How to putty your own walls

High-quality preparation of the walls for various finishing works is to obtain a flat, smooth surface. To do this, it is necessary to correctly perform priming and puttying. Puttying is an easy task. The main thing here is to follow the procedure and be able to properly handle the construction tool. How to properly putty the walls on your own without resorting to the help of specialists, we will consider in this article.

What tool is needed for puttying

To putty your own walls, prepare a minimal set of tools. What tools can you do without?

1. Drill equipped with a special nozzle - mixer. As a rule, putty is sold as a dry mixture. Water is added to this mixture in a certain proportion. Only with a special mixer can you perfectly mix the putty mixture. The output should be a homogeneous putty without lumps.

2. Set of spatulas. Be sure to pick up a spatula of different sizes. In work, you will have to use both large spatulas (40-50 cm), and very small. Indeed, in problematic, inaccessible places, it will not be possible to qualitatively putty the wall with a large spatula. Just for this, small spatulas are used.

3. Rollers and brushes for priming walls. The priming step is undesirable to skip. After the primer, the wall is covered with the thinnest film. This not only further increases its strength, but also provides excellent adhesion of the treated wall to any facing materials (adhesion).

4. The rule. It will be required in case of uneven walls when it is necessary to put putty in a thick layer. For leveling thick layers of putty it is convenient to use a long metal rule.

5. Alcohol or laser level. Often the surface of the wall is very uneven. Before starting the start putty, test beacons are installed, using an alcohol or laser level to check.

6. Sandpaper. If you want to get a beautiful surface, which is nice to look at, use small skins to mash. For example, grouting with the 240th skin will allow you to get the perfect result. Use the smallest skin only when performing finishing putty. And at the starting initial putty stage, it is correct to rub the wall with a coarse large sandpaper.

7. Hand skinner. Grouting with a sandpaper will become much more convenient if you use a hand skinner. This is a tool on the handle of which special clamps are installed to fix the skin.

8. Well, of course, you can not do without a container in which the putty is mixed.

A list of tools that you may need when puttingtying walls. Photo - techno.techinfus.com/en/

Which putty is better to putty the walls and how to choose it

Putty classification by composition: gypsum, polymer (acrylic) and cement.

Consider their disadvantages and advantages.

1. Gypsum putties are attractive at an inexpensive price, excellent at leveling, and do not shrink. The only drawback is the poor resistance to moisture. Only this limits the scope of their use.

2. Cement putties are characterized by excellent moisture resistance, but have a significant drawback - a large degree of shrinkage.

3. And finally, polymer putties. Undoubted advantages: excellent moisture resistance, completely shrink. Using polymer putty, high quality processed wall surfaces are obtained. The only drawback is the high price.

Putty can be divided into starting (leveling), decorative (finishing) and universal.

1. Characterization of leveling (starting) mixtures: high strength, excellent adhesion, high grit. Recommended: for leveling walls after applying plaster. Application thickness: 3 -20 mm.

2. For the high-quality performance of decorative finishes, it is desirable to apply finishing putties on the surface to be treated. With their help, you can get a perfectly smooth even surface, hiding small flaws. The strength of the finishing putty is less than the starting one, its processing does not cause difficulties. It is applied in a small layer up to 4 mm.

3. Universal putties combine the properties of decorative and leveling mixtures. They cost more, although their properties are slightly inferior to the finish and starting coatings. We recommend using it when processing walls without large flaws.

The modern market offers dry and ready-to-use putties. The low cost of dry putty and the possibility of its long-term storage attracts.

Ready-made putties are convenient to use. You do not have to use a mixer to prepare a homogeneous putty mixture. This saves time and virtually no dust. But finished putties are much more expensive than dry ones. Please note: such putties give a lot of shrinkage. If a layer less than 2 mm thick is applied, ready-made putties cannot be used. They also do not boast a long shelf life. It is significantly less than dry building mixes.

Dry in, bags and ready to use, in a putty bucket.

Preparing the surface of the wall for putty

The main thing is to make sure that the surface of the walls is absolutely clean. Be sure to remove stains of grease, paint or soot. Of course, falling layers of plaster, residues of scale, wax or parts of the formwork should not be encountered. Do not even begin to putty on the frozen ceiling and walls. This is strongly discouraged.

Before you putty, coat the walls with a primer. This will ensure good adhesion (connection) of the putty mortar with the walls. Primer the surface using a special roller. Try to evenly apply the primer solution, avoiding gaps. One layer is enough.

There are such types of putty: finish, lighthouse, starting. We consider in detail the properties and scope of application.

Starting surface putty

Putty is performed using coarse starting material. Finding it is easy. When you buy it, it is called - starting putty. To remove large wall drops, hide gates, holes, it is convenient to use such putty. The thickness of the layer of such putty, applied at one time can reach 1.5 cm. Allow the previous layers to dry completely. Only then proceed with applying the next coat of putty.

