Painting a plastered wall?

cheghead

I've just removed the old wallpaper in the kitchen back to plaster. Can any1 advise if I need to do anything before painting it? Also what paint would be recommended. The plaster is mostly smooth finish but there are a few rough patches here and there.

misgrace

If the plaster has never been painted, or its bare/pink then I would suggest you give the plaster a miscoat before you actually paint your walls.
The paste from the old paper has sort of sealed it, but not for painting.

you need to get off all the paste residue, and you might have to wash the walls down with sugar soap, this will get rid of any paste and any contamiation.

Then fill the rough bits, using a powder filler not the ready made one.
when dry, sand down, and apply some diluted paint over these filled areas.

then get some ordinary emulsion, not silk, and try not to use vinyl as a miscoat, (sealed coat).
Water the emulsion down by approx 30-35%, then if you want to use a kitchen or bathroom paint, or even silk you can do, as long as the plaster has been sealed using a matt paint.

I know its obviously a bit old as its had paper on it, but it never has had any paint, so I would treat this plaster as though its new, and with all new plaster you would give it a miscoat of matt emulsion.
Then when you do your second coat, again thin it down, by approx 15-20%, this will make the paint go on better, and adhere to the previous miscoat, and for your third coat, again if its a good quailty make I would still add a tad bit of water.

If you decide you want silk as your further coats, or even the kitchen paint, then add less water, as these paints tend to be thinner than the matt paints.

misgrace

Forgot to mention...., silk, and kitchen/bathroom paint are shiny, so dont use them if you want a matt finish.

crank_girl

Have you considered lining the wall before painting? If it's been papered before you may not get the finish you want unless you line it. Otherwise consider a base coat - it evens out the surface and provides a good surface for paint to stick to.