Skim Plaster

There are a number of branded, ready-mixed skim plasters on the market and readily available in DIY stores and specialist décor centres.  They can be used to repair larger damaged areas. Some are applied by brush or roller and smoothed using either a plasterers trowel or a proprietary spreader. Since most of us are not professional plasterers it is usually necessary to sand the area to a fine finish. If done with care the repaired area will be indistinguishable from the surrounding area. Paint in the usual way.

I personally find that a container of ready-mixed plaster usually found in your local DIY Store is perfect for the general type of repair to plaster that you come across. Companies such as Blue Hawk or Artex manufacture ready-mixed plaster of first-class quality. In fact I used some Blue Hawk plaster that I must have had for a year just recently; a sprinkle of water to revive it and it worked perfectly.

If you're not a professional and just have repair work to do you can get a really excellent finish using this type of product rather than trying to mix from powder. It's generally a bit more expensive but well worth it!