Basements, Attics and Crawl Spaces - using cement to 'finish' basement walls

My house is about 60 yrs old and has obviously had many layers of - I expect waterproofing materials, though they're very rough - applied over stone walls in the basement. The place has been landscaped, etc, properly for run-off, I haven't had any water in the basement, - and last year, dealing with effloresence, I scraped, did some patching of very uneven areas, and applied Drylock.

For appearance sake - I'd like to add a coat (skim+, probably 1/4 - 3/8") of cement to smooth the appearance and then add some layers of latex paint - to have it look cleaner, brighter, finished, and more inviting. I was advised at Home Depot to use Quikcrete Surface Bonding Cement.. and when I went to buy a bag or two found it was $15/bag and I'd need about 15 bags. If I could afford to fully finish the basement (studs, drywall, etc), I would - but had been looking at the re-cementing (with my labor) as as a less expensive approach to achieve some of what I want. Ie, is there an approach using cement - other than the surface bonding material mentioned - that I can use instead? 'Perhaps adding the surface bonding liquid additive to it? I realize I am putting this over Drylok, to which not everything may not adhere, as well.

I've read and read (w/o finding a specific/good answer) - and am anxious to get this project done - THANK YOU in advance for any/all input and advice -

D.

I don't know of any cement on the market that's would adhere to the block. I tried something called Vandex once. Within days it started to fall. I removed it & used Dryloc instead.

You maybe able to grind it a little to make it smooth. See if a tool rental place has something.

I would think (somebody please confirm) that you wouldn't want to cement the wall, you would secure an expanded metal lath to the wall, and then cement (stucco) over that. I think (therefore I could be wrong) that the stucco would breathe just as the cement behind it; efflorescence would even pass through.

Heck, you could put a vapor barrier behind your metal lath which (again, my guess) would stop the humidity (as evident by the efflorescence) coming in. No metal lath, the hole thing can crack, separate, and fall off a chunk at a time. The metal lath would give your finish it's own structural integrity.

If the wall is stone and not cement block the process is called Parging.

Here is a good article on that subject.

How to Parge a Wall | eHow.com (http://www.ehow.com/how_4891679_parge-a-wall.html)

It is not hard to do and as you can see, you don't use straight cement to do the job. You add sand to the mix.

Once it dries, you can get a finishing brick and sand the surface smooth.

If there is a problem, you can use a bonding agent before you apply the parge.

The cement should stick and work for you for many years.

I don't see how it would stick without a bonding agent. Usually, portland needs 2-3 inches to bond to anything.