# Plaster Crown Molding



## Pete Martin the Painter (Nov 8, 2012)

Painting some plaster crown molding. One section has a lot of paint failing (I believe due to some water damage) So, here's my problem. I want a smooth finish. However, when I sand the paint it also removes the plaster. Taking off the paint that is not loose is also a problem because it will cause too much damage to the plaster. Any suggestions on how to get a smoother surface to paint on?


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## straight_lines (Oct 17, 2007)

You can make you are trowel in the shape of the crown profile and skim some plaster over the damaged areas. Or you could just slop it on and sand the excess.


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## Pete Martin the Painter (Nov 8, 2012)

straight_lines said:


> You can make you are trowel in the shape of the crown profile and skim some plaster over the damaged areas. Or you could just slop it on and sand the excess.


I thought about doing that, but the picture does not really show how much of a pain it would be to do that--very time consuming.


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## straight_lines (Oct 17, 2007)

These profile tools are really inexpensive. 


Trace the pattern from that on to a piece of sheet metal and cut it out with some snips. 

Yes this will take a few hours probably since you will have to have some things most painters would never own.


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## MikeCalifornia (Aug 26, 2012)

I might suggest using peel stop or trim magic. Just put on a nice heavy coat, that should seal and start to fill in some of the holes and cracks. Then spackle up where you need a better looking finish.


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## simplycovered (Jul 12, 2013)

they sell stuff to make rotted wood stiff, perhaps that would help, plaster over crumbled plaster, and when you prime the prime will shrink and pull off the repair and you'll be back where you started.


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## painterman (Jun 2, 2007)

Peel Bond ,two heavy coats or like mentioned trim magic, light sand paint away


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## Pete Martin the Painter (Nov 8, 2012)

I thought Peel Bond might work, but no one sells it near me. The plaster was still in pretty good shape. Wound up putting sum Joint Compound on the really bad parts and then sanding as best I could. The Molding is 9ft up, so after doing this, a coat of primer and two coats of Advance it looks pretty good. Not great, but the customer is very happy with the results.


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