be taken with the amount added. Too much and the mix may never set at all. However the amount used is often estimated; much the way one adds a dash of salt to a recipe. you add a small scoop of retarder, dependent on the size of the mix. Retardant is added so that larger mixes can be made, since the texture technique doesn't require the person to wait until it starts to set before working it. The lay-on phase is the same as smooth but it is added with a thicker coat. Once the coat is on uniformly the plasterer then goes back and birds his corners. Staying away from the corner he then gets a trowel with a nice banana curve in it and starts to run it over the wall in a figure eight or Ess pattern, making sure to cross all areas at least once. He adds a little extra plaster to his trowel if needed. The overall effect is layers of paint-like swaths over the whole of the ceiling or wall. He can then just walk away and let it set with care taken not too leave any globs and to make sure the corners look smooth and linear. If a wall is to be smooth and the ceiling textured, typically the wall is done first, then the ceiling after the wall has set. Instead of rebirding the ceiling (which would have been done when the wall was laid on), a clean trowel is held against the wall and its corner is run along the ceiling to "cut it in" and clean the wall at the same time. This line is then smoothed with a paintbrush to make the transition seamless. Sponge The sponge (technically called a float), has a circle form and rough surface. it is fixed to a backing with a central handhold and is roughly the size of a standard trowel. Sponge is a variant texture technique and used normally on ceilings and sometimes in closets. Typically when using a sponge; sand is added to the mix and the technique is called sand-sponge. Care must be taken not to stand directly under your trowel when doing this as it is very, very unpleasant, and dangerous to get a grain of sand in your eye; which is compounded by the irritation from the lime as well. This combination can easily scratch the eye.