Many are puzzled about the necessityafter plastering them, because the plaster was applied along the beacons, so the surface turned out to be perfectly smooth, and you can already glue wallpaper on it, apply paint or finish it with other materials. Plastered walls do not need puttying only in cases where tiles will be laid on them later, MDF boards or fiberglass wallpaper will be glued. But these materials practically create new surfaces. And puttying allows you to make the most even base for finishing with paint or more traditional wallpaper.
The most important task of putty is to level out all the depressions and unevenness on the surface.
Why do I need puttying?
So, you need to putty the walls for at least 2 reasons.
Scheme of applying putty to the wall.After wallpapering or painting, all the slightest irregularities will stand out in relief. In addition, the particles of the top layer of plaster are weakly bonded to each other. Monochrome coatings will not be able to hide these defects, and textured finishes or coatings with a pattern applied to them will only partially mask the irregularities. You should immediately forestall the possible question of whether it is necessary to putty drywall (after all, it is a very even and smooth material) with an affirmative answer, since the sheets of drywall are joined together, fastened to the profile with screws. During installation, dents, extra holes, etc. may form on them. In addition to sealing seams, irregularities, holes, puttying creates a single leveled surface on the gypsum board, interacting with the coating to the same extent over its entire area. By the way, joints of any slab materials (plywood, OSB) prepared for subsequent finishing with paint, varnish, etc. are puttied. We must not forget about one more reason for puttying surfaces. It is carried out (even if you have not plastered them again) after washing off whitewash from the walls or ceiling, cleaning the surfaces from paint or old wallpaper. In any case, after removing the old finishing materials, the surfaces need to be leveled. It remains to hope that the answer to the question of whether it is necessary to putty walls and ceilings was exhaustive. Why putty is clarified. It remains to understand how to do it correctly so that the walls under the wallpaper or ceiling become truly perfectly smooth. First of all, the right choice of leveling compounds is necessary, which are best suited to certain operating conditions. Return to the table of contents</a>
How to choose a filler
Well-known brands of putty mixtures.Today, manufacturers offer dry and ready-made mixtures. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Dry mixtures can be stored for a long time, but in a diluted form they are only suitable for a short time. At the same time, dry mixtures are cheaper, but also have high versatility. Ready-made solutions have a long shelf life, but are more expensive than dry ones. In addition, putties diluted by the manufacturer tend to shrink. Mixtures are also divided by such an indicator as a binding component. They are:
- plaster, which are easy to apply, process, practically do not shrink, but are afraid of moisture;
- cement, suitable for work in premises with high humidity, but losing volume when hardening;
- polymer, providing a better leveling and elimination of surface defects, besides these putties are very elastic, but they are the most expensive.
Putty mixtures differ in another way - their purpose for a certain stage of work. They are divided into:
Table of characteristics of putty solutions.
- leveling (the first layer), which are used for preliminary application;
- finishing (second layer), used for final alignment;
- universal, which fit both the first layer and the final, true, their universality is achieved due to deterioration of characteristics in relation to "narrow-profile" mixtures.
Choose putty compounds that are most suitable for your "work front". The recommended area of application of the putty is indicated by the manufacturer on each package of this product. Return to the table of contents</a>
How to putty right
Return to Contents</a>Puttying under wallpaper is not difficult. Putty is collected on a spatula and stretched over a certain area. But in order for the work to be done qualitatively, it is necessary to follow the recommendations.
Scheme of grouting joints with a spatula.
Return to Contents</a>Alignment for painting
List of basic tools for puttyingwalls and ceiling. Still, wallpaper is less demanding to the surface condition than paint. The walls under it should be finished with greater care. True, water-based coatings are to some extent able to hide small surface defects, and enamels, on the contrary, will protrude them. Therefore, puttying under painting is carried out with a large number of layers of leveling, a spatula of a smaller width, and sanding is carried out with a thinner abrasive. It should be noted that defects may remain unnoticeable or, conversely, appear at different angles of illumination, therefore, sanding of each layer should be carried out under the light of a lamp brought close to the surface. There is another way to determine how correctly the plane is formed: a rule is installed on it, and a flashlight is turned on on the opposite side near it. All the bends of the surface will be visible as if in the palm of your hand. Excess putty is removed with sandpaper or a spatula, and the depressions are outlined with a pencil. After this, the uneven areas are filled with a leveling mixture, and a new layer of putty is applied. Return to contents</a>
What you need for puttying
So, you don't need many tools for puttying. It's enough if you have:
- a set of several spatulas with a blade width from 80 to 600 mm;
- corner spatula;
- rubber spatula, which may be needed in hard-to-reach places;
- abrasive mesh;
- fuganok on which it is attached.
As you can see, to get even walls or ceilings, you don't need much. Just be patient and do the work with due diligence. The positive result will not take long to come.
