Cracking paint

Lucypop · 21 Aug 2006

Hia

We are decorating my little girls room and when we pulled out some rawlplugs the paint just peeled away in thick layers which we then had to scrape away.

I then gave the wall a couple of coats of watered down emulsion thinking the problem might be that the plaster was never sized.

Anyway we have painted it and the new paint is cracking away in a few places

I don't know what to do now! Do we have so sand down the whole wall again and try sizing with wallpaper paste? If so how much does the paste have to be watered down.

Or any quicker and less time consuming ideas!!

I feel really gutted as I thought we had done everything right!
I am pretty sure the wall is not damp.

Zampa · 21 Aug 2006

Forget the paste!...whatever you do DONT do that..it will bubble and lfake ten times worse.

Sorry to say it but you really should scrape it off again...what type of emulsion was you using?

It could be that the plaster has been polished up when applied..if this is the case youl need to give it a thin coat of alkali resisting primer or plaser primer first..

Lucypop · 21 Aug 2006

Its a B&Q funky colours matt paint.

On closer inspection, where the paint has come away it has taken my coats of watered down paint off as well. The paint left where it has come away is very powdery, I wonder whether its some weird old paint that doesnt want to bond or something?

Is there something I could do to seal the powdery paint (after another good clean) Would the alkali resisting primer work on this? Would I just go into B&Q and look for the above or does it have a more technical name?

Thanks for your help, desperately need to get this room finished before baby number 3 makes an appearence!

JohnD · 21 Aug 2006

How old is the house?

Does the paint come away right down to the plaster, or is it coming off an old paint?

Zampa · 21 Aug 2006

Game of hangman anyone?

_IS_ _ _ P_ R ?

Sound like it doesnt it...

Lucy if it is what im suspecting (distemper or limewash) you will need to wash to wall down and remove all of the powdery stuff compltely then seal it with alkali resisting primer...then you can emulsion it

Sorry, there is no easy way with this stuff...it pure eviiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiil!

stanley_cooper · 21 Aug 2006

Sorry to but in, in this thread but i'm also having exactly the same problem.!!

Last week I painted a spare room, now three walls were in a cream coloured paint and are no mocha colour and I had no problems with them. However the fourth wall was a dark green. I have painted this wall twice with the same colour paint, it's a B&Q coffee matt paint.

However all over the wall now is a fine egg shell cracks in a lovely pattern. Now I had just purchased polycell smoothover and started putting this stuff on thinking this was a big mistake. Ive stopped what have done now as ive got plaster boards and the wall is already smooth.

Will Polycell base coat do the job or what about if I get some PVA solution? will that do the trick??

Stan...

JohnD · 21 Aug 2006

Your cause might be quite different. Put up a new question. Say whether the walls were previously silk, matt or anything different and whether any of them have been papered.

Have a look at rule 20 on //www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=19448

Zampa · 21 Aug 2006

As jonD says your problem could be unrelated..

So many factors can cause the problem you have, but my guess is either matt over silk or emulsion over old paste

Stay away from the PVA

Lucypop · 21 Aug 2006

Hi again

The house is 1928, would this tie in with the use of distemper?

I don't recon it is going right back to plaster, it just looks like a funny greeny pinky colour, so I guess sizing the walls wasn't the answer anyway.

I have tried as a last attempt, washing down the walls where paint has flaked off and repainting. I very much expect it is going to end up a stripping job though.

Is there an 'easy' way to get my layer of paint off! Scraping will take forever as it doesn't easily flake off on every part of the wall.

Cheers

Lucy

Zampa · 21 Aug 2006

All the signs are now really pointing to Distemper

Even the colour you mentioned.

I was desperate to strip some off once and remembered an unfortunatly occurance when I was an apprentice...

I papered a ceiling first one ever, really proud of myself..

Til I wnet back the following morning..

the whole lot was on the floor and it took the distemper with it, thats when I found out what distemper was...it was a hard lesson.

Outside chance, if your up to it...paper the ceiling and then rip it off before it dries 100% after say about an hour or so

It might work..it might not

The ony other option may be a steam stripper...again bluddy hard work!

There really is no easy way with this stuff.

JohnD · 21 Aug 2006

It comes off with hot water, but not with cold (it is made with old glue size made of boiled-up horses hooves).

I've never used a stream stripper on it (only scrubbed down with kettles and brushes) but it may help.

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Cracking paint

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