Polycell crack free ceiling paint - used it?

JustAnotherSaver

http://www.diy.com/rooms/polycell-crack-free-ceiling-white-silk-smooth-emulsion-paint-25l/127229_BQ.prd That stuff.

Reviews seem to pan it but is it really so bad? We have a few cracks in our ceiling as it's original 1930s stuff. Bit worse than hairline cracks. We're going to paper over it (it was papered anyway) but thought about this stuff.

We figured the paper would be good enough but we recently got a piece plastered. It got done & was fine the following day, but the morning after that it had a bad crack
It went from this...

To this...



We've got someone coming out in a couple weeks to paper the entire room, walls & ceiling.

Have been advised 1 possible solution could be to use a flexible caulk but they didn't seem too sure this would sort the job.

I have in some of this Wurth sealant left over from some sealing jobs i did this week...
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/140789976469?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Would be ok for the crack?

We don't really have time to rip it all out & start again.



EDIT: Also, do you need to prepare the newly plastered section for papering?

By that i mean, when we looked in to painting new plaster we found it needed to be sealed with say, Dulux Supermatt 50/50 paint/water before any finish coat could be considered.

Do you need to do something similar prior to wallpapering?

huckster

I think you should try to resolve the reason for the crack. I have used Polycell crack free and similar. They don't work that well. They are ok for a period and then the cracks will start to appear again.

If you want to do a temporary job just so that it looks all ok, then I would open up the crack abit so it has a v shape groove of a few mm, then I would fill it with a decent filler. I personally like the Tetrion filler range, which may get from local independent DIY outlet. Tetrion filler appears to be much stronger than Polycell, but make sure you smooth it off before it dries, as it is more difficult to sand off.

Then make sure the surface is reasonably smooth, clean and dry before papering over. In the second picture at the top of the triangle it looks like you had a water leak at some point. If there is a leak going on above, then that needs to be sorted, otherwise in a few months all the work will go to waste.

sk240

I have used the wickes version with great success, but that crack does look quite big, I would fill over it with easi fill, if it happens again then something isn't being supported properly.

zaax

That's not dry yet, it all needs to look pink, then a mist coat for (1:100 PVA:water). Opening the vent (and keeping it open) would help to remove the damp. The cover needs to be taken off to clear away the cobwebs etc. and replaced after painting, is there chimney there?

Stick some masking tape over the crack and see it it breaks.

JustAnotherSaver

huckster wrote: »

I think you should try to resolve the reason for the crack.

I'm lead to believe the cause is plastering on the wooden frame. That piece behind the crack is wood & i'm informed that it'll swell & shrink with the water that's put in there & the plaster will crack.

If you want to do a temporary job just so that it looks all ok,

It's going to get papered anyway. What i want is for no chunks of plaster to start falling off

Then make sure the surface is reasonably smooth, clean and dry before papering over. In the second picture at the top of the triangle it looks like you had a water leak at some point. If there is a leak going on above, then that needs to be sorted, otherwise in a few months all the work will go to waste.

1. How do you seal it in preparation for wallpapering? Same as with painting - just go a 50/50 water/paint mix?

Or does it need to be sealed using a watery wallpaper mix (if so, what) or some other paste?

2. There was a leak there but it's been repaired. Was the lead valley that required replacing. We've had numerous episodes of heavy rainfall since & seemingly no more leak

zaax wrote: »

That's not dry yet, it all needs to look pink,

I don't know if 4 days is enough for it to realistically dry out but it's now been 4 days & it all looks pasty pink now

then a mist coat for (1:100 PVA:water).

Is this in preparation for wallpapering?

Opening the vent (and keeping it open) would help to remove the damp.

Vent has been open all year

The cover needs to be taken off to clear away the cobwebs etc. and replaced after painting,

It's been removed but obviously put back on. It'll have to get removed again when it gets papered (walls & ceiling are getting papered, not painted).

is there chimney there?

The chimney breast is at the opposite end of the room.

Ruski

Sorry JAS, but you've been done over again.


Simple rule: you can't plaster timber.


Should have been overboarded with plasterboard then skimmed.



The plaster will be quite thick at the top where it curves into the ceiling, hence it is taking it's time to dry out. Heat the room and ventilate if you can. If it hasn't disappeared after a week, then you have an underlying problem imho.


If you are wallpapering the entire room then you just need to 'size' the walls with a weak wallpaper mix - this will prevent the proper mix drying out to quickly and make it easier for the wallpaper to be hung. (But this is obvious stuff as you have a decorator comeing in - they'll do all that.)

Note: I haven't mentioned PVA AT ALL - DO NOT USE! (Unless you are going to skim the walls again )


HTH


Russ

JustAnotherSaver

The rest of the guys plastering has been fine but I guess this is where experience shows itself. We did try to get a plasterer out to do the plastering jobs but they wouldn't touch such a small job. I'm in contact with plenty so believe me - I asked a fair few.

I'll get a photo tonight but it looks dried out to me now.

Would there be anything wrong with doing a 50/50 paint mix before the sizing? I have plenty of that dulux supermatt left over & tv hits probably going to go to waste.

With the prep (sizing) I was looking to do it before the chap comes down - just save him a bit of time really. I did a bit of googling last night & though some articles seem to contradict each other it seemed to be agreed throughout to 'size' 24hrs before the papering is done..?


Finally, would you expect the plaster to be ok once papered? As in the paper won't start coming loose/come off because of it?

JustAnotherSaver

As promised, here's a photo from today...



Now i read that plaster can/does take 4 weeks to dry out fully. This was about the timeframe for the living room (2-4 weeks).

I don't know if it's because the plaster is perhaps thin, or because it's on the bedroom ceiling & as such there is plenty airflow above as well as being next to the 2 windows (open during work hours) which also has vents either side of the windows...

...but that looks dry to me.

Dry enough to paint?

I am guessing there'll be no harm done if i 50/50 paint that prior to sizing?

Ruski

Yep - go for a mist coat now - it'll help show up the imperfections, then get your filler and sandpaper out.


Good luck!


Russ

JustAnotherSaver

Thanks Ruski.

Does it need to be perfectly smooth?

The end result is going to have lining paper (1000g or 1200g I can't remember which my wife bought in) & then some chunky vinyl (I think it's vinyl) wallpaper with a fair thick pattern on it. This was to hide the cracks etc (& is also what was on there beforehand).
Or is plaster that hasn't been smoothed off likely to show even through that setup?


Oh & while I'm at it, I knew there was one I forgot...

Sizing:

Does it have to be done just 24hrs before papering or can it be done a few days before? What I read said 24hours but it didn't say anything about it being bad to do it with a bigger timeframe gap.

Ruski

No - doesn't have to be perfectly smooth in this scenario, especially with 'bumpy' vinyl. Run your had over the walls and knock off any 'gritty' bits, sand down any obvious 'edges'. Most important to ensure there are no big holes.


IMHO there's no point in lining the walls if you're using a textured paper - theoretically it will help a little, but overall, in real terms, no one would see any difference.


Sizing - up to you - but I would still let your decorator do it during the job as it can aid the 'slipping' of hanging the wallpaper and stops it drying out too quickly.


If you take the radiator off you do not have to take off the hanging brackets, but if you do make sure you put some screws back in the holes so that you know where they are after hanging the paper.


HTH


Russ