Any Plasterers Here? Which Trowel to get?

[wau5]

I have about 80m2 to plaster now and probably another 110m2 in a couple of months when I get more time, started already with some cheapo £6.99 trowel , got the basics down and did 2 very small walls, came out pretty decent for a first-try however... I'm getting frustrated with my cheapo trowel ,because well it's a £6.99 trowel and I'm not really sure what i was expecting out of it when buying it, I guess I just didn't knew what to look for when buying one..as plastering is something totally new to me.

Since I will be saving quite a bit of money doing it myself, might as well buy something decent to help me along the way.
So could anyone suggest me what should I get? I'm after the standard sized 13-14inch ones.
I see there are 2 kind of trowels, ones for everything and ones for just the last part of leveling off?

so What would be the best trowel/trowels to get if,
A: If I want to do everything with 1 trowel
B: If I want to do first coat with 1trowel and the last leveling part with another trowel specially for that?
Also if there are links to the specific products that would be cool as well ,as I see some trowels have almost the same name but different release years/upgraded models etc..

 

[John D v2.0]

Can't help with your trowel question but great respect for doing a good job.
I plastered around our windows including hardwall after it dropped off when we had them fitted, and it was not easy at all! The main problem was variable suction as i was skimming the new hardwall and the old paint at the same time.

 

[^woody^]

Try a float.

They tend to be much better than a trowel

 

[stuart45]

Try a Speedskim and let us know how you found it.

 

[catlad]

Try the plastering forum

 

[Doggit]

I tend to use a Marshaltown ready worn in trowel from start to finish. Trowels can either be carbon steel, or stainless steel; the carbon steel has a square edge, whilst the stainless steel often comes with a filed down rounded edge, and this is the type you use for finishing as it doesn't dig in to the plaster. But the carbon blades are harder than the stainless ones, and don't flex, so they're better for putting on the plaster, and then flattening it. But having said all that, plastic finishing trowels are starting to gain favour.

Most plasterers use their carbon trowels for putting on concrete, and this rounds off the edges over a few jobs thus allowing them to be used from start to finish. A 14" trowel is a good size to work with, and a 9" and 6" comes in handy for tight spaces.

 

[wau5]

I tend to use a Marshaltown ready worn in trowel from start to finish. Trowels can either be carbon steel, or stainless steel; the carbon steel has a square edge, whilst the stainless steel often comes with a filed down rounded edge, and this is the type you use for finishing as it doesn't dig in to the plaster. But the carbon blades are harder than the stainless ones, and don't flex, so they're better for putting on the plaster, and then flattening it. But having said all that, plastic finishing trowels are starting to gain favour.

Most plasterers use their carbon trowels for putting on concrete, and this rounds off the edges over a few jobs thus allowing them to be used from start to finish. A 14" trowel is a good size to work with, and a 9" and 6" comes in handy for tight spaces.

Yup that's what I noticed in videos that lots of people are using the plastic trowels, but you need 2 trowels in that case.
where as in the steel ones you need one which is a big plus for me since I just need it for my own occasional use not a professional every-day job so have lower costs to get one.

I was looking at the marshalltown ones as well while I was in shop, but put it down because of the price and decided to try my luck with a £7 one

http://www.toolstop.co.uk/marshallt...ss-steel-plasterers-trowel-13-x-5-inch-p32928

would this be the one to get if I want to focus more on the finish quality rather than speed of putting on since you mentioned that the cheaper carbon ones more focused on just getting the stuff up?
thanks!

 

[wau5]

what about the nela/refina trowels? steel ones not the plastic ones. Saw some videos where they compare the marshalltown vs those and they said they are much easier to work with, although the traditional marshalltown still provides great results?

