"Frederick Wilson" wrote in message
et...
Hello all,

I am doing a little remodel work on the house getting ready for the new
baby in January. I am at the finishing point of the plaster/joint
compound. Now let me tell you, I SUCK at that. I just could not get it
smooth so I had A LOT of sanding. Had to make at least three attempts at
it.

I was wondering, if one was to make a plastic (read as carbon fiber or
fiberglass) is the layup the same as trying to get plaster smooth?

I have pretty much settled for wood and fabric for my first attempt.

Just thought I would ask.

Thank you,
Fred

There are some things the same between the two, but I must say that I know
much more about the sheetrock.

There are two things that will get you into trouble doing sheetrock. One is
playing with it too much. You have to put it on, smooth it out and move on.
The more you try to smooth it, the more it messes up. Two, is not taking
enough off. The goal is to leave the smoothest transition you can get
between the mud and the dry sheetrock. That means taking off more than you
think you should.

Experienced mud men do very little or no sanding between coats. (3 coats)
Sme use a corner trowel, but some only do one side of a corner at a time,
then do the other side once the first side is dry.

There is a new gadget that I recently got that also is a godsend. It is a
sander block that hooks to a shop vac. It not only cuts way down on the
dust, but the suction helps put the pressure needed on the wall.

In fiberglass work, geeting rid of air pockets and putting too much on are
your enemies, so that is about where the comparison ends.
--
---Jim in NC---