Best render finish pre plastering

I use two wooden floats, first use one with a cross grain to give the base coat a smooth but not a shiny finish such as you would get with a plastering trowel. Then go over the render with a devil float which is a similar float but with nails poking out a couple of mm along one end to scratch up the surface and make a light key.

Wooden floats are only available from specialist suppliers, but plastic floats are much more easy to find and I suspect do just as good a job. Oops! don't tell the National Trust I said that

Anna

~~ Anna Kettle, Suffolk, England |""""| ~ Lime plaster repairs / ^^ \ // Freehand modelling in lime: overmantels, pargeting etc |____|

Unless things have changed, Draper make wood floats. They don't come much commoner than them. ;-)