Project Zomboid B42 Quicklime: Plaster Walls Without Guesswork Project Zomboid B42 Quicklime Quicklime → Bucket of Plaster → plastered walls (Build 42). Search Clear Plaster Mix Planner Uses the article’s recipe: 10,000 mL water + (quicklime OR plaster powder) → Mix Bucket of Plaster. Buckets Kiln Advanced (4 quicklime/batch) Primitive (2 quicklime/batch) Using plaster powder instead of quicklime Quick-Start Checklist Reset Contents View Options Show citation markers Show images # Project Zomboid B42 Quicklime: Make Plaster Buckets Fast for Real Base Finishes Quicklime in **project zomboid b42 quicklime** isn’t a mystery ingredient for chemistry nerds—it’s basically your on-ramp to **Bucket of Plaster**. In Build 42, you mix **10,000 mL of water** with **Quicklime** (or a **Bag of Plaster Powder**) to craft “Mix Bucket of Plaster,” and then you use that bucket to plaster walls for a clean finish. Jump to [Quick-Start](#quick-start) if you just want the checklist and the common “why won’t it work” fixes. Before we get our hands dirty: Build 42 is Unstable. Saves/mods can break between updates, and the devs explicitly tell you to expect disruption—especially around MP branches. Treat any plastering workflow like you treat a new weapon meta: test it in a throwaway save first. | At-a-Glance | What to remember | | --- | --- | | Quicklime’s job | Ingredient for Bucket of Plaster craft chain | | The big number | Water must be **10,000 mL (10 L)** in the bucket | | Plaster’s job | Decoration (plaster → paint), not extra defense | | B42 plastering pain | Needs the right wall tier + tool; early B42 reports say it was buggy | ## Quick-Start 1.  **Confirm your branch/version.** Build 42 lives on Steam’s betas, and there are multiple unstable-ish branches floating around (e.g., legacy 42.12 vs 42.13/42.13.1). Back up before you hop. 2.  **Get a bucket and fill it to 10 L / 10,000 mL.** Buckets hold 10 L. Don’t eyeball it; check the number. 3.  **Make quicklime (reliable route):** burn limestone in a kiln. -  Primitive Kiln batch: 2 limestone + start fire + log + charcoal → **2 quicklime** -  Advanced Kiln batch: 4 limestone + start fire + log + charcoal → **4 quicklime** 4.  **Craft “Mix Bucket of Plaster.”** Inputs: 10,000 mL water + 1 quicklime (or 1 bag of plaster powder). 5.  **Plaster the wall.** The wiki describes plastering as applying to Level 3 walls at Carpentry 4; players report needing top-tier walls and a plastering trowel in B42’s system. 6.  **If anything fails:** skip to [Troubleshooting](#troubleshooting) and start with water (full + clean) and mods (off). ```text Recipe card (B42): - 10,000 mL Water (in a bucket) - PLUS one of: - Quicklime x1 - Bag of Plaster Powder x1 = "Mix Bucket of Plaster" (bucket type/output can vary by container) ``` ## What Quicklime Actually Does in B42 (and what it doesn’t) Quicklime is categorized as a material item, but the important bit is simple: **it’s a required ingredient for making buckets of plaster** (unless you’re using plaster powder instead). Plaster itself is **decorative**—it lets you plaster and then paint, but it doesn’t make walls tougher. The wiki even calls out that plastering/painting is for decoration and doesn’t add protection. That means quicklime is a “base vibe” resource, not a “survive the first week” resource. Still: in the long runs where your safehouse becomes a home, plaster is one of those tiny morale wins that keeps you logging in. (Don’t pretend you haven’t built a chair corner just because it looks right.) ## Make Quicklime: Limestone → Kiln → Quicklime The cleanest mental model is: **quicklime is a kiln product**. You’re turning raw limestone into a building material. ### Kiln batch table (so you can plan your grind) | Kiln | Inputs (per batch) | Output | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Primitive Kiln | limestone(tag) x2 + startfire(tag) x1 + log(tag) x1 + charcoal(tag) x1 | quicklime x2 | Great early, low throughput | | Advanced Kiln | limestone(tag) x4 + startfire(tag) x1 + log(tag) x1 + charcoal(tag) x1 | quicklime x4 | Same fuel cost, better yield | ### Practical tips (the stuff you wish the crafting UI told you) -  **Build near water.** Every plaster bucket wants 10,000 mL. You’ll spend more time hauling water than hauling limestone if you set up wrong. -  **Batch it.** One Advanced Kiln run yields 4 quicklime—enough for four plaster mixes if you have four full buckets ready. -  **Keep your “fire-start” stack ready.** The recipe explicitly wants a startfire-tag source each batch, so don’t show up with a kiln and no ignition. ## Mix a Bucket of Plaster (the 10,000 mL gotcha) The recipe is blunt: **Water x 10,000 mL + (Quicklime x1 OR Plaster Powder x1) → Mix Bucket of Plaster.** The bucket itself is a 10 L container, which is why this number is so exact. ### The “why won’t it craft?” checklist If you have everything but the craft won’t fire, you’re not crazy—B42 crafting has had some finicky bucket-recipe behavior reported by players. Start here: -  **Is the bucket truly full?** Some players suspect rounding/“it says 10L but it isn’t” issues, and even tiny dips (auto-sips) can break it. -  **Is the water clean?** Players report tainted water may not register for certain bucket recipes; boiling or using clean sink water is a common suggested fix. -  **Refill method matters (sometimes).** One report says emptying to an actual empty-bucket item and refilling from a sink worked when liquid-transfer/barrel filling didn’t. -  **Mod conflicts are real.