by toplondonchef »
Thu May 19, 2011 10:43 pm
Hi America 119
I recently had a nightmare painting new plaster as well which may be similiar to your problem, or at least may help
Had a large ammount of building work done at home over a couple of years and decided to decorate all rooms once the building works had been completed
Used three different plasterers (due to problems with initial builder) and some walls were skimmed, some boarded over and some stud walls created
I too used Wickes trade emulsion and watered down approx 25% to use as a mist coat. Several walls formed strange patches where the paint wouldn't stick or soak into the raw plaster and the more coats applied just made the patches worse. They ended up forming a crater with the edges getting more raised and still no paint sticking onto the wall
Posted the problem on this site and spoke to several decorators and paint shops but got various advice and ended up spending more and more money on different solutions. Tried the Zinnster which didn't work so sanded down back to plaster areas I had mist coated
A guy in the Dulux Trade Centre reckoned problem was down to the plasters spalshing around PVA solution after walls were plastered and also over polishing of the plaster can leave the walls lovely and smooth but can be a problem to paint. He recommended Dulux Trade White Undercoat, which is an oil based paint. Obviously more expensive than Wickes emulsion and seems a bit over the top to seal plastered walls but it did the job brilliantly and stopped me stressing out
Just a light sand of the walls and a wipe down and applied the undercoat, without thinning down, with a short pile roller. Allow plenty of ventilation as oil based is a bit smelly, especially when used on large areas, ie. walls
This covered all the walls with a solid white base coat which then took the emulsion top coats really well giving a great finish
Can't gautentee that this will sort out your problems but if your as stressed as I was then it's worth a go and good luck
PS. Have used Wickes Trade Emulsion White on ceilings probably 6 or so times before and had no problems with it, also watering down first to use as a mist coat but on the walls always use Dulux
Let us know how you get on !