Painting fresh plaster

Suggs

Ok Im real confused now, my nice new kitchen has been tiled, which leaves the painting to go!!

I have nice new fresh plaster to paint, I know you have to prepare it first, I thought this was by using a PVA mix with water, but I have read that some PVA cant be used with paint, using cheap B&Q value undercoat is better or failing that bonding paint???

Which is best???

Please Help

Thanks

SnowyOwl_2

Hi Suggs

I am in a brand new house, and until recently there wasn't so much as a speck of paint on a single internal wall. The advice I've been getting has been mighty confusing, everyone seems to have a variation on the same thing to tell. So, in the end I called a professional decorator and got him to do one room, then I spied on him to see what he did!

He didn't bother with any undercoat or sealant or anything else. He put a coat of emulsion straight on, let it dry, and then put the 2nd coat on. It was done mid-December, and has not peeled, cracked or gone patchy in any way. The alcoves beside the chimney breast were done in an aubegine colour (quite dark) and the rest very pale cream (OK magnolia!). I've done two bedrooms myself, both pure white (as a base coat for a later colour) but with two coats, and again no patching, peeling or cracking has occurred. All paint was either Dulux or Crown.

Advice that seems sensible is that if there is any moisture at all in the plaster then it is vital to ensure that any paint you put on will allow the moisture out without making the paint peel off. A decent matt emulsion would be OK.

Hope that is helpful.

RedOnRed

When painting on to fresh bare plaster with emulsion you're supposed to water down slightly the first coat, which makes it more easily absorbed. It's something i've had to do quite a few times over the past few years and have never had a problem.

The main thing really is to make sure the new plaster surface is completely dry, otherwise it doesn't matter what you put on it you'll be knackered.

theGrinch

usually 2 coats emulsion with water 50-50 then 1 coat of emulsion and a final coat of emulsion over the bits needing it.

BigAde

I've always used a sizing mix of one part Unibond (PVA) to 5 parts water. Works fine with paint or anything else for that matter.
The idea is that you seal the porous plaster so the paint (or wallpaper adhesive) doesn't soak away into the plaster. A diluted layer of paint, layer of undercoat or whatever all effectively do the same job.

Personally, I think Unibond is marvellous stuff for this sort of thing and I've never had to use any other method, so never really compared!

divadee

i would agree with the grinch and redonred, i have always been told to water down a cheap emulsion and and then paint as normal.

I have always done this and it has worked

sillygoose

divadee wrote:

i would agree with the grinch and redonred, i have always been told to water down a cheap emulsion and and then paint as normal.

I have always done this and it has worked

Absolutely!! The times I have cursed this not being done in my house originally, you never know you may need to wallpaper in the future and its a nightmare on unsized walls, as you try to position and slide the paper, large paint areas flake off and make the paper look lumpy. I now go over all walls with watered down polycell undercoat now 1st and the results are far better.
Rob