Painting on 10 day old plaster

Hi,

We recently had some plastering done to create a fireplace "alcove" on the chimney breast in our dining room. The plasterer created a "box" with plasterboard and then skimmed a small amount (max 5mm deep) of plaster over to make it flush to the wall. We left it about 10 days to dry.

Last night I painted a base coat of emulsion over the plastered area to ready it for painting today. However, overnight two very small patches (about 5cm diameter each) of flaking paintwork have appeared. I have no reason to suspect that the plaster work should be still damp, the plaster having been so shallow anyway and having left it for a reasonably long time with the heating mostly on. Is it safe just to sand these areas down and repaint?

What exact name and brand of emulsion have you used ?

Not sure of the exact brand but it's B&Q own white elmulsion (not value)

Ooops.......

Was it silk or soft sheen? (matt is better) and did you remember to thin it down?

I wouldnt have thought it was down to dampness...but it could have been caused by the plasterer 'polishing' the surface...when that happens the plaster becomes virtually impervious to paint

You should be ok to re do it...give it a good scrape to get rid of the lose..rub it down and then touch it up with thinned emulsion.