Uneven walls after plastering

sbird90

Hi all

Had our hallway and stairs plastered a few month ago, was really happy with it at first and it’s even had a few compliments from other tradesmen etc. However having it painted this week it’s shown up a lot of uneven areas and bumps which weren’t obvious when it was the dark Matt plaster colour and i’m certain it’s the wall not the paint. is it because the plaster was put on old and potentially uneven walls (old house with old plaster that had lots of cracks and dents but wasn’t crumbling) with no plaster board and is it normal? Or should I get the plasterer back? 

stuart45

Plaster often looks good till it's painted. Always best to run your fingers over it, especially in the internal angles, which is where it sorts out the men from the boys. To be fair a skim will over get over a certain amount, so if the wall is really rough to start with you won't get perfection. You can get fillers that will cover up the trowel marks when sanded. 

sbird90

stuart45 said:

Plaster often looks good till it's painted. Always best to run your fingers over it, especially in the internal angles, which is where it sorts out the men from the boys. To be fair a skim will over get over a certain amount, so if the wall is really rough to start with you won't get perfection. You can get fillers that will cover up the trowel marks when sanded. 

So would you say this is a bad plaster job? If it’s probably what most would achieve without plaster board then I’ll just have to suck it up and get over it and make sure the rest of the house is boarded first instead but if it’s bad job I know to find a new plasterer 

stuart45

Don't really like to run other peoples work down, especially as I didn't see the walls before and plastering isn't my trade, but I know a few time served plasterers who I doubt would have left a job like that. I do a bit of plastering myself and I know that the internal angles are usually the places where the trowel marks are left.
I must admit that if I paid someone to plaster a wall for me I would expect a better job than that.

Bendy_House

Three reasons why that looks as not-good as it does; the light is shining down on it at a low angle to the wall which highlights every imperfection. You appear to have used 'silk' paint (please gawd tell me you didn't...). And, 3, it's just not the best plastering job.

It ain't 'bad', but it simply wasn't ready for painting. If you had employed a good P&D to paint the walls for you, they'd have carried out a few hours prep work on it first.

I have exactly the same issue in my stairwell - when the sun is South and light comes in the skylight at the top of the stairs and hits the walls at this low angle, every imperfection shows up shockingly. And we are talking a lot of imperfections, as it was me wot dun it.

A 90% improvement can be had by going over that wall with a large sanding block on a handle and 180-grit paper. All these ripples and ridges down the LH side will be gorn, certainly, and there's also a few other raised bumps and ridges which will be easily got rid of too. Sanding won't fill any hollows, of course, but there actually doesn't appear to be any obvious ones of those, so these are all raised ridges and bumps, and therefore 'easily' sortable.

And, if that is 'silk', then you know what to do...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/293741025890?chn=ps&mkevt=1&mkcid=28

sbird90

Bendy_House said:

Three reasons why that looks as not-good as it does; the light is shining down on it at a low angle to the wall which highlights every imperfection. You appear to have used 'silk' paint (please gawd tell me you didn't...). And, 3, it's just not the best plastering job.

It ain't 'bad', but it simply wasn't ready for painting. If you had employed a good P&D to paint the walls for you, they'd have carried out a few hours prep work on it first.

I have exactly the same issue in my stairwell - when the sun is South and light comes in the skylight at the top of the stairs and hits the walls at this low angle, every imperfection shows up shockingly. And we are talking a lot of imperfections, as it was me wot dun it.

A 90% improvement can be had by going over that wall with a large sanding block on a handle and 180-grit paper. All these ripples and ridges down the LH side will be gorn, certainly, and there's also a few other raised bumps and ridges which will be easily got rid of too. Sanding won't fill any hollows, of course, but there actually doesn't appear to be any obvious ones of those, so these are all raised ridges and bumps, and therefore 'easily' sortable.

And, if that is 'silk', then you know what to do...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/293741025890?chn=ps&mkevt=1&mkcid=28

The paint is leylands acrylic eggshell. We just paid £500 to get it decorated so I’m not emotionally or financially ready to sand it all back. There will be frames going on the wall so I’m hoping that hides it, along with a new lampshade upstairs that won’t make the lighting as bright so I’ll just see how it goes, I’ll probably get used to it and not notice it eventually, I can always sand it back in a few months once the other renovations are done. I’m the meantime I’ll look for a new plasterer for the other rooms! Thanks for your reply 

Bendy_House

sbird90 said:

The paint is leylands acrylic eggshell. We just paid £500 to get it decorated so I’m not emotionally or financially ready to sand it all back. There will be frames going on the wall so I’m hoping that hides it, along with a new lampshade upstairs that won’t make the lighting as bright so I’ll just see how it goes, I’ll probably get used to it and not notice it eventually, I can always sand it back in a few months once the other renovations are done. I’m the meantime I’ll look for a new plasterer for the other rooms! Thanks for your reply 

Fair do's, and it isn't that bad. But, it could - should - be a lot better.

That sounds like a sensible approach - live with it, and it'll be fine. When it comes to the wall needing a repaint - which it likely will in 5 years or so - then consider a gentle going-over with sandpaper first. It'll also clean the wall, key the existing paint, and ensure better adhesion.

Ok, you didn't use 'satin', but you did use 'eggshell'... Why oh why oh wh...

Ok, it's a personal choice, but matt finish will help disguise the bumps a fair bit. And if you chose eggshell for its durability, then you can get scrubbable matt.

If you chose eggshell for its 'attractive low sheen', then I'm just not going to speak to you again.

sbird90

Bendy_House said:

sbird90 said:

The paint is leylands acrylic eggshell. We just paid £500 to get it decorated so I’m not emotionally or financially ready to sand it all back. There will be frames going on the wall so I’m hoping that hides it, along with a new lampshade upstairs that won’t make the lighting as bright so I’ll just see how it goes, I’ll probably get used to it and not notice it eventually, I can always sand it back in a few months once the other renovations are done. I’m the meantime I’ll look for a new plasterer for the other rooms! Thanks for your reply 

Fair do's, and it isn't that bad. But, it could - should - be a lot better.

That sounds like a sensible approach - live with it, and it'll be fine. When it comes to the wall needing a repaint - which it likely will in 5 years or so - then consider a gentle going-over with sandpaper first. It'll also clean the wall, key the existing paint, and ensure better adhesion.

Ok, you didn't use 'satin', but you did use 'eggshell'... Why oh why oh wh...

Ok, it's a personal choice, but matt finish will help disguise the bumps a fair bit. And if you chose eggshell for its durability, then you can get scrubbable matt.

If you chose eggshell for its 'attractive low sheen', then I'm just not going to speak to you again.

I lie - I'm going to track you down and talk to you very loudly indeed.

Only kidding.

Where do you live?

I actually prefer a matt finish but was advised by a decorating company (not my decorator) that eggshell is more forgiving than matt because matt shows up imperfections. You live and learn I guess! 

Bendy_House

More durable, yes, but not more visually forgiving. The exact opposite, in fact.

Extraordinary that an 'expert' would say such a thing.

You may also have adhesion issues should you wish to overcoat in matt emulsion in future - as any normal person would Another reason to at least 'key' the surface when the time comes.

In fact, get proper advice on how to transition. You may be recommended to use a primer/sealer like Zinsser.