Blistered Newly Skimmed walls

[Misguided]

Hi, I've just had the walls of my bathroom skimmed and I have waited a week to let the plaster dry, after attempting to paint them today the plaster seems to have blistered and is flaking awawy spoiling the finish of the walls, any help would be greatly appreciated. Ta

[will60]

Sounds like your plasterer didnt prepare the walls properly,the walls should be dust free for starters, and pva adhesive should have been applied prior to skimming which would have ensured adhesion .Im assumming that the walls are old i-e plaster lath. Covering your walls with pva is the safest thing to do and should almost guarantee it wont flake off.You wouldn,t need pva if it was on to new plasterboard

[FredFlintstone]

Forgive me if this is a stupid question but are you sure you mean the plaster is flaking off? Skim generally won't flake off - if it's done wrong it might fall off in patches but I've never seen it flake off.

Are you sure it's not the paint flaking?

If it is indeed the paint flaking, did you give it a thin coat of watered down paint to seal it prior to actual painting? If not, that's why your paint's flaking.

Fred.

[xposis]

Yup sounds like it the paint not the plaster.

This can be 1 of two things.

1. (most comon) Plasterer has over polished the walls and the paint isn't bonding to the glass like finish of the plaster.

2. Second (less likely but happens) Dam is coming through and causing the paint the flake in patches. Best way to solve this is to remove all the paint from the effected area (crap job) then steal with a knotting product leave it a few days then repaint with several layers. ALlowing each layer to dry fully before adding another.

hope it helps

[Misguided]

Sorry for the confusion, I did mean the paint. I did apply a miscoat of paint but this is not staying on the wall, it blisters up and peels off, the plasterer that done the job advised me to paint on neat pva and wait until it dries then paint over, many hours later i have done all this and now the pva is also peeling off in large rubbery paint laden sheets! Please Help!

[spice]

The plasterer was wrong to advise to apply PVA prior to painting.

What paint did you use, did you use silk or the bathroom paint, as that is a s** for freshly plastered walls.

You might have to scrape all the PVA and the paint off and start again, and use a different paint if that is the case.

[Misguided]

I think I might just have to recall the plasterer.

[Third_Eye]

Misguided wrote:

Sorry for the confusion, I did mean the paint. I did apply a miscoat of paint but this is not staying on the wall, it blisters up and peels off, the plasterer that done the job advised me to paint on neat pva and wait until it dries then paint over, many hours later i have done all this and now the pva is also peeling off in large rubbery paint laden sheets! Please Help!

Sorry to hijack this one but it alot of DIY instutions advize to PVA new plaster on there literature. So the advice given to you "Misguided" may not be your plasterers fault. This is an classic case of mis-information. To be honest, there is loads of cases of DIY books and institutions giving out "wrong" advice. The worst i have heard is to use thin paste for sealing new artex ! Also, reading between your lines "Misguided" you say you applied the PVA neat, this is prob what your prob is.

[joe-90]

PVA + paint = disaster.

Why plasterers can't leave a smooth eggshell type of finish (the finish you get before polishing) I'll never know.

[Softus]

joe-90 wrote:

Why plasterers can't leave a smooth eggshell type of finish (the finish you get before polishing) I'll never know.

Mine do - you must be engaging the wrong plasterers. Or perhaps you're talking to them while they're trying to work.

[Zampa]

I first thought it may have been silicone smeared on the wall by another 'trade' and you had painted over it..

But the cause of you problems as the others have said is the PVA..if you want to know what to put on a wall ask a painter..not a plasterer.

Still the damage has been done and theres no point in crying over spilt silk..

So...

Youll need to scrape it all off...and mist coat the walls..get yourself a good quality filling knife and use that the thinner blade will get beneath the paint film better than a stripping knife.

Where this PVA mumbo Jumbo came from I dont know ..probably take a break top tips...

After you have misted the walls you may need to check for filling seeing as the walls have been scraped etc..

Do that, rub the walls down with 100 grade abrasive paper and coat them again (twice)...thinning the paint by about 15%

__________________
How much!

[Third_Eye]

Here is the classic mis-information in relation to PVA http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/templates/content_lookup.jsp?content=/bq_advice/common/howtos/interiorpainting/main08.jsp Also, it states that "Bare plaster needs to be sealed before applying emulsion paint. This can be done with a plaster sealer, dilute PVA sealer, or a diluted coat of emulsion." Not all emulsions can be used as an sealer on bare plaster, therefore causing the reader to be confused again.

[joe-90]

Softus wrote:

joe-90 wrote: Why plasterers can't leave a smooth eggshell type of finish (the finish you get before polishing) I'll never know. Mine do - you must be engaging the wrong plasterers. Or perhaps you're talking to them while they're trying to work.

I do all my own plastering - I kinda find it satisfying.

[serge33]

i always use 5/1 water to PVA to seal newly skimmed walls, it goes on a treat and the first paint layer bonds really well, i tried using water down emuslion for the second room and the finish is no where near as good as with PVA sealing.

thats my evidance and conclusion on the subject.

[joe-90]

But serge 33 - many of us have been doing this work professionally for decades. How many times have you done it?