New Plastered Ceiling Blistered

[mishel02]

Hi, I could cry writing this, I had my whole lounge skimmed 8 days ago. The plasterer said I could paint it after 3-4 days. I left it for 6 days to make sure it was dry. I watered down the paint and painted the walls and ceiling. Yesterday I painted the ceiling with dulux matt emulsion and around an hour after large bubbles/blisters started to appear all over the ceiling. About 15 in total. I had hoped I would get up today and they would have dried but no. They are still there. What has happened and is this fixable.

The original ceiling had textured paint on it in a swirl pattern, this was loose in places so he scrapped the loose bits off and left the rest, could this be the problem?

 

[misterhelpful]

It does sound like you may have painted before the plaster was completely dry. Did you use vinyl matt emulsion?
Any chance of a pic or two, as that could help identify a problem?

 

[mishel02]

Ive took a photo, its hard to show on the picture, they actually seem to be getting worse too. Ive painted many new plaster ceilings and this has never happened before

 

[mishel02]

It does sound like you may have painted before the plaster was completely dry. Did you use vinyl matt emulsion?
Any chance of a pic or two, as that could help identify a problem?

I used
Dulux Pure Brilliant White - Matt Emulsion Paint

 

[misterhelpful]

Wow, that does look pretty bad. Are they definitely bubbles/blisters in just the paint or could it be that the plaster skim has come loose as well? It could be that the plaster hasn't adhered to the underlying surface very well and, once the paint was applied, has come loose.
It seems a bit unusual to me to find large blisters like that in just emulsion, but it could be that the plasterer has got some PVA on the surface, or has over-polished some areas, which can also cause the paint to fail to adhere.
If it hasn't dried back by now, it is unlikely to, so I'm afraid you're likely to have to scrape away the loose stuff, fill, and paint, which is a nightmare after just having it skimmed.
Would the plasterer come back to take a look, as he may be able to find a reason for the problem?

 

[mishel02]

Yes they are bubbles, you can press them in and feel the gap between them and the ceiling. I have called the plasterer, he is coming over tomorrow night to have a look. I just want to be prepared in case he fobs me off. I dont think the plaster has come loose, I think its the paint. It did seem very smooth and shiny before painting it. Cant beileve it to be honest, Im gutted

 

[vinn]

Polishing plaster is not done by good plasterers. But if the surface was polished then it should have been mist coated and sanded and cleaned of dust. All new skim finishes should be misted.
But it might be the plasterers preparation of the Artex surface and/or the mix that was used? There are other possibilities but wait and see what he has to say.

 

[Chud]

It does sound like you may have painted before the plaster was completely dry. Did you use vinyl matt emulsion?
Any chance of a pic or two, as that could help identify a problem?

I used
Dulux Pure Brilliant White - Matt Emulsion Paint

That's a vinyl emulsion - you need to use something with no vinyl - in Dulux's case the paint you want is called Supermatt.

 

[mishel02]

It does sound like you may have painted before the plaster was completely dry. Did you use vinyl matt emulsion?
Any chance of a pic or two, as that could help identify a problem?

I used
Dulux Pure Brilliant White - Matt Emulsion Paint

That's a vinyl emulsion - you need to use something with no vinyl - in Dulux's case the paint you want is called Supermatt.

How do I go about getting it off the ceiling without damaging the plaster?

 

[misterhelpful]

The blisters should peel off easily if you just gently pop them with a sharp knife and get in behind them. Unfortunately, you will seemingly be left with dozens of bare spots that will have a ridge all the way around them, assuming the rest of the paint has adhered properly. You will need to mist coat the bare spots with diluted contract matt, allow to dry and then fill to level out the ridges, sand smooth, re-mist those spots and repaint the whole ceiling.
Trying to get all that done, without it being noticeable afterwards, is the nightmare I alluded to earlier.

When the plasterer come back, let us know what he says and we might be able to help further with different advice.

 

[Chud]

You can try using a scraper gently where it has bubbled. Then apply a mist coat of vinyl-free paint such as Dulux Supermatt, Crown Covermatt or another. You'll probably need to use some fine filler on the edges; use a 'taping knife', press so the filler is see-through apart from where the paint edge is, very lightly rub down.

Personally (and depending on finances) I'd consider going in heavy handed and getting it re-skimmed by the plasterer.

 

[mishel02]

The plasterer didnt show up, said he was working late on a job and it will be tomorrow now

 

[chappers]

scrape off one of the bilsters now and find out if it is the paint or the plaster, my guess is the plaster has moistened the artex or whatever it was and it is all peeling off., the rollering has broken it free.

 

[misterhelpful]

scrape off one of the bilsters now and find out if it is the paint or the plaster, my guess is the plaster has moistened the artex or whatever it was and it is all peeling off., the rollering has broken it free.

That's a good point. For some reason, I assumed the plasterer wouldn't have skimmed over anything that could come loose, but I suppose that is just wishful thinking in some cases!

 

[chappers]

It's a difficult one sometimes what looks like a sound surface to skim over reacts strangely when wetted up by the plaster.