How long will plaster keep??

Dec 16, 2005 5 Replies

Hi, I bought two bags of skimming the other week, which I will not be able to use until after Xmas now. One has a date of 17/12/2005 and the other is 10/01/2006. They have both been kept in the house and kept dry and warm. How long over the use by date will they be ok.Thanks


Seal them airtight in a couple of bin bags and they last for yonks. Like years.

Cement too - but I wouldn't use it for anything structural after its best before date.

Yes, this is true, but only in the sense that it doesn't go into a lump. What I find happens is that the plaster goes off more quickly the older it is.

Rob Graham

Hi, Yes, I agree with you, I have seen this happen. However I am probably only talking about a couple of weeks over the use by date. Would this reduce the setting time that much ??

The setting time will reduce over quite a long time if kept dry. I prefer instant set finishing for small plasterwork, you can work small and fast with no waiting for results. You can always slow the set down by a minute trace of soap in the mix water.

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