# Anyone use Plaster-Weld?



## PPD (Mar 19, 2018)

Someone recommended I try Plaster-Weld by Larsons when prepping pre-painted surfaces for italian lime plasters. Anyone have experience with this bonding primer & how the plaster application goes afterward?


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## futtyos (Aug 11, 2013)

*Using Plaster Weld*



PPD said:


> Someone recommended I try Plaster-Weld by Larsons when prepping pre-painted surfaces for italian lime plasters. Anyone have experience with this bonding primer & how the plaster application goes afterward?


I cannot say how it works for your application, but I can tell you about what I am familiar with.

I paint for a GC at twin hi rises in Chicago that were built in the early 1960s. The ceilings and original walls are all concrete with plaster and all with a heavy orange peel finish that no one seems to want anymore - they want it all flat, flat, flat.

My GC does the skim coating using Easy Sand from USG. A couple of units ago he started to have problems with the Easy Sand sticking to the surfaces, so he told me to get a gallon of Elmers Glue, mix it with a gallon of water and roll it onto all the walls and ceilings. I decided to do a little research and came up with Plaster Weld by Larsen. I convinced him to let me get some and that is what he uses now. 

USG, which is headquartered here in Chicago, also makes a similar product that is white and cheaper, but is not available in the Chicao area for some reason. Plaster Weld is pink, so you definitely know where you have rolled it.

The idea behind these products, as far as I have read, is that they are basically glue that dries after you roll it on, then re-wets when you apply spackling compound or plaster, causing whatever you are applying to glue onto the re-wetted Plaster Weld.

As to whether Plaster Weld would be indicated for Italian lime plaster, I would check Youtube for both and also check to see what Kirk Giordano of Kirk Giordano Plastering to see what he has to say about all of this:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZ1wkNnjD06gYLeDFRW7hNQ

Hopefully someone else here will have hands on advice for you.

futtyos


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## PPD (Mar 19, 2018)

futtyos said:


> PPD said:
> 
> 
> > Someone recommended I try Plaster-Weld by Larsons when prepping pre-painted surfaces for italian lime plasters. Anyone have experience with this bonding primer & how the plaster application goes afterward?
> ...


Thanks for all the info!!! 

Ya, PVC primer is recommended for most plasters (your right- its just a high quality glue mixed it with basic primer mediums and fillers). But most real-like plaster manufacturers now recommend a silica or mineral based primer which are crazy expensive and increase my already expensive material costs WAY too much. 

I’ve seen that some venetian plaster artists in europe & spain use straight up watered down glue on the substrate, but I think that’s more due to the lack of quality products available at an affordable price in their area (god knows we are flooded with products here in the US). 

I’ll be sure to ask Kirk & see what he thinks, thanx for the recommend!


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## Brushman4 (Oct 18, 2014)

PPD said:


> Someone recommended I try Plaster-Weld by Larsons when prepping pre-painted surfaces for italian lime plasters. Anyone have experience with this bonding primer & how the plaster application goes afterward?


At one time I used a lot of it when we were working in old schools and office buildings. After thoroughly scrapping off the loose paint and plaster we would spot prime with Plaster-Weld before patching. Great product, creates an extremely strong bond on plaster!


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## Brushman4 (Oct 18, 2014)

Say futty, does it still have a reddish-orange tint?


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## futtyos (Aug 11, 2013)

*Plaster Weld color*



Brushman4 said:


> Say futty, does it still have a reddish-orange tint?


Bright pink!

futtyos


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## WestCoast99 (May 8, 2012)

I love plaster weld! I use it when repairing lath and plaster walls and ceilings. I slather it all over the patched area including all of the lath boards and edges of the broken plaster then patch with 20 minute mud. It prevents the mud from drying out and delaminating from the lath boards and edges of the broken out plaster. It's basically a strong waterbased glue that re-emulsifies when it gets wet when mud or paint touches it. It has military specs right on the can and I think it can be used in subzero temperatures. It has something like a 10 day window to cover it up with mud, plaster, or paint. Try this. Take two pieced of wood and slather some plaster weld on them then stick them together. Try pulling them apart 2 weeks later. And do the same thing with 2 pieces of drywall. It's the best product demonstration I can think of to demonstrate the magic of that stuff.


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## PPD (Mar 19, 2018)

WestCoast99 said:


> I love plaster weld! I use it when repairing lath and plaster walls and ceilings. I slather it all over the patched area including all of the lath boards and edges of the broken plaster then patch with 20 minute mud. It prevents the mud from drying out and delaminating from the lath boards and edges of the broken out plaster. It's basically a strong waterbased glue that re-emulsifies when it gets wet when mud or paint touches it. It has military specs right on the can and I think it can be used in subzero temperatures. It has something like a 10 day window to cover it up with mud, plaster, or paint. Try this. Take two pieced of wood and slather some plaster weld on them then stick them together. Try pulling them apart 2 weeks later. And do the same thing with 2 pieces of drywall. It's the best product demonstration I can think of to demonstrate the magic of that stuff.


