For the finish coat, plasterers prepare a mixture of lime, plaster of Paris, and water. This mixture, which sets very quickly, produces a very smooth, durable finish. Plasterers also work with a plaster material that can be finished in a single coat. This thin-coat or gypsum veneer plaster is made of lime and plaster of Paris and is mixed with water at the job site. It provides a smooth, durable, abrasion resistant finish on interior masonry surfaces, special gypsum base board, or drywall prepared with a bonding agent.
Plasterers create decorative interior surfaces as well.
They do this by pressing a brush or trowel firmly against the wet plaster surface and using a circular hand motion to create decorative swirls. Stucco is also applied directly to a wire lath with a scratch coat followed by a brown coat and then a finish coat. Plasterers may also embed marble or gravel chips into the finish coat to achieve a pebblelike, decorative finish. Increasingly, plasterers apply insulation to the exteriors of new and old buildings. They apply an additional coat of this material with a decorative finish.