Preparing wall for painting - flaky paint

[fordie77]

Hi,

We've just stripped that wallpaper off in what is hopefully to be our nursery! The house is a late 80's build and the plaster is sound and flat. The paint work that we've uncovered is another story- it looks like the original magnolia put on by the builders and it's quite flaky in places. There's lots of original plaster showing.

Untitled

• fordie77
• 23 Apr 2012
• 1

Untitled

• fordie77
• 23 Apr 2012
• 1

Untitled

• fordie77
• 23 Apr 2012
• 1

We want to paint the room and after looking at some old posts on here we were going to seal it with dulux primer/sealer then use lining paper. I've just been down to b and q though and seen a polycell product called 3 in 1 wall primer that looks like it will do the job more easily and maybe allow us to bypass the lining paper.

http://www.polycell.co.uk/products/polycell_3_in_1_problem_wall_primer.jsp

I wondered if anyone has any a advice - firstly am I dreaming that we'll be able to get away without lining paper? And secondly, are there any better ways of doing this? Also saw some fine skim in B and Q and wondered about that.

Thanks for your help.

 

[oldgreymouse]

First off, those walls look very normal after stripping the paper off.

Your first job on the walls should be to give them a very good wash down with warm water and a little washing up liquid, not too much. Removing all the left over paper paste left on the walls. It can be a slow job but work small areas at a time in about 1 mtr squares across the walls. Let it all dry.

When dry, use around a 100 or 120 grit paper to de-nib the walls and feather any edges around holes.

Now to me the walls look like they just need some powder filler mixed up to a creamy mix then skimmed across the holes and patches using a 3" flexi bladed filler knife. As trade, I use Toupret TX 110 or their interior filler. Dries in about a half hour. Let it dry off then do another mix and skim over again just enough to be slightly proud of the wall surface.
Let it dry then sand off, I reuse some of the used 120 grit paper again as the fillers are quite soft and easy to sand, or I move up to a finer grit 240.
If you need too, skim over any hole again and repeat the process until you are happy with the finish.

Next, if you are going to line the walls with lining paper, you will need to size the walls using a thinned coat of paste as it says on the packet, allow to dry overnight, then carry on and line the walls.

If you feel the walls were now good enough to skip the lining paper, then either give the patched up places a thinned coat of emulsion and allow to dry before giving them 2 proper coats of your chosen paint.

If you are using diy powder fillers, do not use them between paint coats.
Only Toupret seem to make filler that does this.
I try and avoid ready mixed fillers as these can be a bit hard when dry.
However Red Devil is one I do carry for small quick filling jobs

 

[TheDec]

When wallpaper is removed and it takes off sections of the underlying paintwork is a strong indication that the plaster skim was not correctly sealed, is it your intention to re-paint or re-paper.

Dec

 

[emilybronte]

When wallpaper is removed and it takes off sections of the underlying paintwork is a strong indication that the plaster skim was not correctly sealed, is it your intention to re-paint or re-paper.

Dec

OP has actually answered this question in his first post:

We want to paint the room and after looking at some old posts on here we were going to seal it with dulux primer/sealer then use lining paper. I've just been down to b and q though and seen a polycell product called 3 in 1 wall primer that looks like it will do the job more easily and maybe allow us to bypass the lining paper.

http://www.polycell.co.uk/products/polycell_3_in_1_problem_wall_primer.jsp

I wondered if anyone has any a advice - firstly am I dreaming that we'll be able to get away without lining paper?
.

In other words, he wants to paint it, and not paper it unless he has to.

 

[TheDec]

Oh yes, I missed that.

Dec

 

[fordie77]

Yes, we do only want to paper if we have to.

I'm currently in the process of trying several different things on some of the holes in the paint. Anything that's just paint thickness doesn't cover it. My Dad suggested fine surface polyfilla - tried it and the holes are too wide, it it just gets messy.

I'm going to go and get some polycell finishing skim later and give that a go, then we'll need to put a primer on. If that doesn't work, it's lining paper! (or a plasterer, but that seems like overkill for just damaged paint).

 

[joe-90]

You need a lightweight modern filler like Red Devil or Wickes - feels like and empty bucket. Apply it with a wide plastic spreader and sand with a sanding block. If you don't get perfect results then you've done it wrong.

 

[vibrobullit407]

If you don't get perfect results then you've done it wrong.

 

[TheDec]

And of course, joe would be right.

Dec

 

[fordie77]

Thanks, will give that a go.