Old paint flaking on the ceiling when painting General decorating topics, questions and answers. find help, tips and advice on completing your decorating projects

[koopah]

I'm trying to paint a ceiling where the old paint keeps flaking off when I run the roller with emulsion over it - it's driving me mad ;)

Is there any way to stop this other than take off all the old paint? A few people have suggested I use a watered down coat of PVA on the old paint but i'm sure you are not supposed to do that... plus it says on the tin not to cover with water based paint.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Dan.

[stoneyboy]

koopah,
Either remove the flaking paint or try using a brush.
end

[JRS]

As above, its prob been that who ever painted it 1st never primed it or there is dampness there. scrape the flakes off and brush the area. Its a real pain in the neck when this happens .

[theshedman]

Hi koopah, where the paint is flaking is there a white or greyish looking paint under it and if so can you wash it off. If so it could be the old ceiling white which was used before emulsion and this often causes what you are describing. If it is this you will need to remove it all or this will keep on happening. I wouldn't use PVA as it will cause problems when you come to paint over it. I have a copy of an e-mail from Dulux sent to someone on another site saying that they would never recommend using PVA to seal plaster before painting.

[JRS]

Hi koopah, where the paint is flaking is there a white or greyish looking paint under it and if so can you wash it off. If so it could be the old ceiling white which was used before emulsion and this often causes what you are describing. If it is this you will need to remove it all or this will keep on happening. I wouldn't use PVA as it will cause problems when you come to paint over it. I have a copy of an e-mail from Dulux sent to someone on another site saying that they would never recommend using PVA to seal plaster before painting.

I have heard plasterers saying to customers to ask there decorator to do this almost giving me a heart attack :lol: I wonder if this is a plasterers myth.

[chris_on_tour2002]

sounds very much to me like you are dealing with distemper. quite a common problem in older properties.

basically an old coating has failed and turned to dust. the only truly effective way to deal with it is to remove it.

scrape off the paint - you will probably find a fine powdery whiteish-yellow layer beneath. remove as much of it as possible (wear a respirator, or at the very least a duskmask, and goggles) with a scraper. remaining traces can be removed with a damp sponge.

you can buy commercial sealers for this but they are generally PVA based.

emulsion paints don't like PVA very much, though you can seal with PVA if you use a very weak, say 6:1 mix and don't overdo it - apply just enough to make the area damp and leave to dry. run your fingers over it and if it is still dusty then reapply. repeat until it is no longer dusty, using this method will help ensure that as much of the PVA gets absorbed and you stand a better chance of getting the paint to stick.

you could also lining paper the offending area - remove paint and as much of the dust as possible then apply a wallpaper paste size. allow to dry, check that the dust has sealed then hang your paper.

let us know how you get on.

[theshedman]

Hi JRS, I don't know what you were saying about my reply. I thought that it answered the question or was I missing something. Ceiling white is what a lot of decorators used to call the old Distemper. I have often come across this even in 2 houses I have lived in and have found that the best way to deal with it is to remove it.

[JRS]

Hi JRS, I don't know what you were saying about my reply. I thought that it answered the question or was I missing something. Ceiling white is what a lot of decorators used to call the old Distemper. I have often come across this even in 2 houses I have lived in and have found that the best way to deal with it is to remove it.

I was ment to quote the part about pva for sealing new plaster. Have heard a few saying that its best to pva new plaster before painting. Which i think is wrong, rather use thinned up emulsion.

[chris_on_tour2002]

i THINK that JRS is agreeing with you shedman - i think!

i've heard many a plasterer advise their customers to seal the new plaster with PVA prior to painting. absolutely the wrong thing to do.

however i always seal new plaster with watered down emulsion and add a tiny drop of PVA to the mix to aid adhesion and it works well. i think the diff is that it's mixed in with the emulsion and water and not just applied as a diluent without the paint.

i've found that PVA will just about work as a sealer against distemper provided it's a very weak concentration. a drop of emulsion in the mix will help, nonetheless as you say the best thing to do is to remove the residue completely.

[theshedman]

Hi all, looks like I may have got it wrong with my reply JRS. Thought that you may have been talking about my talking about ceiling white or distemper and not the bit about PVA so sorry about that. Lets hope they get back to us with bit of feedback so we know if it was that or something else. Sorry again JRS, no offence taken I hope. Shed.

[JRS]

No its fine should have quoted what i was replying to, Some times you think what you mean to say and expect everyone to know what you are on about lol. :oops: No offence taken i work on in the building game we are use to getting stick :wink:

[sloppyeggs]

Hi there currently working on bathroom ceiling which was flaking above shower area the best paint I can recommend is acrylic eggshell excellent properties for high steam and condensation areas. firstly you can steam off old paint with steamer back to bare plaster then apply mist coat of matt emulsion then two coats of acrylic eggshell to seal sets like rock last a lifetime condensation and steam just bounce off leaves a soft sheen finish allow at least 6 hours between eggshell coats. secondly if steaming of old paint seems a bit daunting scrape back loose rub down edges then fill patchy areas repeat as above good luck. ps DONT USE PVA

[manthatshandy handyman]

Hi Mate. You could also buy a can of stain block and spray the ceiling this will tighten up the old paint and stop it peeling when you roll it.

Cheers
Man that's handy handyman

[theshedman]

Never heard of that one before, handyman. I am a believer of if it's loose and coming off then it's best to get it off to start with as sooner or later it will peel again. I am old school when it comes to decorating and it takes a lot to convince me to change to new ideas.

[JRS]

Am with you there shedman, Stain block doesnt hold back flaking. surely it cant penetrate to the cause. Also how can you assure that water based eggshell will last a life time if its no longer than 10 new? I have never had a problem with dulux matt in my bathroom and its always very steamy when i go for a shower. Mine has lasted 10yr with the occasional re-coat to freshen up now and then.