In order to obtain the highest possible quality of the puttied surfaces, a special masking net is installed on the wall, and the putty is distributed on it exactly over the entire surface. In this case, the walls are completely putty. The advantage of this technology is that when using a paint net, putty perfectly lays on the surface of the walls. And the surface itself becomes more durable and even. Moreover, the coarser the paint net, the smoother the treated wall surface.

Starting wall putty.

Wall Putty

Materials do not differ from starting putty. The only difference is that beacons are used. Lighthouse - a wooden, plaster or metal rail, which is set strictly vertically, checking the vertical level.The lighthouses are attached to the walls using some kind of gypsum mixture, it dries quickly, after which you can proceed directly to puttying. Similarly, alignment occurs along horizontal lines. Here in this case, a rule is useful for leveling the putty layer. Following these recommendations, after starting work, a flat surface is obtained. To verify the quality of work, you can check the level. This type of finish is rarely used. Reason: its cost is much higher than the starting putty, although visually they almost do not differ.

Putty walls on lighthouses. Photo - vipconstruction.kiev.ua

Wall putty

After completing the start or lighthouse putty, proceed with the finishing putty. It is made with finishing putty mixtures. It is this kind of putty that gives the surface of the walls perfect smoothness. The smallest cracks or pores are eliminated. It is important that the finishing putty completely coincides on the plane with the previously prepared surface, therefore it must be applied with a very small layer. If the start or lighthouse putty is poorly done, you will not be able to correct the situation with the finish putty. Therefore, first try to make the surface of the walls perfectly flat. Only then proceed to the finishing putty. Its main goal is a beautiful smooth wall surface.

Finishing putty is made under special lighting, this allows you to see the smallest irregularities.Photo - vipconstruction.kiev.ua

Putty cracks in the walls

To hide cracks in the walls, we recommend using gypsum mixtures for puttying. The material santegyps is much more elastic in work, but it hardens much longer. Tips of competent specialists: at first it is recommended to slightly expand the crack, slightly increase its depth and thickness. To increase the roughness, you can scratch it with a knife or other sharp object along the entire length. Then carefully treat it with a primer. Only after this proceed with puttying.

Crack splicing for puttying. Photo - dekoratik.com

How to apply putty on walls

1. In the case of using dry putty, it is necessary to correctly prepare the putty mixture.

Cooking sequence:

• pour a small amount of water into the container;
• add putty;
• mix with a simple spatula;
• to obtain a homogeneous mixture, use a drill with a mixer, if necessary, gradually adding water.

Note: putty readiness should be determined by consistency. It should become elastic and adhere a little to the spatula. If the putty mixture drains, then it is liquidish. Add a little dry mixture to fix the situation. If the putty is lumpy, this means that the putty is too dry. Add water gradually, stirring thoroughly to achieve perfect uniformity.

2. We apply the starting putty. It is convenient to use a large spatula. Putty putty in the middle portions, evenly distributing on a surface. Hold the trowel at an angle of about 30 degrees. Putty is applied diagonally with a single motion. Recommendation: in order to avoid transitions and bumps, each next coat should be overlapped.

Attention: when performing the starting layer, knead the putty in small portions. This will avoid the appearance of dried dry particles, which will reduce the quality of work. Do not be very worried about the appearance of ugly strips from a spatula. The strips are perfectly hidden by the finishing putty.

3. For smooth corners, we recommend using a corner trowel. Work technology: first, with a small spatula, put a small layer of putty over the entire height of the corner or slope. Then gently level the surface with an angular spatula. During the day, the putty layer should dry well.

To putty the corners, you will need a special corner spatula.

4. As soon as the starting putty is completely dry, proceed with the finishing putty. For work, a large and small spatula are used. Putty putty on small spatula in small portions in small portions. Then evenly apply the putty mixture to the surface. The layer thickness is about 1.5 - 2 mm.

5. Before you putty the wall for painting or wallpaper, wait until the previous layers have completely dried. The starting and first layer of finishing putty should be absolutely dry. This takes approximately 12 hours. Then you can apply the finishing putty.

6. After complete drying, proceed to the final sanding sanding.

Attention: before applying each subsequent layer of putty, it is desirable to treat the previous one with a primer.

How to putty walls for painting and wallpaper

Previously, the walls are leveled with several layers of putty. If the wallpaper is thick, preferably putty in two layers. When using thin wallpaper, we recommend applying three leveling layers of putty. This will allow you to stick the wallpaper on a flat surface without wrinkles and bubbles.

Video: Putty walls under the wallpaper

More thorough preparation requires painting the walls with paint. Paint does not hide even the slightest roughness. Therefore, to level the walls, it is necessary to apply the finishing putty.

The putty procedure is carried out in five stages:

• put with a spatula the first thin layer of leveling putty;
• with large irregularities, another 2-3 layers are used;
• allow the putty to dry;
• perform finishing putty to eliminate minor defects;
• after complete drying, wipe the wall with a sandpaper to obtain a perfectly smooth surface.

Video: Puttying the walls with a long spatula