer and paint. Otherwise the cracks come back no matter how many times you patch over them. He asks us in an e mail. Use a five way tool or other scraping device image 1.

However if the plaster separates from the lath or the structure of the wall it s called blown plaster and it requires a more extensive repair. Some like a small hairline crack usually aren t a big deal. The first step in repairing cracks is cleaning them out. Most small cracks will easily be covered by normal wallpaper but when walls or ceilings are to be painted with ordinary paint the cracks will need to be filled before painting and this article deals with filling small cracks for this purpose.

There are a couple of reasons why cracks can form in plaster walls. Repairing small cracks in plaster is easy compared to plastering a whole room. Whether found in drywall plaster or concrete a crack in a wall is an eyesore. The key to any fix is to reunite the plaster with the strips of wood lath underneath.

Once the compound is dry lightly sand it until it is smooth. Again let the compound dry sand it smooth and dust it down. Small cracks in plaster should first be widened so that filler can be pushed right. How to fix cracked walls permanently.

Plaster repair is much. Scrape the plaster compound into the crack and flatten it on to the wall with your paint scraper. Understanding how plaster walls are constructed will help you fix your cracked plaster wall. Repairing holes and cracks in lath and plaster usually involves packing the area with steel wool or newspaper before filling.

Alternatively you can use repair mesh to cover imperfections in drywall. Dust the wall off and apply a second slightly wider coat of plaster compound to the wall. Repair procedures for large holes and cracks differ depending on the size of the hole or crack and the construction material of your walls. Generally caused by the natural settling of a house over time you can repair.

An overview photo by david carmack. Here tom silva shows how to repair plaster walls to make them look as good as new. In the case of larger cracks with plaster falling out remove the damaged plaster to reveal the binding course.