painting over hairline cracks

[Elizabeth_Swann]

Hope this is the right category as the problem I have is with the plaster but I want to know what's best preparation for painting - I've stripped the walls of paper and sugar soaped them intending to paint on the plastered wall. One of the walls is riddled with hairline cracks, another looks like it has been 'scored' with big crosses probably for the papering!

Is there anything I can fill the hairline cracks with or will the paint fill them? What about the big Xs? One person has suggested to me decorators caulk but another has said not to use it on walls just on joins.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Nige F]

Indeed there is a brilliant filler, I`ve just finished our living room and the walls were so bad that I thought we`d need a plasterer it`s called .............."Red Devil One Time lightweight ready mixed filler" made by HallsBeeline........and I spent 2 days filling with it it really does fill the tiniest marks without building up on the surface and leaving bumps that need sanding www.hallsbeeline.net

 

[spice]

The reason there is crisscrossed on the plaster, is because at sometime someone has scored the paper before stripping to allow the hot water to get behind the paper to make it easier to strip, but they have scored it too deep and left marks on the plaster underneath.

Just fill over crisscrosses, all you probably need is a slight skim over with the filler to fill the indents, sand it down when dry, run your hand over it, and if it still feels indented then fill again.

You could inverst in a 5ltr tin of polycell basecoat, this is for covering hairline cracks and small imperfections, its flexable so if the cracks open slightly or get bigger its meant to stretch with it.
Then you can apply the colour of your choice over it.