How to Plaster Blueboard
- 1). Mix the plaster according to the manufacturer's instructions. Put the plaster and the appropriate amount of water into a 5-gallon bucket and mix it using mixer paddles and a drill.
- 2). Dip your trowel into the water and rub it onto the hawk, which is a large, square trowel. Wetting the hawk stops the plaster from drying out too quickly and it stops the plaster from sticking to the hawk.
- 3). Scoop up about a pint of plaster and place it in the center of your hawk.
- 4). Hold the hawk in front of you and place the trowel between your body and the hawk. Scoop up the plaster off of the hawk and transfer it to your trowel with an upward motion that travels away from your body.
- 5). Place the trowel against the wall about one-third the way up the wall. Hold the trowel at a 45 degree angle and push up, moving slightly from the left to the right, depositing plaster onto the wall as you go. When you reach the top of the wall, move downward, from right to left, adding a second swath of plaster.
- 6). Add more plaster to your hawk and your trowel as needed. Continue plastering in an up and down pattern, moving from the left to the right, applying a coat of plaster at a consistent depth.
- 7). Smooth the plaster on the blueboard with a clean trowel. Hold the trowel flush to the blueboard and smooth out the seams and imperfections in the plaster. Try to achieve as smooth a surface as you can.
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