 

[Doggit]

Sorry, I obviously didn't make it clears. It's the type of edge that determines when you use the different types of trowel. Both carbon and stainless steel trowel will put the plaster on at the same rate, but until a carbon trowel has been worn in, it can dig in to the plaster when using it for the polishing coat, that's all, and that's why you end up using 2 trowels. I don't plaster on a frequent basis, but when I do, it's far easier to use a good ready worn in trowel, so £45 for me is well worth it. A £10 14" carbon trowel, and a cheap plastic trowel may be a good bet for you, alternatively, if you can get a look at a worn in trowel, and then take a fine file to the edge of you're cheap carbon trowel, that may be a good alternative.

But if you've got 110m2, then from what I've heard of how fast the plastic trowels speed up a job, then it might be worth looking at: I'm going to get one soon.

 

[wau5]

Sorry, I obviously didn't make it clears. It's the type of edge that determines when you use the different types of trowel. Both carbon and stainless steel trowel will put the plaster on at the same rate, but until a carbon trowel has been worn in, it can dig in to the plaster when using it for the polishing coat, that's all, and that's why you end up using 2 trowels. I don't plaster on a frequent basis, but when I do, it's far easier to use a good ready worn in trowel, so £45 for me is well worth it. A £10 14" carbon trowel, and a cheap plastic trowel may be a good bet for you, alternatively, if you can get a look at a worn in trowel, and then take a fine file to the edge of you're cheap carbon trowel, that may be a good alternative.

But if you've got 110m2, then from what I've heard of how fast the plastic trowels speed up a job, then it might be worth looking at: I'm going to get one soon.

Alright gotcha,
would it be a good idea to get that stainless marshalltown for now and work with it, and than later on if I have another urge to do plastering get a plastic one as well to try it out since I would need a trowel anyway to put the stuff up since you can't put the 1st coat on with plastic ones?

 

[Doggit]

I suspect that if you go for the Marshaltown, you'll end up sticking with it, but it's a reasonable strategy. I suspect you'll end up getting a 1.2m speedskim if you start to do a lot, as it'll flatten a large area quickly. One of the problems with cheap trowels, is the handles tend to be plastic, and you can end up getting blisters, so whichever way you jump handle it first to see how well it fits in your hand.

The Nela and Refina trowels have very good reviews, so they're definitely worth looking at, but as I said, if you can take a file to the edge and corners of a good quality cheap carbon trowel, you'll be surprised with the results.

 

[wau5]

I suspect that if you go for the Marshaltown, you'll end up sticking with it, but it's a reasonable strategy. I suspect you'll end up getting a 1.2m speedskim if you start to do a lot, as it'll flatten a large area quickly. One of the problems with cheap trowels, is the handles tend to be plastic, and you can end up getting blisters, so whichever way you jump handle it first to see how well it fits in your hand.

The Nela and Refina trowels have very good reviews, so they're definitely worth looking at, but as I said, if you can take a file to the edge and corners of a good quality cheap carbon trowel, you'll be surprised with the results.

Well just ordered the marshalltown, £35.09 from toolstop with their 5% coupon and 3% cashback through quidco, every penny counts
Just checked on ebay they are selling for around £30 when used... Can use it to do all I need and sell it on to someone else with a fiver loss.
Not bad...

 

[wau5]

well got the marshalltown trowel today ,and wow what a difference in quality vs the cheapo trowel I had bought!
I covered 2x more area today in 2x less time, hardly any marks/streaks, what a pleasure to work with

it didn't made me a professional but being a total beginer I can get a finish that I don't have to be embarrassed about =D>

thanks for suggesting me that trowel, worth every penny.

If anyone is looking for a trowel don't buy this screwfix crap
http://www.screwfix.com/p/forge-steel-plastering-trowel-11-x-4/3581c
It has very good reviews, but it's a total garbage..Just goes to show that you can't really trust the online reviews..

 

[John D v2.0]

With screwfix they automatically put the best reviews at the top. First thing I always do is sort low->high rating and look at those.

 

[wau5]

With screwfix they automatically put the best reviews at the top. First thing I always do is sort low->high rating and look at those.

yup, but almost all of the reviews were good for that item, scored nearly 5stars, probably because they are filtering out the very bad reviews and not posting them as I have found with other websites.