Emulsion peeling off walls in sheets

[ANGLER]

Hi I started to remove a small section of flaking emulsion, from my living room wall.
This small task ended being nightmare, resulting in the hole wall being stripped. The emulsion actually came off in strips, just like stripping wallpaper.

The walls had been replastered a couple of years ago, and mist coated before the top emulsion coat.

Do you recommend a primer coat, or do I redo a couple of mist coats?

 

[Bonni]

Two things.

1. The original plasterer could have polished the plaster too much. Give if a sand with 120 grit to any glass feel off it.

2. Apply mist coat, matt emulsion with 10% water added.

 

[Johnny Allround]

Hi Angler,It’s new plaster put a coat on like Bonni said but I would add some pva into it so it bonds to the wall properly. It will seal it and ensure that the paint doesn’t flake off in future. Add a second coat and you should be sorted. Apple green looks good. Hope this helps.

 

[sircerebus666]

The chances are that the wall was painted before the new plaster had chance to fully dry that's why it peeled off.

Bonnis way is best , using PVA is a bad idea as that can also cause paint to peel off.

 

[Diyisfun]

PVA is a NO NO.

 

[Bonni]

Painting PVA onto a surface is to change the background from high suction to low suction. That means, a high suction background sups the water out of your top coat, such as filler and plaster. If you try to ceramic tile over new plaster without sealing it with SBR or PVA, it takes too much moisture out of the adhesive for it to work correctly, hence why tiles don't stick. White Star can go straight onto new plaster. Also, the surface painted in PVA/SBRwill rough up if you try to sand it. PVA and SBR should be watered down 50% with water and applied twice, second coat often tacky before applying plaster etc.. as opposed to letting it fully dry.

With your emulsion problem, it sounds like the emulsion first coat didn't get to soak into the plaster, which as I've mentioned before, the plaster was over polished by the plasterer and/or the first cost didn't have 10% water added.

 

[Lower]

Hi Angler,It’s new plaster put a coat on like Bonni said but I would add some pva into it so it bonds to the wall properly. It will seal it and ensure that the paint doesn’t flake off in future. Add a second coat and you should be sorted. Apple green looks good. Hope this helps.

No, no, no to the pva!

 

[Millwright]

PVA will lead to flaking and cracking paint. Absolute no.

 

[Johnny Allround]

Good morning Angler, and all the no no noers.The advice and tips I give to people are derived from over 45 years of being in the building trade, when there was no internet and apprenticeships lasted 6 years before you got your qualifications. A time when you multi tasked across different trades to broaden your knowledge rather than looking on google. However I do find that in this matter that I must defend my advice to Angler in the following way. Proper plasterers from the old school would assist the decorators on new build sites back in the day. This came as a tip to mist coat using an equally diluted mixture of white pva and water this was then added to an equally diluted mixture of water and white or magnolia Matt emulsion, as long as the walls have completely dried out you will never have an issue with this advice. I have used this method on hundreds of properties and never been back to one. That’s a fact.

 

[Millwright]

I have used this method on hundreds of properties and never been back to one. That’s a fact.

I bet you haven't.

Sorry couldn't resist

 

[Johnny Allround]

I have you know!