Plastering Nirvana....not!

The art of plastering takes many forms, I have witnessed a professional plasterer take a big whole in a wall, after removing a fire alarm panel, and within several hours you couldn't even tell that something was there. He accomplished this feat without even sanding! Now when I try to do something of the sort, it takes a little different form. I usually fill in the larger holes as best I can with a hard drying compound that does not crack such as plaster of Paris or other compounds depending what is handy, accessible, available and affordable first by going through my basement and then by quickly scanning the Home Depot. Once I've filled the large cracks I take a break and wait till it dries. Good time for a snack or for lunch. Afterwards I proceed with the application of the "mud" , I like to use professional terms it gives me street cred or at least renovation cred... So I apply the "mud" as best as I can to cover seems holes and what have you, I usually go thin let it dry and continue with a first sanding and add more if needed. This process I learned the hard way, it certainly was not by reading anything. Afterwards I sand the hell out of it to smooth out all my crappy troweling, I usually create a nice indoor winter scene where I am the main character , aka " the snowman" . I used to not wear a mask but over the years I got tired of breathing this stuff so now I wear a mask and a hat. Someone told me that this stuff causes cancer, if that is the case my wife and kids will be rich 'cause there is a great opportunity for a lawsuit. Next up I repeat the process until the sanded area looks acceptable, not perfect but acceptable. Let's just say that you can tell which areas were done at the beginning of the day and those that were done at the end. By the way, painting DOES not cover imperfections, at least not anything that you would call an imperfection, so don't try this lazy man's route. 'cause once you paint you can't sand so you need to add more "mud" where you might be putting an 1/8th of an inch skim coat to cover your plastering disaster. Been there done that! At the end of the day you need to ask yourself was it worth it? Considering the price of hiring a professional most definitely yes. Your time is worthless anyways so keep the money and have fun with the experience. That is it for now!