Preparing a flaking wall for painting

tcd212121

Hi,

We are currently in the process of decorating our open lounge/dining room/stairwell/landing, so quite a large area. The walls were previously wallpapered and we are looking to paint but before starting, looking for advice to prep the walls to get the best possible finish for the paintwork. The current condition of the walls is:

- wallpaper glue residue still on surface
- flaking paint and patches exposed down to original plaster
- some hairline and deeper cracks in plaster

I'm particularly interested in the steps we need to take in order to prevent re-peeling and achieve a smooth (as reasonably possible) finish to avoid seeing the outline of patchy remaining paint underneath, without having to reskim the walls. Any specific UK products that anyone recommends also appreciated.

Many thanks!

Jonesya

I've just decorated a room in similar condition, in my case I washed and scrubbed the walls twice to thoroughly remove any residue of wall paper adhesive - I used a scourer pad. I used Stardrops detergent but suger-soap is normally recommended.

I filled any cracks and fixing holes with filler then sanded the paintwork with a random orbital sander to smooth off where the paint had flaked. Before giving it all a final wipe down with water to remove dust and any detergent.

It's hard work but worth it.

TheCyclingProgrammer

Short of having it re-skimmed, there is no quick and easy solution unfortunately.

Flaking paint should be removed back to a solid edge - beware that if it was previously painted over new plaster without a mist coat, then you could find it peeling off in sheets. Once all loose paint is removed, you need to lightly rub down to soften the edges and fill with a good fine surface filler (I like Touprets and Easifill).

Cracks should be raked out and filled as per above.

All wallpaper glue residue should be removed.

Wash all the walls down with a sugar soap solution, if the previous paint has a sheen you might want to lightly sand the walls to abrade the surface slightly.

At this point I'd be tempted to put a coat of cheap white emulsion (any trade paint will do) as not only will this prime any filled spots but it will help you see any obvious imperfections you've missed. Do any snagging and then you should be good to paint with your top coats.

EssexExile

Or use lining paper.

tallyho88

Have just been in a similar situation with my walls, and not being great with decorating they've turned out OK, my house was built in the late 70's and had several layers of old paint/wallpaper to remove. I used a Hamilton heavy duty scraper and a heat gun to melt the old paint and help it peel off a bit easier, plaster was in good condition but I used 'gyproc easi-fill' to smooth over the walls. Not a pro of any kind but hope this post can help.

dermonte

We were washing the walls with soapy water, then filling the holes with fillers. Our neighbour complained when sanding it with electric sander though as was taking ages. Could only do it evenings after work too. So got a plasterer in the end. Paid £500 to reskim the landing, hallway and stair wall. I wish I used plasterer before.