Bit of a painting nightmare..please help!

essexsi_2

Hi all,

Decided to do some painting this weekend while watching the olympics.



The property is approx 3 years old and I have been in for the last year.


On rollering the wall the top layer of plasterboard appears to have peeled off, leaving a couple of large and very unsighlty holes in the surface. This layer came off onto the roller and appears to be the plasterboards top paper layer!!
I might of used too much paint on the roller and sucked the layer off. Does this sound probable? I was using a medium pile woven roller with Dulux matt emulsion.

The plasterboards do not appear to have been skimmed and then paint just slapped straight on, is this common on new builds?

So, how can I repair the damage and then when repaired, what can I do to avoid it occuring again. Water paint down, short pile roller????

Thanks for your help and advice. Cheers Si

Bungarm2001

Was there a layer of paint already on the walls or are you talking about painting straight over unpainted plaster?

essexsi_2

hi bungarm2001,

Sorry, there was already a layer of paint on the plasterboard. It was white everywhere!!

It first peeled off when I was rollering a window reveal. I then tried the ceiling in the bathroom and a section peeled off in there. Now i'm scared to paint anywhere!

Cheers Si

Bungarm2001

Blimey. Doesn't sound good does it?? Mind you, you have started by painting a couple of areas that are notoriously prone to being affected by condensation, which is probably all this is. Most of the rest of the paintwork shouldn't be as bad.

I suspect that the original (white) paint was damp and soft enough (caused by condensation) to be lifted by your roller as you applied your paint. How long ago was the original white paint applied?

paintpot

Are you really saying what you are saying? I am qualifying because you are saying you are painting over pure plasterboard. If you are saying you are painting over pure plasterboard then surely one would expect this to have been plastered over Are there no visible joint lines where the plasterboard has been joined? If you are painting over plasterboard then TBH I would be consulting my NHBC guarantee. I can't believe it is normal to have a new build with only plasterboard - no way surely :eek: Someone else more knowledgeable please comment

Incisor

paintpot wrote: »

Are you really saying what you are saying? I am qualifying because you are saying you are painting over pure plasterboard. If you are saying you are painting over pure plasterboard then surely one would expect this to have been plastered over Are there no visible joint lines where the plasterboard has been joined? If you are painting over plasterboard then TBH I would be consulting my NHBC guarantee. I can't believe it is normal to have a new build with only plasterboard - no way surely :eek: Someone else more knowledgeable please comment

No, that sounds wrong. Could it be lining paper over a skim???

paintpot

Incisor wrote: »

No, that sounds wrong. Could it be lining paper over a skim???

But who would put lining paper on a new build Sounds all very weird to me. Is it that the plaster is falling off where the the boards have been nailed in and taken off a bit of plasterboard with it? I've had this before.

I'm curious/baffled!

essexsi_2

Thanks for your replies.

The walls have no signs of joints but are certainly not smooth. I have looked this morning and the areas have dried and it has not spread, just looks flakey. On rubbing the surface there is no dust on my fingers and it looks papery !!

In the bathroom there was a towel rail that I removed to paint around. Where the screws enter the wall it has chipped the paint and you can see right through to the green coloured board underneath. In patches around the room you can see the green of the board. So very thin paint layer on top of board.

Bloody new builds!! Should I just fill and rub down and try again? Perhaps thin the paint abit?

Cheers for your help Si

paullwill8

It is very common nowadays for new builds to have just studded walls ( plasterboard with only the joints taped and filled). Up here ( Scotland) the plasterboards tend to be filled with 'Velvet' filler, problems can occur when the filler is just painted with neat emulsion as opposed to watered down. The emulsion can't grip (or soak into) the filler as it is too thick and just ends up wrapping a skin over the area filled, which is why this is peeling away when applying more coats. Ideally you need to remove paint where peeling, lightly rub down and make dust free. Then mix your chosen emulsoin with 30% water ( ie 2ltrs emulsion 1 ltr water), apply 2 to 3 coats then apply as normal.

john0612

paullwill8 wrote: »

It is very common nowadays for new builds to have just studded walls ( plasterboard with only the joints taped and filled). Up here ( Scotland) the plasterboards tend to be filled with 'Velvet' filler, problems can occur when the filler is just painted with neat emulsion as opposed to watered down. The emulsion can't grip (or soak into) the filler as it is too thick and just ends up wrapping a skin over the area filled, which is why this is peeling away when applying more coats. Ideally you need to remove paint where peeling, lightly rub down and make dust free. Then mix your chosen emulsoin with 30% water ( ie 2ltrs emulsion 1 ltr water), apply 2 to 3 coats then apply as normal.

as above and cheap contract matt doesn't help either.

essexsi_2

Thanks for the explanation paullwill8, sounds like that's what has happened. I will take your advice about the watered down paint. Is the medium pile roller still ok to use?

john0612 is Dulux matt a cheap contract matt? Would I be better getting a trade version, still water that down?

Thanks for your help.

all the best Si