# Just finished my first coat (ever) of USG Imperial base, and I have a few questions



## ClarenceBauer (Mar 4, 2005)

For your question on going over Imperial base with a second coat if you troweled it smooth the second coat of imperial base will not bond real well and over time will delaminate. It would be best to use the Diamond finish and trowel on a coat than double back and apply a thinner Diamond finish and trowel smooth.
If on your next wall you want to use a thicker base do the double back method.
For a very smooth plaster you should have a blister brush its makes troweling the finish easy, if you can't find a blister brush look for a plastering finish brush. When you stated that you used Blue Board is that just the water resistant board?
For USG Veneer plaster you should use The USG Imperial Board no bonding would be required. Also you can tape the seams & joints using Imperial base coat & mesh tape. Now that you have troweled the USG product for some of the other walls try this Product Master of Plaster It is applied very similar to USG products but is very used friendly can put any of the bases over bases or finishes over finishes. Plus you can trowel smoother, stop and start no cold joints and no waste what you don't use put back in the bucket and use later. You can trowel this base coat as smooth as any finish coat plaster.


----------



## Brendan1911 (Jul 17, 2017)

Blueboard is the USG imperial board, but I had to apply bonder to the durabond I used on the seams. I see what you mean though, I might've troweled it too smooth for another base coat. I'll probably do what you said and just double back with another thin coat of the diamond finish. I have a screed where the trim is going so that I could get the depth exact where it matters, so I'm not all that worried


----------



## Brendan1911 (Jul 17, 2017)

Just finished my coat of USG diamond finish. Troweled it down and it's smooth as glass and it evened out very nicely. I have a few small touch ups in the corners that I'll probably fix with durabond, but all in all I'm very happy with the results. Because I'm not a pro at either, it was only marginally faster than taping, but I honestly enjoyed it ? I liked taping because it seemed almost like an art form; no one at my job does it well and they all despise doing it, yet for me it came naturally. Though I've only a single room under my belt now, I can definitely say I wish there were plastering contractors near me that I could work for and learn from, but oh well. It's virtually non-existent in my area.

Also just throwing it out there, but every bit of info I got on how to do it came from USG's Gypsum construction handbook, and watching hours of Kirk Giordano's videos on YouTube. Gotta give the guy credit, because a 21 year old amateur without a clue did (what I think is) a damn good job just based off of his videos.


----------



## Brendan1911 (Jul 17, 2017)

I'm sorry by the way, I skimmed your post and missed the part about the Master of Plaster. I've read phenomenal things about it, but only one supply yard anywhere near me carries plaster products, and all they carry is USG Imperial/diamond base and finish coats, Red Top finish, and Structo-lite. I had originally wanted to try Master of Plaster for its user-friendliness, but I would've paid significantly more to have it shipped. For the next wall I try, I think I'll use 1/2" Imperial board without the furring strip, and try using Structo-Lite as a thicker basecoat. I'm the kind of guy who always wants to learn the more difficult/rare method, and as I said, I love the durability of thick plaster walls, so the closer I can get to original, the better for me. All my friends are out blowing their money to party, and here I am, blowing my money to renovate my parents house just so I can learn what's become a dead trade in my area ?????


----------



## Brendan1911 (Jul 17, 2017)

And sorry about the random question marks. I tried to use an emoji and they posted as question marks instead


----------



## ClarenceBauer (Mar 4, 2005)

For the repairs on dings in your finish DO NOT use a setting compound to over lay.
For an easy fix use a lime like Ivory Finish lime mix say one part dry Lime with two parts Diamond finish than use it for touch-up you won't find this mixture in the USG book but it will give you a better thin film for touch -up. As for building out with Strutco - Lite no problem using that method Imperial base and Diamond will both adhere to Structo - Lite. If the Structo has lagre perlite in the mix use a door / window screen to sift out the perlite and you can skim it very smooth. If there is a supply house near you that handles the USG products there has to be a demand for the plaster products check to see who is using the plaster products there are not many people in the plaster trade at this time. Also in your area if there are homes that have plaster walls & ceilings you may be able to start your own Plaster repair Business.
Call Lauren at Master of Plaster tell her I told you to call see if she will send you some wet sample base & finish so you can try it out. After you use it you won't go back to Imperial or Diamond. See if you can use the Master of Plaster on a small repair for someone and if it works out well than see about being a distributor you could make money at both ends. I started out using 3 pails of base & 1 pail of finish in 1997 and be fore I retired in 2016 I had used well over 3 tractor trailer loads.
Check the Master of Plaster web I did all of the bigger jobs on the web.


----------



## Brendan1911 (Jul 17, 2017)

Well I've already started the touch ups with durabond, but I'll have to try the line mix. It didn't come out quite as well as I'd thought. In some places I put it on too thin, and the base coat aggregate showed through. Nothing a thin coat of mud won't fix though. I'll revise my previous numbers and say the walls came out about 70% good, 30% so-so. Still, nothing I can't fix with some spot skimming.

