I'm working on my 1908 wood lathe and plaster coved ceilings, filling some cracks and small holes. For most of the coves, I can smooth out my work by running a taping knife straight up the wall around the cove and across the ceiling. However, the inside corners are alot more difficult, as it is basically all curved and there are no straight lines. Does anyone have any suggestions or advice on how to handle these areas? How were they done originally?
Thanks, Wayne
The original plasterers would have had shaped trowels...
Best is to take a smoothing trowel of sufficient dimension and cut the appropriate diameter to make one...if it's just a tiny amount of small cracks, could get by w/ a plastic bowl or other semi-rigid piece...
OK, I can see doing this for the straight sections of cove, but it seems like a curved trowel wouldn't work in the inside corners. As you approach the corner, you'd hit the top of the curve of the adjoining wall. If you tilt your trowel so the bottom is closer to the adjoining wall than the top, you've now changed the shape of the curve.
Or am I missing something here?
Thanks, Wayne
They do make knives with rubber/flexible blades. One of these might be just what you're looking for.
They were (probably) originally done with profiled metal scrapers, with the plaster laid in several steps. I had the opportunity of watching a master plasterer do this on a Brooklyn Heights renovation. He used cardboard to get the profile of the existing cove (which was fairly complex) and used that to grind a blade. He made it look real easy but that's what experience looks like.
I've got plaster coves here and have been meaning to cut a scraper to handle this ever since I got the place. Now that I'm almost done here it doesn't make much sense. Anyway, inside corners are a bitch. I used an 1-1/2" blade and a lot of sandpaper.
Steve Manes Brooklyn, NY
The suggestion I made was based on the assumption you were just doing some limited amount of repair...
For a tool, they typically would include an offset handle, but a pro could do wonders.
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