OK - so what's a float and what's a trowel?
To put a skim coat on, am I supposed to use two different tools (one to put it on in the first place, then something else to polish) or does the trowel (if that's the right word) do both jobs?
Nowadays only soe plasteres will use the float to throw the slop on and finish off with the trowel,same as the darby really on a handfull of plasteres will use one.
A float is a wooden (or nowadays plastic) tool which floats over a surface to provide certain finishes. The working part of a float is the surface which might be flat, rough, or even with nails sticking out (devil float), depending on the surface required. (The name actually comes from it floating in your water bucket, being traditionally made of wood.)
A trowel is a steel tool which is used to lay the plaster on the wall and to provide a polished finish on the plaster surface. The main working part of a trowel is the long edges.
Trowel does both jobs. You don't use a float for this at all (nor a darby as another poster suggests, which is not for skim/ finish coat).
Just to add to the confusion, trowels are sometimes incorrectly called floats on the basis they are rectangular like a float.
Next time your watching DIY SOS watch them use the float to put the plaster on the ceiling and as for the darby I didn't say it was used for putting plaster on merely they hardly get used nowadays for levelling(although levelling was not used in the sentence.
AJ explained on 06/07/2007 :
The float will be the last thing that you will use to get a smooth surface. If you was putting a scratch coat then you would not bother.
Don't forget that you will need a "hawk" to hold the plaster while you work.
If you are plastering a full wall then do not start ar the top like many tell you to do. Spread plaster towards top of wall (upwards motion) and cut off about a foot from the ceiling. Then work across and downwards and then go back and finish the top.
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