Paint smell mystery

[Spockee]

Hello folks,

Great forum, been a while since I posted as I'd given up on DIY! so new user name too!

Can anyone help us to solve this problem.

Purchased Crown value matt emulsion white for undercoat on coloured walls.

Used it in two bedrooms on top of vinyl silk painted woodchip paper.

Rooms then smelled like a sewer, oddly getting much worse if windows opened. Discovered from research paint must have been off.

Discussed with crown who advised it sounded like if was off and advised we used an alkaline primer to seal the 'off' paint and then paint as normal.

Paid Joe blogs handyman in local village to paint on the alkaline, he made a total mess of it so paint wasn't mixed properly. One room looked like cream gloss with loads of brown drips, the other like chalk coloured paint.

Forward almost two weeks. The glossy streaky room smells more like old adhesive paint now which seems to be fading. The chalky room continued to smell bad but now just what you would expect old paint to smell of, like old paint, really strong. However, there is now a smell coming through the 'old paint' smell of a very sharp kind of ammonia smell. Does anyone know what the hell is going on here, no-one seems to have the answer except to just keep slapping alkaline primer on till it goes.

The other room has been painted with a Dulux emulsion and I am waiting now to see how that goes with the smell.

In the meantime, bed in living room as the smell just isn't dissipating.

Any replies with suggestions appreciated, except to move into shed.

Thanks
Spockee

 

[foxhole]

Remove paper. Start again.

 

[Spockee]

Thanks foxhole, not an option, as a temporary stay, will be moving on, just wanted to 'freshen up' rooms so they looked better in the meantime :/

 

[Spockee]

...also, plaster underneath looks bad, lots of bumps and lumps

 

[opps]

You could repaint the walls with Zinsser BIN, mixed to a colour approximating to the colour that you want (the colour will never be a perfect match given that BIN only has one base colour).

BIN will seal most smells, including things like dog pee. It ain't cheap though. On the upside, it provides a very durable finish.

A standard London bedroom, 2.5L will be sufficient for two coats (it is much thinner than emulsion). Approx cost- about £50/60 when you factor in the mixing costs. You will need to go to a proper decorators' merchant though, not one of the DIY sheds.

You will additionally need to buy some household ammonia to clean brushes and rollers.

The sheen level will be about 15%, slightly less shiny than water based eggshell.

It is shellac (plus pigment) suspended in an alcohol base. It stinks when you apply it but the smell goes after an hour or so as it cures.

Be warned that it dries very quickly. I use a short pile mini roller when painting rooms with it and make sure that I do not over roll it.