Painting Matt on to Vinyl Silk Paint on Un-prepped Walls General decorating topics, questions and answers. find help, tips and advice on completing your decorating projects

[Willy1954]

Hi Guys and Galls,

As a new poster pse forgive me as I am sure this question would have come up before. Having being asked to help one of my sons with some decorating we have ( not unusual for fathers and sons!) a disagreement over the best way forward to overcome the following problem.
In his sizable property every wall has been coated with vinyl silk. Unfortunately,the walls do not seem to have been prepared properly and the paint is stripping.He wants a matt finished and I believe applying this would only exasperate the problem. No mist coat or priming appears to have been done. I believe the best way forward is to strip walls back to bare plaster and start again.Yes the paint has dried 'on' the wall originally but can be easily stripped with a 100mm stripper of the sort with a long knife blade.He is under the impression a stabiliser could be used but what with sanding, washing the surface prior it seems to me not worth the bother.

Not looking for somebody to settle an argument(!) but would appreciate other thoughts and advice.

Willy

[proptech]

Hi Willy

Firstly, there is no stabiliser that can penetrate paint, and 'stick' it back. So if adhesion is that bad, then removal is the answer. Then we have the question of what, if anything was on the walls before the failing paint. Could the walls have been papered in the past ? if so there could be a paste residue that would need a lot of washing off, and possibly sealing back.

[Willy1954]

Hi proptech,
Many thanks for your comments.
There is no evidence of prior pasting on the wall and had there been so under the paint I 'peeled' off from the surface then, it may be better to line the walls prior to painting .However this would still entail removing paint.
I think the problem stems from lack of proper preparation prior to the walls being painted. No mist coat/priming has been applied and therefor it seems probable that other preps have not been done namely a light rubbing down after which I normally wipe over with a damp sponge to remove dust. Also the possibility of the plaster not being completely dry prior to painting can't be discounted.
So if it were my house I would strip/peel and start again. But Its boys place and he wants, hopes,thinks there is an easier way.
Now any tips on Fatherhood? Having told him I have far better ways of spending my retirement time than painting walls that will peel or blister he feels that its a case of my way or not at all!
Ah well let him learn the hard way.......

Many thanks again In confirming what I previously thought.
Willy

[proptech]

Thanks for the feedback Willy. As you are obviously aware, decorating can be a far more skilled job than is often recognised, and very hard work. You mention mist coating. On every can of paint, the instructions recommend thinning on absorbent surfaces - It seems that most ignore it, or don't even read any of it.

As for Fatherhood, no idea !