painting not really new plaster!

[michaela]

I have just stripped wallpaper from my hallway wall and found bare plaster underneath, it doesn't look very old as it is in excellent condition and pink. Do I need to PVA the wall before I paint it or do I just mist it first?. I will be using a matt emulsion. My other query is that the wall going up the stairs looks like it has a shiny paint on it in patches, how do I tackle painting this with matt emulsion, I don't think it will be easy to take the paint off. thanks in advance

 

[Zampa]

Nope.....you certainly dont need to p.v.a the walls before you paint them...its an old wives tail and a myth.

But you do really need to wash them down well....scrub them with sugar soap to remove all traces of the paste that has soaked into the wall, if yu dont the paint could bubble up in a matter of no time at all.

As for the shiny areas......are they glass painted?.....if so, give them a good rub down and a coat of acrylic primer undercoat first.

Then you can mist coat the walls.....the mist coat will have the added benefit of showing up any surfaces irregularities such as scrape marks etc..

 

[michaela]

Thanks Zampa

I think the shiny paint may be gloss, however the house is about 100 years old and the paint looks about the same age!!. It is flaking off and I have scraped away a lot of it. I am having quite a lot of areas in the house plastered soon, as the wall underneath the paint is quite rough perhaps I could have it skimmed. Would I need to remove all the paint first though?

 

[Zampa]

Well.....you could take the chance, in theory theres no reason why the plaster wouldnt stick to the glassy surfaces if they were roughed up...but the paint its self could 'blow'....leaving you with alsorts of problems, especially as you said its flaking already.

Its risky..personally id scrape it off for peace of mind.

Have you considered using lining paper on he wall instead?

 

[michaela]

I thought that if I used lining paper the joins would show underneath the paint. Is there any way of preventing this?

 

[Zampa]

A lot of people mention that.....hang it like normal wallpaper....buy 1000 grade and make sure you leve it to soak for about ten minutes.

Butt it up tight and remember to keep the face of the paper clean of paste as this will cause the paint to lift.

If you do have any gaps due to shrinkage or technique then fill them witj polyfilla lightly snd...and then decorate the paper.

If the gap is really tiny the paint will fill it anyway.

Some people leave a 'penny gap'....you dont need to do this if your are painting the paper......only if you are papering over it.

 

[michaela]

Thanks for all your help Zampa, I'll have a go at scraping the paint off first and if that fails I'll line the walls.