how to paint newly skimmed walls

khal327 · 11 July 2011 at 5:23AM

hi, just wondering if anyone can advise me on how to paint skimmed walls. i have just had my rooms in my old house skimmed due to having new wiring and have been told to leave it 5 days until dry. The plasterer has told me to sand paper it first until it goes whitish as it was red plaster. can anyone advise me on what paint/undercoat to buy and where to buy it from please. i was wondering whether a paint pod white paint would be any good for the first coat?
any help would be great.

nickj_2 · 11 July 2011 at 7:54AM

don't bother with a paint pod , just get some cheap white matt emulsion , thin it at around 50% with water and put it on with a roller . dulux supermatt is ideal

jc808 · 11 July 2011 at 11:12AM

khal327 wrote: »

The plasterer has told me to sand paper it first until it goes whitish as it was red plaster.

that sounds like !!!!!!!! for a start

enrm6 · 11 July 2011 at 1:23PM

I'm just doing a lot of this after having an extension.

As already mentinoed, get some white matt emulsion, anything on offer basically, and thin it with some water. I'd say more like 10-20% so that you dont have to do as many top coats eventually.

Paint that on in your preferred manner, normal roller for me with a 1" brush for cutting in. Then when dry have a look round and if it bothers you sand out any drips, rough bits etc. that the plasterer left.

Finally paint unthinned top coats of desired colour.

Ebe_Scrooge · 11 July 2011 at 1:31PM

What you need to do first is prime it with PVA glue...............

THIS IS A JOKE !!!!!!!!!!! Sorry, I was put in mind of a recent thread on a similar subject...... :beer:

Seriously, though, the above advice is sound. A coat or two of cheap, white, watered-down emulsion. The reason being, fresh plaster will suck it up like a sponge, so no point wasting several coats of decent quality paint. Then top coat with whatever you choose.

RE the "sanding down". I don't know what "red plaster" is, but I do know that when I had my room plastered several years ago, the plasterer did a magnificent job, it was like a sheet of glass when he'd finished ! He advised a very light sanding with very fine paper, just to roughen the surface ever so slightly and provide a key for the paint.

Hintza · 11 July 2011 at 3:56PM

We are currently doing our new house and I was watering down around 25%, it wasn't enough especially in this hot weather. It looks almost finished and that is just the mist coat :eek:

Leif · 11 July 2011 at 8:08PM

Hintza wrote: »

We are currently doing our new house and I was watering down around 25%, it wasn't enough especially in this hot weather. It looks almost finished and that is just the mist coat :eek:

The purpose of watering down the first coat of paint is to prevent the suction of the plaster drawing the water out so fast that the paint dries before it has a chance to soak in and bond with the surface. Without the extra water the paint forms a layer on the surface and will easily peel off. Sorry if you knew this.

how to paint newly skimmed walls

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