What is the difference between plaster and putty? These materials are intended primarily for leveling surfaces. Usually, in the process of performing capital work, craftsmen require both. However, before proceeding with specific actions, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the distinguishing features of these materials and determine the areas of their possible application.
Plaster
What is the difference between plaster and putty and primer? This building mixture is used not only to smooth the surface of the walls, but also to protect them from penetration and moisture accumulation. Plaster is also used to improve the thermal insulation properties of coatings.
The structure of the plaster is coarse-grained. Therefore, it is convenient to apply it on surfaces that contain significant irregularities and indentations. Often, in order to understand how putty differs from a particular type of plaster, it is enough to familiarize yourself with the information that manufacturers place on the package. In this case, the plaster may differ in the presence of properties suitable for basic and decorative finishing works.
Putty
It is a plastic mass, which is an effective tool for removing small and deep scratches, crevices on the surface of walls. The difference between puttying and plastering is the level of granularity. In plaster, this indicator is much lower, which gives the mixture additional viscosity.
When filling in the recesses and voids, the putty does not change in volume, bubbles and cracks do not form on its surface. As binders here may be: gypsum, ordinary cement or polymeric materials. Putty surface treatment allows you to create the most even, smooth layer on which it is convenient to glue wallpaper, apply paint.
Distinctive properties of plaster and putty
What is the difference between plaster and putty? If we talk about putty, then the task is assigned to it not only to close up flaws on a flat surface, but also to smooth out the structure of the plane as much as possible, to make it homogeneous.
Start and finish putty are distinguished. The first type is used to quickly seal cracks and other minor defects. Starting mixtures have a rougher structure compared to the finish. The latter option is used when smoothing the surface for painting or wallpapering.
What is the difference between gypsum plaster and putty? In structure and properties, gypsum plaster is a radically different composition. The substance is used to cover bare brick or concrete walls, as well as foam blocks. Therefore, plastering is a rough finish.
If we talk about how plaster differs from putty, then the nature of the application of these substances should also be noted. According to experts, the plaster should be applied with a layer of no more than 5 cm. Otherwise, the coating will inevitably slide down. To prevent this from happening, when applying plaster, special meshes are often used, which you will not see in the process of coating surfaces with putty.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I would like to pay more specific attention to how plaster differs from putty:
- Putty has a fine-grained structure, and plaster is a coarse-grained building mixture.
- The main purpose of the plaster is to smooth the surfaces and apply a monolithic layer of up to 5 cm. Putty, in turn, is used in cosmetic, surface finish of walls and elimination of defects with a depth of not more than two centimeters.
- The plaster is applied as an intermediate layer, leveling the bare walls. Putty is the final layer before the final coating of surfaces.
- To avoid unevenness and sliding of the coating, plastered walls are absolutely not recommended to be rubbed with abrasives. At the same time, putty is not afraid of contact with abrasive skins.
- On average, it takes about two days to completely dry the plaster. For drying putty in normal conditions, less than a day is enough.