Aspiring plasterers should always have a hammer on hand. Claw and drywall hammers are the two most useful types of hammers. Either type can assist in chipping out chunks of plaster and resecuring or removing problematic lath. Drywall hammers, with their curved faces and hatchet-shaped heads, are great for knocking down protruding plaster.

Plasterers have used wood lath for generations. Following the old ways will necessitate the use of a sharp handsaw to cut the thin, narrow strips of wood that are used as a foundation for plaster. It may also come in handy when removing sections of old plaster to install doors or perform other types of retrofit work

Even though spackle knives look too puny for a big plaster job, they can be surprisingly helpful. Cracks and uneven areas should be scoured with a sturdy spackle knife prior to repair. This removes any high points or chips of old plaster before applying the new mud. As a result, the finish will be much smoother and more consistent.

While it may seem obvious, a good quality five-gallon bucket is required for plastering jobs. In the same bucket, you’ll be mixing plaster several times. After a few good cleanings, job site-related bumps, and bangs, cheap, brittle buckets will crack. Plaster is also very heavy, especially when wet and muddy. Only a sturdy bucket will suffice.

The utility of a high-quality utility knife cannot be overstated. On a plastering job, you’ll use it to open plaster mix bags, score the existing wall, and cut patches from drywall sheets. Keeping a good utility knife in your pocket is essential—just remember to always use a sharp blade. Sharp blades are easier to use and thus safer than dull or chipped blades.

A paddle mixer is the unsung hero of any mud job. Paddle mixers fit into drill chunks and make mixing bucket after bucket of plaster much faster and less labor-intensive. Their design enables them to incorporate dry plaster, water, and other aggregates quickly. Paddle mixers easily break up clumps and allow plasterers and do-it-yourselfers to adjust the consistency of their mix.

Plaster that is wet and soupy can be difficult to remove from a bucket that is more than 5 gallons deep. Bucket trowels have angled handles and broad surfaces used for scooping the mixture out of the bucket. During the mixing process, you can also use them to loosen the dry mix by running them around the sides of the bucket. This is done in the same way.

The transport of wet plaster is made easier with the use of a plaster hawk, which consists of a flat surface with a handle in the middle. It provides the plasterer with assistance in applying mud to a trowel in an even and clean manner. Plastering tasks like buttering and cleaning a trowel can look easy when performed by a seasoned professional, but novices may have difficulty at first achieving the same level of flow in their own work.

A good trowel is required for applying and smoothing plaster. Plasterers will have a variety of trowels for each stage, but beginners can get by with just one sturdy rectangular trowel. A 12-inch model should suffice. Break in your trowel by sanding the corners to make them less sharp. As a result, there will be fewer lines and trowel marks on the wall between finishes.

A paintbrush with thick, heavy bristles and a length of four inches will come in handy when you get to the final smoothing stage of your plaster job. Simply moistening the wall surface makes it easier for a clean trowel to glide across it, which ultimately results in a more polished end product. In addition to that, you can use it to clean the crevices of a mixing paddle or trowel.