tiling over old flaking paint

[WimWam]

I'm tiling all around the bath and shower area. Previously there was vinyl plasticy 'tile' all over, with a minimal section of tiles which were falling off. I've removed both the old tiles and vinyl fake-tile-paper stuff. Underneath seems to be the remnants of old paint and the cement wall. (it's a purpose built 1960's block of flats).

My question is how to prepare the wall. Zinsser peel stop? PVA?

 

[Goldberg]

Definitely not PVA if you're going to tile it.

Scratch up the surface bad, using either a Stanley knife or a heavy duty wall scraper, then wire brush off all loose flakes, then apply BAL primer, and you're good to go.

 

[WimWam]

Definitely not PVA if you're going to tile it.

Scratch up the surface bad, using either a Stanley knife or a heavy duty wall scraper, then wire brush off all loose flakes, then apply BAL primer, and you're good to go.

Many thanks for the reply - regarding PVA under bathroom tiles, a family member said that this would provide a 'poor mans seal' if the grout or other (silicone edging?) sealer fails. On many forums I've seen this PVA/bathroom-tile issue cropping up but not an explanation that I understand.

Anyhow - so this is the current plan incorporating your advice (I think/hope!):

Prepare: As you recommend, rough up, remove loose stuff and apply BAL primer - http://www.bal-adhesives.co.uk/products/primer

Tiles: Then BAL CTF3 tile adhesive for all three walls that are to be tiled including direct spray areas of shower/bath. It's a typical shower head over the tap-end of a bath setup.

Grout: BAL superflex http://www.bal-adhesives.co.uk/products/superflex

I only say "bal superflex" rather than just "Bal CG1 Grout" because of the power shower thing (it's just a 1.8bar shower pump) and the wider gap range.

Thanks in advance for any advice.