I am looking to do a few rooms in my house with a similar product as carlite finish but the only prob is I live in New Zealand and frate costs a fortune to get it here and no one seems to have a similar product well there is similar but not as good. If i can get what its made up of or somethin similar I should be able to get it made here a lot cheaper. If anyone can help would be much appreciated.
Aaron

they produce this in mass quantities, it would cost you are more than shipping to produce this.

k, so you cant get finish, but theres nothing to stop you using a onecoat type plaster as a finish..
i did just that in france around the december january period for exactly the same reason...
they have stuff they call 'special finish' which is basically a one coat plaster, designed to go on up to 20mm thick, but has a set time of around 40 minutes, about half that of carlite finish, or thistle multi/board finish...

then we got hold of some machine plaster, again a one coat plaster, but with a set time of 2 hours (so it doesnt bugger the machine up by setting to quick), worked like a dream but you have to know how to use it...

the method is the same for skimming as though you were using it as a one coat 20mm thick i.e.

mix up and lash it on, quick flatten it before it starts to pick up...

after that i found the best tool in the box was a pump action garden weed sprayer, full of water...
one coat loves water... once its started to pick up/firm up/gone like plasticene give it a good spray of water and go over it with a sponge float taking all you lines out leaving you with a finish that looks a bit like artex, this is now all fat, and is what you trowel up...
leave it a bit longer, or get straight back on it depending on how fast you are or how much you got on, repeat...

when you got it just about there, leave it till it turns grey, or most of it has then give it a good hard trowel with more angle on than you would with finish plaster...

job done...

its a bit softer than multi/boardy/carlite but its perfectly acceptable and if you get any dodgy bits, it sands up dead easy...

have a look around, see what you can get your hands on locally, but if you can get one coat, thats the way to go...

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http://www.peterborough-plasterer.co.uk/

can you get mp75 out there? is that what you was describing CW?

chris, you and your chuffin one coat!!

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Plasterer in Coventry

mp75 - similar
lutece (french) do a 2000l and 2000c, the L is the long set (2 hours), the C is the short set (90 minutes)

im guessing mp 75 is a 75 minute set?

no matter, you can still use it as skim... you never know till you try it...

@ steve, not really bothered over here mate seeing as its much dearer than finish per metre but when you aint got no finish, you gotta look elsewhere... might just be the only thing op can get hold of, once you get the hang of it its a peice of cake... though without a water sprayer and a sponge float youre pretty much on a hiding to nothing...

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http://www.peterborough-plasterer.co.uk/

just realised the question hasnt been answered...

finish plaster -

gypsum, finely ground and heated to remove all traces of moisture...
then they add some additives to slow down the 'set', things like tri-sodium citrate (which they add to lemonade funnily enough)...
adding the heat removes the moisture yes? so when you add water to it when you mix up, it reverses the process and gives off heat as it sets, in other words it reverts back to its origional state and what you end up with is a 3mm thick 'wall' of gypsum rock...

one coat is similar stuff but with added fine aggregate and different levels of 'additive' to alter its weight (so you can put it on thicker without it sagging), and longer setting times so you have time to get it on and ruled off and still have time to clean the machine, should you be using some sort of 'mp' plaster - 'mp' = 'machine plaster' (you spray it on with a machine that mixes and pumps it to a spray nozzle)

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http://www.peterborough-plasterer.co.uk/