dc painters

For people who have older homes with plaster walls and in preparing to paint a space find a crack (or cracks) to correct first, listed here is a fantastic product that can save you loads of time with your drywall repair.

When I first started fixing plaster wall cracks, I used a sharp tool (in my case a metal can opener) to gouge out the cracked area, loosen the underlying loose plaster and prepare for the repair. The dc drywall repaircontains several applications of spackle, first to fill the gap (which might be very long and pretty wide) and finally to smooth it over. This was followed closely by a lot of sanding to smooth the work. This took quite a long time and a lot of work. Done carefully, this might last an extended time. But the underlying weakness could cause the crack to reappear in a couple of years.

But no further!

What I are finding is a product called "Krack Kote" and is available in paint stores (I have not seen it in any of the "big box" stores, but it could be). It is a two part kit consisting of a thin fiberglass mesh tape about 3 inches wide and a can of thick adhesive. This is how it works.

First, no gouging. Simply make sure the surface is smooth on the crack. Sometimes I discover the edges of the crack are slightly raised. Use a taping knife to remove those edges and run it over the area to make sure it is perfectly flat.

Slice the tape to cover along the crack. If the crack isn't straight, cut a couple of pieces and try to make sure they fit closely together.

Using a regular paint brush (I work with a 2 inch one as it fits well into the adhesive can), brush on a nice coat of the adhesive, slightly wider that the width of the tape, with the crack in the middle of your projects area. Take the tape and stick it on the crack in the midst of the adhesive to make the drywall repair dc. Make sure there's adhesive under most of the mesh.

Using a taping/spackling knife (a 4 inch wide one works well) press the tape into the adhesive by running the knife on the tape. This can embed the tape in the adhesive and force adhesive into the mesh. Be cautious, pressing TOO hard with pull the tape with the knife. Should you that, go back over it carefully and smooth it out.