Heat obviously does have an effect on drying plaster but the main thing is removing moisture. A cold day with the windows open will dry quicker than a hot day with windows closed.
open the doors and windows. fresh air will speed the drying. If you use heat it will just make the room more humid until the air won't take any more moisture. leave the plaster until it has changed colour all over before you paint it.
Another factor that will affect the drying time for your plastering work is the room temperature and ventilation. It can be tempting to turn the heating right up to speed up the drying process but this is not recommended. Excessive heat will cause the plaster to dry too quickly which may result in cracking or hazing.
Yes, you can use a hairdryer or a heat gun to dry the mud on a sheetrock repair faster... When drywall mud (or joint compound) dries it shrinks a little, and if you dry it too fast it can sometimes crack. This is fine and won't hurt anything, but it does mean you will have to fill the crack with more mud.
Volden Quick Dry Bonding Plaster, 25Kg, 16L Bag
Bought a couple of bags to repair some existing plasterwork prior to a fresh skimming. Mixed easily, no lumps and nice consistency, applied easily and dried in good time, not too quickly so enough time to work with. Good adhesion and solid, white colour, finish.
Drying studies of various materials show that increasing air speed over plaster casts reduces drying time. An air speed of 15 fps (ft. per sec.) is recommended, and speeds up to about 30 fps are desirable.
One of the easiest ways to speed up the setting time of plaster is to use warm water when mixing it. Gypsum plaster reacts more quickly when mixed with warm water because it accelerates the hydration process. Simply using water that is warmer than room temperature can shave several minutes off the setting time.
Get some airflow in there. You need to remove the saturated air from the surface so that more water can evaporate. A desk fan pointing at the wall makes all the difference.
Dirty water or salt will make plaster set quicker. Citric acid or milk will make plaster set slower. Adding powder to mixed plaster will make it set quicker.
Increase airflow
Good airflow will help to encourage your plaster to dry more quickly. If it's not too cold, it can help to keep windows and doors open. Similarly, a fan can help as long as you keep it on a low setting so that it doesn't cool down the room too much.
Halftime Plaster Accelerator is a chemical additive for use with finishing plaster. The additive creates a fast set plaster by speeding up the chemical crystal formation that causes plaster to set or harden. Halftime is recommended for shortening the setting time of finishing plaster.
As a guide we suggest adding 5ml of the dissolved retarder, per litre of gauging water, this will slow down the plaster set time by about 5 minutes. Being a very strong concentration only small amounts are needed. We strongly recommended a small test be carried out to ascertain and calculate the needed reactions.
A minimum of seven days of curing is recommended for plastered surfaces. Grooves: After plastering the outer walls, cut grooves to prevent cracks caused by temperature differences. These grooves function as expansion joints in the wall.
Plaster casts will dry in time, of course, by simply exposing them to air at room temperature. Most often, however, they are dried in a warm, forced-air oven, at about 150 degrees F. Higher temperatures tend to crack casts and produce spalling. In our experience the times generally required for drying in 150 degree F.
Drying Times
We recommend not to put the central heating up too high in the plastered room during the first 48 hours, but let the drying take it's natural time – this will aid in a stronger plaster bond. Fresh plaster is dark brown in colour (sometimes black), and once completely dry it is a pale pink colour.
Humidity: High humidity slows the drying process, while low humidity speeds it up. A dehumidifier or fans reduce humidity levels and speed up drying. Airflow: Good airflow can help speed drying by circulating air around the damp plaster.
Does heat help plaster dry? Yes and no — a low level heat and good ventilation will help speed up the drying process. But if you can, you are better leaving windows and doors open to help the air flow through a newly plastered room.
During the winter or rainy season, the air tends to be more humid, providing an ideal environment for the plaster to set and dry effectively. The moisture in the air helps the plaster to cure slowly and evenly, resulting in a stronger and more durable finish.
Gyprock Plaster Accelerator is a safe and easy way to speed up the setting times of gypsum-based plaster products such as Base Coat, Cornice Cement and other specialty plasters. Ideal for small jobs where time is an issue, a small amount of Gyprock Plaster Accelerator is mixed thoroughly to the dry or wet plaster mix.
The mixing water you use should be at room temperature or 70°F (21°C). If the water is too warm, the plaster will set too fast and vice versa. Use only clean, drinkable tap water or distilled water.
Take out too much humidity, and the plaster will dry too quickly, causing hairline cracks and brittleness over time.
Dissolving POP in salt water will make POP set faster too, so it isn't solid NaCl that increases the set rate.
Time It Takes Plaster to Dry
Plaster typically needs 1 to 4 hours to dry to the touch. Each layer needs a few hours to dry if you're applying an undercoat or finishing plaster. A special plaster, such as lime plaster, may need up to one week to dry to the touch.