The drywall supply yard had what I needed, but the guy at the counter had no idea what it was. They said they rarely sell very much, and were adamant that their warehouse guy give me a bag that wasn't very old. They told me they'd always have it stocked but that people rarely use it. I'm always keeping my eye out for small drywall repair side jobs, but as of right now I don't think I'd do veneer plaster in someone else's house. While I know in the end I can make a perfect finished product, it very well may require two rounds of touch-ups. I'm not a plaster guy after doing 100 square ft of walls haha and I'm not about to market myself as one


----------



## Brendan1911 (Jul 17, 2017)

And as I get more into my renovation I'll look more into Master of Plaster. However, I'm doing it basically as a hobby, and pretty much picked plaster because it's harder to do than taping. Hence my planning to try Structo-Lite once I get the veneer pretty much down pat. I'm a criminal justice major, working as a carpenters helper, spending my free time trying to teach myself to plaster, in an area with very little market for it. I don't know why everyone accuses me of being difficult haha.

That said, my boss heard I was "learning to plaster" from a coworker and now wants me to try to repair a large hole in the plaster ceiling at his synagogue. I was very clear about how little I really know about what I'm doing, but he says as long as I can fix it if I screw up, he wants me to try. So I guess I can't say it's a useless trade, but I'm not too keen on being forced to do it on a ceiling, with this little experience, on someone else's dime. But he's also the one that forced me to learn to tape on a brand new house rather than sub out, and though it wasn't a financially smart decision for him, it's netting me skills so who am I to complain?


----------



## That Guy (Aug 19, 2017)

ClarenceBauer said:


> Call Lauren at Master of Plaster tell her I told you to call see if she will send you some wet sample base & finish so you can try it out. After you use it you won't go back to Imperial or Diamond. See if you can use the Master of Plaster on a small repair for someone and if it works out well than see about being a distributor you could make money at both ends. I started out using 3 pails of base & 1 pail of finish in 1997 and be fore I retired in 2016 I had used well over 3 tractor trailer loads.
> Check the Master of Plaster web I did all of the bigger jobs on the web.


Wait a second... this MOP stuff comes as a premix in a pail? So I am assuming it dries, versus a chemical set?

The way I was taught as well as continue to do, today is after you apply the basecoat, - which you dont want super smooth, you set up your lime and plaster of paris, split the gauge, mix up one half on the board, put it up, and then mix up the second half and put that up... you hafta to be sorta fast though cause the paris will begin setting up on you.

How long does it take for MOP to set, dry, be paintable? you say it can go over any base, does that include drywall? Whats the durability of the finish?

Does it mix up like lime, and stay like lime as long as there is water on top, or does it need to be more like mud?

Can you over work the material in the bucket?

:biggrin2:


----------



## That Guy (Aug 19, 2017)

Brendan1911 said:


> And as I get more into my renovation I'll look more into Master of Plaster. However, I'm doing it basically as a hobby, and pretty much picked plaster because it's harder to do than taping. Hence my planning to try Structo-Lite once I get the veneer pretty much down pat. I'm a criminal justice major, working as a carpenters helper, spending my free time trying to teach myself to plaster, in an area with very little market for it. I don't know why everyone accuses me of being difficult haha.
> 
> That said, my boss heard I was "learning to plaster" from a coworker and now wants me to try to repair a large hole in the plaster ceiling at his synagogue. I was very clear about how little I really know about what I'm doing, but he says as long as I can fix it if I screw up, he wants me to try. So I guess I can't say it's a useless trade, but I'm not too keen on being forced to do it on a ceiling, with this little experience, on someone else's dime. But he's also the one that forced me to learn to tape on a brand new house rather than sub out, and though it wasn't a financially smart decision for him, it's netting me skills so who am I to complain?


are you using knives or a hawk and trowel? the hawk and trowel is easier (I find) than knives, esp for ceiling work...I believe you can now buy 'broken in' martial town finishing trowels as well, just be aware the edges are SHARP

be sure to wear safety goggles as well. If any plaster gets into your eyes, you could go blind... the lime is very bad for your eyes.

Also try to limit your exposure to lime, as it can result in a chemical burn... and try to wear a dust mask while mixing the lime.


----------



## ClarenceBauer (Mar 4, 2005)

Guy
The question on Master of Plaster yes this is a true Lime based plaster it is a base coat with an aggregate and the finish is lime and other clays.
The formula comes from the book Plastering Plain & Decorative by William Millar published in 1897.
It is slaked lime it does not dry, a true lime plaster re carbonates as long as you keep lime wet it does not have a shelf life you may keep it for as long as you would like in the above book it states that lime was found in Egypt that was 500 years old and useable. You can purchase aged Lime and the cost goes up as the lime increase in years. The Master of Plaster can be applied over many substrates for a Veneer plaster I have used it over the following Gypsum base coat plaster, Brick, all sheet rock boards CMU, poured in place concrete,
Wood ( NOT RECOMMENDED by the manufacture ) it will adhere to painted plaster & drywall surfaces. When I did repairs say in a ceiling after the repair was made I would skim the complete ceiling with one base and a finish coat no one could see a repair was made. The ceiling on the MOP web with the decorative blue & white ceiling is 35 % patch & 100 % skim. AS for your question on set up to paint I would say that a PH reading be taken for the selected paint. In the 20 years that I used this product I have had no failures. No you cannot over work the material in the bucket.
I will say that you can go over the work you did after 24 hours and will have no problems matter of fact you can go over a colored finish 2 to 5 times for a marbled finish. If you do any type of plaster repairs or even dry repair you need to try this product.


----------



## That Guy (Aug 19, 2017)

Yes, I will be calling them tomorrow to see about giving this stuff a shot.

dumb question; what benefit does aged lime, have over lime you mixed up this morning? 

I get you have to whip it up and water it down, before it goes on the truck, but whats so special about aged lime?


----------

