Painting new plaster

[madge1]

Hi

we're having a loft conversion done at the moment and to help speed things up/cut down costs we're doing the final painting ourselves. How long should we leave the plaster to dry till we paint over it? And do we need primer - or is just normal paint okay?

madge

 

[Nestor_Kelebay]

Madge:

Could you scroll down about a dozen threads in this Painting forum and read the thread entitled "Painting on Fresh Plaster" first started by Toffee.

Thanks.

 

[Zampa]

No primer needed madge...but dont skimp...go for three coats thin the first...stick to matt emul not silk...silk shows every deviation in the surface

General rule of thumb.....

Thin the first one by 30%...

And each of the following coats by about 20%

Use a shortish pile roller.

If the wall is thick plaster then youl need to use contract emulsion to allow the wall to 'breath'...if its just a skim on plasterboard then any vinyl matt will be fine

As for how long before you can paint it...your better off asking the builder...not easy to anser on here..dont want to sound flippant but really its when its dry...the builder or plasterer should be able to tell you more.

As Nessy said...check out toffees thread...it goes into a bit more detail i think

 

[madge1]

thanks both - I'm sorry I didn't scroll down further before posting. I did after though and thought 'oops'

Is the thinning of the paint essential - or does it just make the paint go further. It's not the biggest room in the world so I don't mind using full on paint if it gets a better result.

 

[Zampa]

You need to thin the paint so the first coat soaks into the plaster thus locking it on to the surface...if you dont the moisture from the paint will be drawn in alone...leaving the pigment sitting on the surface...then at some point it may start flaking.

Thinning it after that just makes the application easier and reduces the amount od stipple in the rolled finish...so you have a smoother wall