Efflorescence is caused by water leaching minerals and chemicals from mortar, plaster and brickwork. The result can be an unsightly white blemishing of walls and surfaces.
How to Treat Efflorescence?
Using a heavy duty steel brush, simply rub the white Efflorescence off. A powerful jet wash can help in removing particularly stubborn areas.
Once the wall is cleaned up as far as possible, coat it with an alkali resisting primer or stabilising solution.
Filling in holes and gashes in plasterboard is pretty much a permanent occupation for me. Particularly when you have kids who seem to think walls don’t exist!
Something like Polycell Smoothover is an essential for the average toolbox. Any wall gouges or divots can be easily and quickly filled in with a drying time of 6 hours.
The product is described as follows:
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Posted by Bob Bulmer on Thu 13th September 2007 at 06:00 AM, Filed in Surface Finishes
Take a look at this innocuous object below. Doesn’t look too impressive, but this cloth can make the difference between a smooth finish and a rough finish.
A good quality cloth for removing debris, dust and excess liquid can be essential in preparing a surface.
The Stanley Tack cloth offers excellent absorbency for cleaning up prepared timber surfaces before painting or varnishing.
Posted by Bob Bulmer on Wed 12th September 2007 at 06:00 AM, Filed in Surface Finishes
If you have a rusted metal surface you can try an abrasive sand paper or even sand blasting to get back to bare metal.
Alternatively, you can mix up a homemade rust remover. Simply sprinkle salt on the rust, squeeze lime juice over the salt. Leave the concoction on for three hours. Use the lime skin to rub away the rust.
Commercial applications such as Liberon Rust Remover can be very effective
Features include:
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Posted by Bob Bulmer on Tue 11th September 2007 at 06:00 AM, Filed in Surface Finishes
When applying a finish to a timber surface it’s critical to ensure that any holes or divets are filled prior to application.
Any holes should be repaired using a filler that matches the timber colour. Most shops provide a colour chart for the various fillers so it might be worth taking along a picture of the timber for reference. Just bear in mind that filler becomes paler on drying.
How to Apply a Wood Filler
1. Sand down the timber, then remove dust a debris using a cloth and brush.
2. Gently insert filler directly into any holes on the timber. Avoid spreading surplus filler onto the surrounding grain.
3. Wait 30 minutes for the filler to dry, then sand down flat.
