Artex Peels: Relentless

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I've artexed my ceilings and have had problems with it peeling in all rooms. I think this was because I didn't allow it to dry properly most of the time (the box says wait 7-8 days before painting) and when I ran paint over it with the roller, it disturbed the drying artex and caused it to bubble (this was the artex itself bubbling and not just the paint). Then, other times, the paint itself bubbled. I've gathered that the second problem of the paint bubbling was caused by failure to use a mist coat first and simply putting on a normal coat that got the water sucked out of it into the artex, thereby drying too fast.

Anyway, all that is history ... this time I've followed the instructions and allowed the artex to dry thoroughly before painting with two thin mist coats followed by 3 full coats (I used B&Q Colours Brilliant White Matte Emulsion for this and the ceiling just wouldn't go white, hence the multiple coats). Anyway, on one patch, the paint has cracked and bubbled and I can't understand why. I don't think this is a vinyl paint (would that matter?).

This is the picture:
http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/5860/ceilingspot.jpg

I tried dabbing paint back into the patch but it just cracked again at the ends. So, I've now attempted to seal it using Zinsser BIN, which is why the patch appears darkened (BIN is a yellowy-white because of the shellac content). I'm then planning to dab on successive coats of the remaining B&Q Colours Brilliant White Matte to blend it in.

***Is this a good idea or a dumb one?***

I now also have a tub of Dulux Trade Supermatte which I'm planning to use on the ceiling in the other room. Should I expect better results with that?

Anyway, I gather from various internet sources that the best thing for the next room is:

1. artex
2. 8 days later do 1-2 mist coats with thinned supermatte
3. do a final coat with supermatt

But since mist coats have still resulted in problems, I was thinking of:

1. artex
2. 8 days later seal whole ceiling with Zinsser Bin instead of mist coats
3. do a final coat with supermatt

Thoughts?

Thanks a lot for any answers.
 
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What was the original finish on the ceiling & did you PVA seal the ceiling before artexing?
At least youve bought some decent paint now , steer clear of that B&Q *****;)
You only need to thin the first coat by 20-30%.
I artexed a ceiling 2 weeks ago , painted it 3 days later, 3 coats , done !
 
Thanks a lot for your reply.

Before artexing, I sealed the ceiling using Zinsser BIN, which I gather should be better than most things for sealing including PVA. I was actually thinking this was a waste of time ... is it really necessary to seal the ceiling before artexing even if the ceiling was previously painted?
 
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Thanks will try that for the next room. I'm trying to fix this problem by dabbing bits of the B&Q paint into the gap in successive layers until it blends into the surrounding paint ... if I use the supermatte on it now, that patch will look different.

Cheers.
 
What did you use for the SO-called mist coat which is actually an primer/sealer ?
 
Sorry for late reply - hectic xmas week.

What did you use for the SO-called mist coat which is actually an primer/sealer ?

See first post:

"...allowed the artex to dry thoroughly before painting with two thin mist coats followed by 3 full coats (I used B&Q Colours Brilliant White Matte Emulsion for this"

I have also had similar trouble before using Dulux Rich Matt (obviously this is from its retail line, not the Trade one).
 
When I paint bare artex my mist coat is thinned 50/ 50. Artex is very thirsty. The mist coat is left to dry properly. I usually get away with just one more slightly rounder (thicker) coat.

How thin was your mist coat? From your first post I get the impression that your first coat was a bit too thick and all subsequent thicker coats are making things worse, resulting in heavy coats soaking into all the layers of paint which makes all the coats become one coat (if you see what I mean) and making the artex unstable. My thoughts now are to leave to dry thro. Then coat with a solvent based paint. My fav would be a thinned 30/50 white spirit to solvent based undercoat. Or of course the more expensive bin. leave to dry overnight then two coats of emulsion. The 1st coat of emulsion will take all day to dry leave to dry..... ;) The undercoat / bin will get rid of any issues about paint not looking white.

Happy painting
 
Sorry for late reply - hectic xmas week.

What did you use for the SO-called mist coat which is actually an primer/sealer ?

See first post:

"...allowed the artex to dry thoroughly before painting with two thin mist coats followed by 3 full coats (I used B&Q Colours Brilliant White Matte Emulsion for this"

I have also had similar trouble before using Dulux Rich Matt (obviously this is from its retail line, not the Trade one).

Using the wrong paint is your problem.

Third_eye will point this out also if he surfaces.
 
I have the opposite problem.

Rather than start a new thread I just thought I could quickly ask if anyone can suggest an easy way, or the best way, to get Artex off please?

It's also coated in silk emulsion. I'm trying to help a friend get it off his kitchen wall.
 
@ Big Tone

I have no idea if this will work well or not, but I remember reading about this product somewhere (could be what you're looking for?): http://www.strip-paint.com/xtex.html

@ All

I tried to build up that hole (see photo in first post) but it still shows the border around it, so I'm going to have to re-artex that patch again to blend it in with the surrounding parts. Then I'll seal the patch in Undercoat or BIN (expense not an issue as the patch is tiny and I already have the BIN tin here whereas I'd have to buy Undercoat afresh) and then paint the whole ceiling again using a better paint.
 
How thin was your mist coat? From your first post I get the impression that your first coat was a bit too thick

Happy painting

Honestly, I didn't measure it specifically ... (ashamed as I type) but just watered it down until it became runny. The B&Q paint is quite thin to begin with. You're probably right. I think the paint was bad quality too.
 

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