A top coat is the final layer applied before painting and can be made of plaster, stucco, sand or lime. It requires previous layers to be dry to avoid cracking. Plaster and stucco require two coats with a wet curing process for best results.
A top coat, also called a skim coat or white coat, is the last coat applied to a surface before the surface can be painted. It is usually made with various types of plaster and may require the addition of sand or lime as well. Moreover, they can be applied in various ways. Before a top coat can be applied, all previous coats must be dry. If the bottom layers are not properly dried, the top coat may crack.
One of the most common materials used as a finish is plaster. For example, it can be used on drywall as a method of preparing the surface for painting. Often plaster needs to be calibrated before application, which means it needs to be mixed with stucco before being applied to the wall. To do this, putty is placed on the mortar board and a space is dug in between. Water is then poured into the space and plaster is sprinkled over the water.
After standing for a few minutes and allowing the water to absorb the plaster, the plaster and grout are mixed together. The resulting mixture is then applied to the wall. The finish is applied in two layers. Normally, the first coat is applied and allowed to dry before applying the second coat. At the end of the process, the final thickness is usually about an eighth of an inch (about 3.17 mm).
Stucco is another type of finish that is often used on the exterior of a building. The material commonly consists of one part cement, three parts sand, mixed with a little lime and water. It is a durable material which allows for different textures in the finished product. Once applied and cured, this material can be painted over. Unpainted, stucco is usually gray in color, but pigments can be mixed with it.
To apply the stucco, two coats must be applied to the building. The first coat, called a scratch coat, should be scratched, i.e. have horizontal lines rubbed across it when slightly dry. While the scratch coating is curing, the surface should be occasionally sprayed with water because a wet curing process produces a stronger putty. Once the scratch layer has cured, the finish coat, which is the coating that can be textured and painted, can be applied over if it. Again, a wet cure process is best.
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