** If you’re mixing B41-era “painting/wallpaper” stuff into B42, you can absolutely break the workflow. ## Plaster Walls in B42 (and what “Level 3” means in human words) The wiki frames plaster as something you can apply to **Level 3 walls** (at **Carpentry 4**), and it even gives you a rough consumption clue: a bucket can plaster up to four Level 3 walls. B42 complicates this in practice because the workflow moved into the revamped crafting/building UI, and early B42 threads show people confused even with buckets + trowels in hand. ### What players are actually doing -  **Wall tier matters.** B42 players commonly say you need “top tier walls” / advanced walls before plastering makes sense. -  **Tool matters.** Multiple B42 posts mention a “plastering trowel” specifically, and one player explicitly says paintbrush isn’t the plaster tool anymore in B42. -  **Early B42 was rough; later B42 seems better.** Mid-2025 chatter suggests plastering “was bugged when build 42 first came out” but works now for some players. ## Optional: a “no RNG” plaster route (mods/tools) If your whole frustration is “I don’t want to rely on world spawns,” there are mods explicitly targeting that pain. The standout example: **[B42] Craft Plaster**, which adds an alternate lime-crafting chain (crushed limestone + mortar & pestle → lime; then lime + water container → bucket of plaster). This is less “lore pure” and more “I want my base to look finished this decade,” which—honestly—valid. ## MP / Servers: pin your branch before you build your dream house Build 42’s branch situation matters because recipes/UI behavior can change, and MP branches have explicit compatibility warnings. - Build 42 is Unstable and save-breaking updates are expected. - 42.13 introduced MP to Unstable, and 42.13.1 is a hotfix with MP save incompatibility notes. If you host, here’s the vanilla SteamCMD beta flag you’ll see referenced for unstable installs: ```text app_update 380870 -beta unstable validate ``` ## Troubleshooting | Symptom | Likely cause | Fastest fix | | --- | --- | --- | | “Mix Bucket of Plaster” won’t appear | Bucket not actually 10,000 mL / rounding | Empty and refill carefully; avoid auto-sips | | Same, even when it reads 10,000 mL | Water-source quirks | Try emptying to true empty-bucket item and filling at a sink | | Bucket recipes refuse in general (plaster/concrete/etc.) | Early B42 bug reports | Try a newer B42 patch; consider workaround mod; report bug | | Clay cement works, plaster doesn’t | Tainted water not accepted | Use clean water or boil first | | You have bucket of plaster + carpentry, but “plaster wall” option never shows | Wrong wall tier / tool mismatch | Try top-tier walls and a plastering trowel | | It worked once, then stopped | Mod conflict | Disable mods (especially B41 carryovers) and retest | | Plastering seems impossible in early B42 threads | It may have been bugged then | Re-test on current Unstable; mid-2025 reports say it works | | Door frames won’t plaster consistently | Known finicky targets | Reposition furniture, try different angles; frames are “difficult” | The vibe here is classic Zomboid: half carpentry, half superstition. You’re not just rebuilding civilization—you’re wrestling a beta UI that sometimes treats “10 liters” like a philosophical concept. Action Steps Recap: Make quicklime in a kiln, fill a bucket to exactly 10,000 mL, craft Bucket of Plaster, plaster top-tier walls with the trowel, and troubleshoot water/mods first. ## Patch-History (Collapsible) <details> <summary>Patch History</summary> | Date | Change Note | Impact on early-game priorities | | --- | --- | --- | | 2024-12-17 | Build 42 released to the Unstable branch; unstable is explicitly WIP and B41 saves/mods aren’t compatible. | Early-game: keep a “sandbox test save” and don’t commit your main run to new crafting chains until you like the patch state. | | 2024-12-18 | Early B42 plastering confusion shows up in Steam discussions even with buckets/trowels. | Early-game: expect that “cosmetic base finishing” may be delayed by UI/workflow changes. | | 2025-01-20 | [B42] Craft Plaster mod uploaded (alternate lime→plaster chain). | Early-game: if plaster is RNG-gated, this offers a deterministic route—at the cost of mod risk on Unstable. | | 2025-01-29 | Players report needing top-tier walls and a plastering trowel; some say plastering wasn’t working then. | Early-game: don’t plan “plastered safehouse” until you’ve confirmed your wall tier + tool in your current build. | | 2025-03-17 | Reports that tainted water/rounding can prevent bucket-based recipes from registering. | Early-game: prioritize clean-water access if you’re doing any bucket crafting (plaster, cement, etc.). | | 2025-09-25 | 42.12.0 released on Unstable (SteamDB); quicklime’s item metadata changes are logged on the wiki. | Early-game: recipe discovery/UI may shift; re-check your craft filters after updating. | | 2025-12-11 | Unstable 42.13 introduces MP on Unstable; dev notes advise disabling mods and warn saves may break. | Early-game: for MP, re-validate plastering/quicklime chains on a mod-free copy before building big. | | 2025-12-18 | 42.13.1 hotfix released; MP saves from 42.13.0 aren’t compatible. | Early-game: don’t “decorate-first” on a branch you’re about to hotfix; update, confirm stability, then beautify. | </details> Related Articles Map Update Log Tools Zomboid Water Woes: Boil Without the Drama Zomboid Respawn Nightmares? 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