Flaking Paint

[Heva00]

Hi, I know there's been a few discussions along these lines but I'm a complete diy dunce and am having trouble following some of it.. so if anyone could help I'd really appreciate it!!
Basically we've decided to repaint a wall in our new house (its an old Victorian terrace) which was painted already with emulsion. All we wanted was to change the colour...I have no idea if the original paint was straight onto plaster or whether there was ever any wallpaper.. but anyway, after applying a coat or two of emulsion, the paint has started to crack and flake in certain areas. We tried sanding down the offending areas and applying a bit of filler then repainting (when dry) but its happening again, and worse! It flakes off in thick layers right down to the plaster. What is the likely cause? And do we need to try and strip all the paint off and start again? (and if so, can a heat gun be used?!) plus it's not the whole wall, only about half of it! This is a nightmare, I don't want to make it worse so if anyone could help I'd really appreciate it!!!
Thanks x

 

[Heva00]

p.s Happy Christmas!! x

 

[roughcaster]

HevaOO,
Hi and Merry Christmas to you. NEVER use a heat gun to remove emulsion from a wall. I think you could go on for long enough trying to prepare this wall,(or half a wall) good enough to paint,and maybe in the long run it might work. But if it is as bad as you say, then I would get a plasterer in to prepare, PVA and skim (plaster) the WHOLE wall, a far better job and easier to do. A patched up wall can sometimes be noticeable. It would take a plasterer very little time to do, and you will end up with a plaster surface,good enough to emulsion. Get a price for the job, (labour + materials), and when finished, let the plaster dry out for a few days. You then prime the new plaster,and emulsion... with guaranteed results.

Roughcaster.