Smooth finish
Skimming for Rough, Uneven and Tired Walls
Rough, dated or uneven surfaces made smooth and ready for decorating.
25 years’ experience · Greater Manchester & surrounding areas
Renovating and need your walls ready for decorating?
Wallpaper comes off and takes half the surface with it. Old Artex swirls across the ceiling. The walls are sound enough, but nowhere near flat enough to paint. That's the point where most people start looking for a skim.
Skimming is the quickest route from a rough, patchy room to a clean, flat surface that decorates properly — without stripping everything back to brick.
How a skim works
A skim is a thin finishing coat — a couple of millimetres — applied over an existing surface or fresh plasterboard. The result is only as good as what goes on underneath it, so preparation is most of the job.
Surfaces are cleaned back, loose material removed, and the background sealed or PVA'd so it doesn't suck the moisture straight out of the plaster. Joints between boards are scrimmed, edges beaded, and any hollows filled first.
The finish coat is then applied in two passes and trowelled up as it firms, closing the surface tight. Done properly you get a flat wall with no trowel lines, ready for a mist coat once it's dried out.
When people ask for skimming
Skimming suits surfaces that are structurally fine but visually past it — very common in Greater Manchester's older housing stock.
After stripping wallpaper
Torn, gouged and patchy walls brought back to a single flat surface.
Artexed ceilings
Textured ceilings flattened for a plain modern look.
New plasterboard
Freshly boarded walls and ceilings finished ready to paint.
Uneven older plaster
Wavy, bumpy walls levelled out so light stops highlighting every dip.
Before selling or letting
A quick, high-impact way to make tired rooms present properly.
Single walls
One problem wall skimmed rather than the whole room.
Why a skim is usually worth it
- Far cheaper and faster than replastering from scratch
- Removes years of texture, patches and repairs in one go
- Gives decorators a proper surface to work with
- Makes rooms look brighter and better proportioned
- Ideal before selling, letting or moving in
- Can be done room by room around you living there
How it works
Getting a price for skimming
- 01
Tell us about the job
Send some basic details — what needs doing and roughly how big it is.
- 02
Send photos
Upload photos if you have them so the job can be understood properly.
- 03
Discuss the work
AC Plastering Services can assess what's required and talk it through with you.
- 04
Arrange the work
Agree the next steps and get the plastering booked in.
How long should new plaster dry before painting?
Usually several days to a couple of weeks, depending on thickness, ventilation and time of year. Wait until the colour is even right across the wall with no darker patches, then start with a watered-down mist coat.
Can you skim over Artex?
Often yes — sound Artex can be prepared and skimmed to leave a flat modern finish. Heavy or loose textures may be better overboarded first.
Can you skim over wallpaper?
It isn't advisable. Paper can lift when wet plaster goes over it and pull the new finish away. Stripping back gives a much more reliable result.
How long does a room take to skim?
A typical bedroom is often a day. Add time where walls need preparing, patching or a base coat first.
Do you cover my area?
Skimming is carried out throughout Greater Manchester and the surrounding areas — Manchester, Salford, Stockport, Trafford, Sale, Altrincham, Bury, Bolton, Oldham, Rochdale, Tameside and Wigan among others.
Need skimming doing?
Tell us what needs doing and send over a few photos if you have them.
Telephone number is a placeholder until supplied.