Emulsion paint washing off very easily

[wobbly2]

I've just 2nd coated a friends shower room ceiling with some white matt emulsion paint they had in there garage. The paint is one of the well known DIY chains own brands; I don't know how old it is but it came in a modern plastic tub. My intention was to use this paint to build up a few layers to help hide slight defects in the ceiling surface prior to finishing off with Dulux Bathroom paint.

When cleaning up I found some of the matt emulsion accidentally smeared on the walls yesterday can be very easily washed off with a few gentle wipes of a damp cloth (no real rubbing involved); I suspect the paint on the ceiling will act the same. I know emulsion will wash off with a good rub and hot water but but this stuff comes off like old distemper.

Any ideas what the problem could be and how to get round it? Washing it off is likely to disturb the surface repairs underneath.

 

[sparkwright]

Perhaps the emulsion hadn't had time to harden properly.

If it does look like it's always going to be easy to wipe off, maybe you will have to re-coat with a better paint, assuming it won't loosen what you have just done.

 

[wobbly2]

Reading around it seems this is/was quite a common problem a few years ago especially with Dulux paints. Perhaps this paint I've been using is some of that stuff. What-ever, I need to find a solution so I can confidently finish the job. I did notice when applying the second coat that the action of brushing it on seemed to loosen the original coat i.e. the previous coat brush marks smoothed out.

• I could wash it off but as previously said that is likely to disturb the surface repairs underneath and mean I may have to rework those.
• If necessary perhaps I could apply some stabilizing solution. I have some Cupronol Cuprotect (no longer available, least ways not by that name), which is a pre-decorating stabizing solution. I used this to stabilize the ceiling repairs prior to painting.
  
• Perhaps I could just repaint using a better quality emulsion but I don't know if doing that will be good enough. I have some unopened Dulux Vinyl Silk emulsion but it could be several years old .

Any guidance would be much appreciated.

 

[wobbly2]

I ended up washing it off and then re-repairing the ceiling and then repainting.

 

[JohnD]

what was the paint type? there is a matt specially made for damp new plaster, it is deliberately porous and does not seal so the plaster can dry out through it, and is not durable, so unsuitable for bathrooms. It is mostly used in new builds.

 

[wobbly2]

The paint that washes off was Homebase Brilliant White Matt Emulsion; this is now gone and the ceiling has been repainted with Dulux Vinyl Silk Emulsion then overpainted with Dulux Bathroom+. I used the ordinary vinyl silk to blanch the ceiling first and cover the repairs and so use less of the more expensive Bathroom +. In addition the Bathroom+ paint seemed to cause the Gyproc Easy Filler used to repair the ceiling to swell and become raised. Applying the ordinary vinyl silk emulsion first, overcame this problem; it also meant that I could refill bad areas that the ordinary vinyl silk highlighted.