Awesome- so it does actually slow the dry time then?!

I’ve had some major issues with delamination on some job sites recently...(I think the mud formula has changed slightly w/ new VOC laws this yr, but can’t find anything to prove it but none of my products have changed so I couldnt come up with any other reasoning).

I’m looking to replace the Stixx I normally use to avoid any issues in the future with lime-plaster jovs....but its always hard to switch when you don’t know the new product 😛. Great idea with the test- I’m gunna give it a shot on some sample boards too & see how the finished plaster holds up!


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## ParamountPaint (Aug 25, 2016)

We use a pretty good quantity of Plaster Weld.

It definitely slows the dry time, which is crucial on repairs. It has a funny timeline to work within, so you have to watch for that. I'm slightly annoyed that it is sold in cans without handles, but I can overlook that.

2 thumbs up!


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## futtyos (Aug 11, 2013)

*Handles!!!*



ParamountPaint said:


> We use a pretty good quantity of Plaster Weld.
> 
> It definitely slows the dry time, which is crucial on repairs. It has a funny timeline to work within, so you have to watch for that. I'm slightly annoyed that it is sold in cans without handles, but I can overlook that.
> 
> 2 thumbs up!


Your comment about the cans not coming with handles gave me a big chuckle!:vs_laugh: What is with this?

PPD, give Jeff Larsen a call if you have any more questions: http://www.larsenproducts.com/contact/

I called about a year ago and spoke directly with him. Nice fellow. Maybe you could ask him why Plaster Weld cans have no handles! 

As far as I have heard from Kirk Giordano, USG's Plaster Bonder should also work. This product comes in a plastic jug with a handle, just like Gardz should be packaged!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rustoleum, did you read that?

https://www.usg.com/content/usgcom/...g/plaster-accessories/usg-plaster-bonder.html

I have used both, the only difference is Plaster Weld goes on pink. If you don't require pink to show where you have applied, then either will do I guess.

futtyos


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## Brushman4 (Oct 18, 2014)

It wasn't the easiest material to get your hands on, seeing as most paint stores didn't sell it!

You could get it at most plaster supply stores without a problem.


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## futtyos (Aug 11, 2013)

*Availability*



Brushman4 said:


> It wasn't the easiest material to get your hands on, seeing as most paint stores didn't sell it!
> 
> You could get it at most plaster supply stores without a problem.


First time I picked up Plaster Weld was out in Elk Grove Village somewhere. Next time at Frerk & Sons on Belmont. It appears that there are several outlets in the San Diego area that carry it

I can't find USG Plaster Bonder anywhere in the chicago area and USG is based in Chicago! Can't find this one in California, either.

futtyos


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## Brushman4 (Oct 18, 2014)

You can buy a four gal. case of Plaster-Weld from an Amazon vendor for $121.97 with free shipping. https://www.amazon.com/Larsen-Plast...rd_wg=4FmQB&psc=1&refRID=CM6B136N8XCWTB6FW1VX

According to the Larsen locater, there are 6 retailers within 10 miles of me including SW on Lee and Oakton. http://www.larsenproducts.com/locator/


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## PPD (Mar 19, 2018)

futtyos said:


> Your comment about the cans not coming with handles gave me a big chuckle!:vs_laugh: What is with this?
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Ahh didn’t see this till now- thanx for the contact & I’ll be sure to mention the handle issue haha.

I’ve not heard of plaster bonder but will be sure to get my hands on some to give it a try too! I wanna try all the options before offering the finish to clients so its full on with the testing. 

Your right- the pink undertone won’t work well for grassello plaster since its such thin layers and needs to go over level 5 since the purpose isn’t to hide substrate but layer stone finish. I’d have to cover the pink with a white primer which completely depletes the point.....


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## futtyos (Aug 11, 2013)

*What prepaint is on surface?*



PPD said:


> Ahh didn’t see this till now- thanx for the contact & I’ll be sure to mention the handle issue haha.
> 
> I’ve not heard of plaster bonder but will be sure to get my hands on some to give it a try too! I wanna try all the options before offering the finish to clients so its full on with the testing.
> 
> Your right- the pink undertone won’t work well for grassello plaster since its such thin layers and needs to go over level 5 since the purpose isn’t to hide substrate but layer stone finish. I’d have to cover the pink with a white primer which completely depletes the point.....


