How To Paint Newly Plastered Walls/Ceilings.

Prevent the potential nightmare of having to start again! Get the results you are looking for.

The number one cause of flakey paint, is usually painting with fresh paint straight from the tin without doing your first two prep coats. The effects of the flakey paint can often take months to appear and if your extremely lucky, maybe you got away with it. More often than not you will be caught out and your walls can be ruined. Freshly dried plaster acts like a big sponge, causing paint to have its moisture sucked out too quickly and once dry will leave only the paint pigment on the surface and will cause the flaking off look we often see and can occur months down the line. Certainly not the feature we are looking to achieve. This can often lead to the walls needing to be

re-plastered.

To avoid this we should always use two prep coats known as "mist coats". This is simply two coats of matt white emulsion paint mixed 50% water and 50% paint (ratios may vary slightly depending on paints natural consistency ) applied with a roller trying to avoid streaks and drips as it is an extremely wet solution. These coats allow the paint to absorb into the plaster at the right rate and slowly allow the pigment to form correctly. At this stage as it dries, you might see the odd bit of p.v.a. shining through your mist coats. It is good practice to lightly sand out the p.v.a. and reaplly your mist coat before proceeding to your final coats.

Once applied and dry then it's time to go ahead and paint as usual following the manufacturers guidelines on the tin. An alternative to mixing your own mist coat paint is to use "plaster sealer" which you can purchase from most d.i.y. stores. Regardless to which method you choose, this preparation stage must not be skipped! if you are looking to get the most out of your new freshly plastered walls. Taking the little extra time will help you achieve your professional looking finish.

WAIT! BEFORE YOU PAINT...

Your plaster has to be dry and there is no set time for when this will occur as it is dependant on temperature and humidity which varies with each individual job. A guideline would be one to two weeks. As your plaster dries it will go through a variety of brown patchy stages and will eventually turn to a chalky almost white look. When this occurs and there are no brown patches then this is often the best indication that your plaster is dry enough to begin painting your two mist coats. The plaster should dry naturally without forced drying, as this can cause it to crack and even separate from its surface. This is know as "blown" or "shot" plaster and would require further work, more time and extra money to put right.

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