Structo-Lite cracks

When I used Plaster cloth last year I applied a very thin coat by hand, just enough to fill in the holes in the plaster cloth. I used the compound with the accelerator in it. As far as my experience over years of patching drywall and the two major kitchen remodels I have completed, regular taping compound or base coat plasters shrink and crack. The plasters with the accelerators in it do not shrink and harden faster. It comes in 90, 40, 20 and 5 minute mixes. My Home Depot stocks 18 pound sacks made by Westpac/Fast Set. If it is regular old base coat or joint compound, I would buy it wet by the box, I would not mix my own and put it on very thin and maybe still not be surprised about cracking. It's easier to work with the 40 or 20 and get away from the shrinking and cracking and put it on thin.

This year I wanted to experiment and used blue shop towels and coated them with the 20 minute mud and laid them over my cardboard framework. I am not getting any cracking. It took much longer to dry (not harden) as the towels retain moisture.


2012 Fastrack Layout 15 by tedmackel, on Flickr

Bob,

Just as you said, a soupy mix brushed on will fill the cracks with no problem. The cracks happened to me only with the last bag of Structolite I bought. Not sure why, but no problem to fix.

Jim

Structolite just likes to crack, pro drywallers say it never causes a problem later just coat it with drywall mud hot mud is even better. Hot mud is the kind you mix with water and dries chemically. I have been told if you mix sand with structolite it will not crack, but then it is no longer light. It is designed to go on metal lath and when I have used that it has never cracked, but straight over drywall or plaster it always does.

Once you put ground cover over it,like linchen ,etc you'll never see it