Roller pulls old paint off

[fidom]

I've never had much luck with roller painting but so many people seem to use this technique that I gave it another go today. My usual problem is I get a poor finish, like a mild version of artex. The more I roll it, the worse the coverage until I end up taking most of the paint off again. I suppose it could be that I've only tried cheap rollers as I don't want to spend a lot of money on something I won't be able to use.
My house here in Hungary is constructed a bit different to those in UK. From what I can make out, the walls are plastered on the inside and outside with the same mortar mix. Outside they then get painted with masonry paint, inside they get painted with several coats of thinly mixed plaster of Paris and you end up with something that approximates to a plastered finish.
As I started painting with the roller, slabs of the plaster of Paris were being sucked off the surface, broken up and redistributed over the rest of the wall. I had to abandon the roller, scrape off the flakes and carry on painting with a brush. No further lifting if the surface occurred using the brush. Any advice much appreciated.

 

[Pigeon85]

Roller technique is something that comes with a little practice, the main thing to do is work in straight lines working each one into the next making sure the paint is rolled out well and even while making sure not to over roll, also make sure the roller is still spinning while you remove it from the wall.

As for the problems you are experiencing it may well be that the original layer of whatever has been put on the walls was done badly, but without knowing exactly what was used and what you are using it is hard to say what the problem is for definite.

I do remember going to Spain with my dad a few years ago now and he done some work and the paint was a strange chalky consistency, does it seem to be like this?

 

[Nige F]

I've never had much luck with roller painting but so many people seem to use this technique that I gave it another go today. I had to abandon the roller, scrape off the flakes and carry on painting with a brush. No further lifting if the surface occurred using the brush. Any advice much appreciated.

Don`t waste your time with the roller - the wall finish isn`t up to it - I don`t know what size brush you`re using , but you need a 6 inch ideally - and take the paint out of a bucket ( not the tin ) Dip in the tip of bristles , tap once on side of bucket , lay on with random strokes , keep a wet edge going I like to do it here @ home - it`s a good way of covering the orange peel effect of previous owners efforts

 

[fidom]

When I bought the roller I did look for a big brush but the only 6" ones they had looked like wallpaper pasting brushes and I think the bristles would not be stiff enough for painting. This was in OBI, a similar shop to B&Q but I might try in a paint shop. The paint I'm using seems to be like the old fashioned emulsion before they started having vinyl silk and matt. It is washable whereas a lot of the wall paint on sale here is like distemper and can be washed off.

 

[Nige F]

Sounds like the emulsion could be a non vinyl type ( Trade matt here in UK ) A good emulsion brush will have long soft bristles - a paint shop will be your best bet , though they might have strange " old fashioned " brushes over there. You could cover a reasonable area with a 5 inch , just remember only load the tip of the brush and work fast with light strokes , and try not to flick the brush as it leaves the surface , keep a wet edge going and have it as a random zig zag across the surface rather than painting a straight line like a roller does , and hold the brush in a way that`s comfortable to you , you don`t need to grasp it like a tennis raquet

 

[fidom]

I got a 14 x 4 cm brush but the bristles are quite short. It seems to work quite well on the ceiling though and I note this type of brush is sometimes sold as a ceiling brush. I have lots of experience of brush painting anyway, including coach enamel on classic motorbikes.