what do i do when the plasterer goes?

Doglover88

having a new ceiling fitted and every wall downstairs repaired and skimmed, what do i do once he leaves? (been told his finish is as smooth as a window pane )
Been told paint it with watered down paint is his right? Whats the mixture ratio and what paint should i use? And how long should l leave each coat etc?
Eventually i want brilliant white walls if that helps.
Many thanks in advance

glen

alanobrien

glenbat wrote:

having a new ceiling fitted and every wall downstairs repaired and skimmed, what do i do once he leaves? (been told his finish is as smooth as a window pane )
Been told paint it with watered down paint is his right? Whats the mixture ratio and what paint should i use? And how long should l leave each coat etc?
Eventually i want brilliant white walls if that helps.
Many thanks in advance

glen

I recall we used something like a 50/50 diluted solution of cheap wickes white emulsion as a base coat on the new plaster when we had our old loft converted.

New plaster certainly sucks up the paint and i recall doing several coats before the colour became "solid"

Nice finish though

se999

First step is ask the plasterer for his recommendations.

We were told to use very fine sandpaper to remove any blemishes, then seal with diluted white emulsion too, sometimes the first coat shows up bits you don't see on the original finish. Any bits like that you need to seal again with diluted paint. We were told to use very cheap white emulsion paint for a first coat/coats. Then better for later.

Don't use undiluted vinyl silk on bare unsealed plaster, this can peal off in blebs because it's not got a solid surface to adhere to!!

If you leave bare plaster it seems to keep shedding very fine dust, so I'd recommend a first coat as quickly as possible.

Your plasterer will probably know what works best anyway.

Mr_Proctalgia

If you wish it is also possible to use a fairly runny wall paper paste to help stop the new plaster sucking the water out of everything.

sooz

if he's anything like my last plasterer, CLEAN.....AND THEN CLEAN AGAIN

Rhino666

I am in the same position myself !!

Skimmed walls only take a matter of days to dry. The newly plastered ceiling may take a while longer. It is usually obvious from the colour of the plaster when the drying process has finished.

I would recommend clearing any obvious blemishes from skirtings, architraves, coving, etc. with a small scraper and aluminium oxide sandpaper. You then need to paint with a diluted coat of emulsion paint - the ratio is 4 parts paint to 1 part water - DO NOT OVER DILUTE - a 50/50 mix would be a mistake ! You can use any sort of emulsion for the first coat but I recommend silk white as it shows up any blemishes and will enhance the top colour.

The first diluted coat will take around 4 hours to dry before overcoating or filler work can be done. Very shallow filler work does not in my experience need more diluted paint on top. If using a roller you will only need 2 coats of paint.

dooj

I never used diluted paint i just used cheap emulsion from Whicks and that did the job fine. If possible leave the walls as long as you can to dry out then paint them, its up to you if you want to dilute or not but saying as the walls will eventually be white anyway (same as mine) it made more sense to me to build up the layers as you go. Also the first coat should help you identify any bits that need sanding, sand with very fine sandpaper very lightly and try to sweep up the dust immediatley as you dont want it sticking in the paint.

sooz

agree with you re sanding after first coat, but think the paint must be diluted, or new plaster sucks too much moisture out of it. also seen recommended on plasterers' websites [i know i have no life - but this is my job] to use special products from BAL adhesives, many plasterers and tilers seem to think pva is not suitable for everything, and should not be used, even diluted for this. advice from professionals seems to differ widely.

also i love my glass/ window scraper. it removes everything....excess plaster, sticky labels, paint from windows, etc

robowen

You don't need to dilute any paint if you pva glue the walls first. The pva glue seals the plaster, then put your 2 coats of paint on and any colour should be ok.
Dilute pva glue in a small bucket of water, put it on with a roller or brush.

Preparation is the key to good painted walls.
Lightly sand over any newly plastered walls to remove any pips. Fill any nooks and crannies left by the plasterers trowl. Sand again after pva'ing the walls. Two coats of paint.

rob

Doozergirl

robowen wrote:

You don't need to dilute any paint if you pva glue the walls first. The pva glue seals the plaster, then put your 2 coats of paint on and any colour should be ok.
Dilute pva glue in a small bucket of water, put it on with a roller or brush.

He's right. We've learnt the hard way - painting straight on with emulsion, diluting emulsion but PVA works best for us and you can just slap it on really quickly.

Peter_Griffin

think the diluting just saves a bit of money, we were told to do it and worked fine, but because it was just a base coat i slopped it on a bit as i thought it didn't matter.... now have some "dribble" marks were paint was not brushed on properly and left a little solid lump, so best do a good job as these still show through when you paint it for real.

good luck