Eggshell on ceiling, how to apply matt emulsion

[benjiman]

Hi All,

I've recently moved into a new house and it seems the previous owners have put eggshell paint on the ceiling. When natural light floods in I can see all the roller marks and it looks pretty bad.

I sanded it down with 100 grit paper and put on a coat coat of Crown matt emulsion.

I left it to dry for a day. Looking at it after its dried and it seems to have round circles everywhere. Kind of like bubbles. And when natural light floods in you can still see loads of streaking like before.

Any ideas what to do to get the matt emulsion successfully onto the eggshell with a streak free finish?

 

[oldgreymouse]

Sounds like you may have jumped the gun a bit.. Question is, do you know it was eggshell? Was it oil based eggshell or just a mid sheen water based kitchen or bathroom paint. On old property years ago it was common to paint ceilings with oil undercoat, followed by oil eggshell or even gloss. Whichever is the case, you will have to give the ceilings quite a hard sanding to remove what sounds like badly applied paint.

The paint has had a long time to dry and it is quite difficult to remove roller marks etc. Not sure why it has streaks or circles, but after sanding down the eggshell I would have washed the whole ceiling with a sugar soap solution to remove any dirt or grease, then let it dry.
I have in the past, given poor ceilings with stains and watermarks etc, a coat of oil undercoat, let it dry completely for two days, then gone back to finishing with 2 coats of Dulux matt emulsion, This sounds like a lot of work and it is, but my clients want me to sort out the paint problems for them so I do whatever it takes to get it right.