PPD, what type of paint is currently on the surfaces you want to plaster? You seem to be concerned with the pink color because of the thinness of grassello plaster (never heard of that) and I am guessing that you might not be painting the plaster?

My experience with Plaster Weld is that it leaves a stipple which might have an effect on your plaster. I guess if you use a short nap roller to apply it, the stipple will be low.

If you are concerned about the plaster bonding to the paint, here is something I would consider, depending on what sheen and quality of paint is on the walls already.

If the paint is cheap flat, I would consider using a coat of Gardz instead of Plaster Weld as the Gardz is thin and will soak through cheap paint and provide a surface that I would imagine your plaster would bond to as Gardz is recommended to repair torn/damaged drywall after wallpaper and glue (just seeing if Chrisn reads this) have been removed, so Gardz is designed to accept spackling compounds. Gardz also leaves very little stipple compared to Plaster Weld, so if your surface thickness needs to be really thin, you might want to go the Gardz route.

If your painted surface has sheen and/or stipple, you might want to clean it first if it ias dirty, then sand it with an orbital sander first, vacuum dust, then use a thin nap roller to roll on a coat of Plaster Weld or the USG equivalent. The pink dye is to help you see where you have applied the product.

If you really are knowledgeable about grassello plaster, I would consider calling Kirk Giordano and ask him. I would just make sure you have a full and accurate description of what your surface is that you are going to plaster and exactly what you are plastering with. Good luck, 

futtyos


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## futtyos (Aug 11, 2013)

*Gardz alternative*



PPD said:


> Ahh didn’t see this till now- thanx for the contact & I’ll be sure to mention the handle issue haha.
> 
> I’ve not heard of plaster bonder but will be sure to get my hands on some to give it a try too! I wanna try all the options before offering the finish to clients so its full on with the testing.
> 
> Your right- the pink undertone won’t work well for grassello plaster since its such thin layers and needs to go over level 5 since the purpose isn’t to hide substrate but layer stone finish. I’d have to cover the pink with a white primer which completely depletes the point.....


PPD, it just occurred to me that you are in San Diego. Scotch Paints is in Gardena, CA. They manufacture Draw-Tite sealer. Gardz was reformulated from Draw-Tite after Scotch Paints declined to sell their formula to Zinsser, the maker of Gardz.

I recently spoke with a Draw-Tite dealer in Milwaukee Wisconsin, 75 miles from where I live near Chicago. He said that every painter who used Gardz switched over to Draw-Tite. Gardz comes in only one flavor. Draw-Tite comes in 5 flavors:

http://www.scotchpaint.com/store.drawtite.html

I would call Scotch Paints and ask about using Draw-Tite under grassello plaster:

http://www.scotchpaint.com/contact.html

I do not know what may come of this, but you might come up with a top notch method of applying grassello plaster. I just repaired one wall of a kitchen where I had repaired and patched 5 years ago, then the owner pulled off self-stick wallpaper and tore off all my patching (this was before I found out about Gardz), so I patched and sealed the wall with 3 coats of Gardz, cut in twice with the old paint, rolled one coat of paint and it covered to the point that i could not see any hat-banding where the cut-ins were visible from 1 coat of rolled paint. I rolled a 2nd coat because I had it in my proposal. Woodco rightly said that I was overkilling it, but i wanted to see what would happen.

Getting the right surface for a particular job helps to avoid costly mistakes. In garden variety painting/finishing jobs, this is one thing. If I were doing what you are speaking of with the grassello plaster, I would want to get the procedure done right the first time so I wouldn't have to come back and correct mistakes.

futtyos


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## jennifertemple (Oct 30, 2011)

futtyos said:


> My GC does the skim coating using Easy Sand from USG. A couple of units ago he started to have problems with the Easy Sand sticking to the surfaces, so he told me to get a gallon of Elmers Glue, mix it with a gallon of water and roll it onto all the walls and ceilings. I decided to do a little research and came up with Plaster Weld by Larsen. I convinced him to let me get some and that is what he uses now.
> 
> futtyos


The Elmers Glue was a VERY Bad idea. I'm glad the plaster weld works because I once did the glue thing and the entire job ended up with crazed effect. I ended up lightly skimming it with durabond followed with drywall compound. (Doubled my estimated work load!)


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## jennifertemple (Oct 30, 2011)

PS: I don't think plaster weld can be purchased in Canada.


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## Brushman4 (Oct 18, 2014)

jennifertemple said:


> PS: I don't think plaster weld can be purchased in Canada.


See if you can order it on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Larsen-Plast...8&qid=1526272741&sr=1-3&keywords=plaster+weld


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