very fine random hair cracks

[Peterade]

Newly restored ground floor. New plaster, left to dry, mist coat, Dulux Trade Supermatt. Looks beautiful.

Now, six months later very fine random hair cracks have appeared on walls & ceiling.

Question is do I just repaint over, working paint into cracks, or should I try some very fine filler first. The gaps are literally the thickness of a fine hair and seem to have stabilized.

If I were to add up the length of the cracks guess it would be 10-15 meters.

Thanks for any ideas.

Peter

 

[joe-90]

If you need a filler use Red Devil/Wickes ultra lightweight stuff - feels like an empty bucket.

 

[oldgreymouse]

Have to disagree with your advice there joe-90. Normally Red devil is fine for holes etc but I find that its not fine enough to fill hairline cracks.

I use Toupret interior filler, the powder stuff, as you can mix this to a fine paste and do just the lightest wipe across the cracks, it barely if ever needs a rub down when dry. Toupret use very fine powders, but I guess you could get away with using the good old Polyfiller, but I did find this a little course when I last used the stuff a couple of years back, maybe its got a little better now.

One thing i would stay away from is the ready mixed, so say, 'Fine Surface' fillers. These dry like rock and are a real pain to sand.

 

[joe-90]

The Wickes one is - used it just last week. No matter how fine the crack - it does the job.

 

[Peterade]

Thanks for tips guys. I have some Toupret left over so will give that a go.

Peter

 

[TheDec]

Peter,

When filling hairline cracks it is often very difficult for the filler to actually penatrate with enough depth to offer a quality bond, so it is often advisable to rake out the crack prior to filling. Using something like a small screwdriver slightly open up the crack, dust off and using a small paint brush merely flick a small amount of water into it prior to filling. Then filling slightly proud of the existing surface allow to dry, lightly sand, dust off and mist the filled areas.

Yet there is always the possiblity that the hairline cracks are contained within the paintwork and not the underlying substrate.

Dec