Re: Gypsum plaster for dummies...(long)

[moxvox@nail.com]

I suppose I should have clarified that what I really was wishing for was a
book on How to Plaster SB Buildings, more an artisan plaster guide.  I do
have Van Den Branden & Hartsell's _Plastering Skills_.  It's actually a
1984 edition, and probably was definitive 16 years ago.

It's chock full of info on the "true plane" method, making everything level
and square.  Like boring old textured drywall, which replaced it and the
trade it represents.  It does have a few good tips, like the proper way to
load a hawk, and the one I just re-read about adding a little sand to a
lightweight plaster to reduce cracking.  Many of the definitions are still
applicable, and it has a good section on ornamental plaster.  But it would
be most useful as a restorer's handbook, IMO.  It was pretty pricey, and I
wouldn't recommend it.  I'll check out the other book suggestions, though.

So has anyone else tried just brushing pigment onto the finish coat, or
adding it to a medium of some sort?.....................Sara.


   Sara Mock                             We cannot cure the evils
   Burbophobia, CO, US                                of politics
   www.moxvox.com/straw.html                                with politics.
                                /\
   _____------------------^^^/\/ /\^^^^^----_________________________A Nin