Preparing walls

[PaulP59D]

Hi,

I have been asked to paint some walls in my auntie's house. The previous owner was possibly the worst DIY'er on the planet. Some of his work has to be seen to be believed. He moved out years ago and we are still uncovering little gems here and there.

Anyway, earlier attempts at putting emulsion on the walls have resulted in paint flaking off in some areas after a period of time - months not minutes. There is no damp in the rooms, it just must have been something that the guy put on the walls.

So, at the very least, the walls will have to be rubbed down in those areas before re-painting. The question is, what did he put on the walls to make the emulsion flake? And more importantly, what can I put on the walls before I paint them, so that the same thing does not happen again?

Thanks in advance.

Paul

 

[Zampa]

Theres a fir chance that it might have been wallpaper paste..you need to scrape off as much as possible..

Either that or maybe it was oil base deggshell..and you have put water based emulsion over it.

 

[PaulP59D]

Thanks. Assuming I give the wall a good scrape, is there anything that I
can then coat the wall with prior to putting the emulsion on?

Paul

 

[Zampa]

A thin coat of dulux stain block binds the surface down nicely...

 

[PaulP59D]

Thanks, I'll give that a shot, then.

Paul

 

[Zampa]

That should have read 'thinned' sorry.......