Hi,

I'm not an expert on emulsion - but I think the walls in a bedroom
are emulsioned with vinyl silk - there's a slightly shiny surface to
the wall. Now centimetre wide "spots" of emulsion have come off and we
can see the plaster underneath. In places it is single spots others
it's more like a "rash". Now I can emulsion on top (any gotchas?) but
I guess the "shadow" of the lost emulsion will still be visible. How
can I "mask" or "fill" the spots before I put the final coat on? I was
thinking maybe some white undercoat to build it up first? Is there an
old-diyers knack to tackling this?


Also the old saw of "hairline" cracks. I'm a Tetrion fan - but it
is too thick for these cracks and I'm not keen on racking out bigger
cracks to give a surface for Tetrion to bond to. Has anyone used the
"inverted V" approach where the opened crack is wider "into" the wall
and still narrow on the surface? The idea being the filler won't fall
out. Any success anyone with this? What kind of tool should I use for
raking out?



Thanks

Clive

Clive wrote:

I'm not an expert on emulsion - but I think the walls in a bedroom
are emulsioned with vinyl silk - there's a slightly shiny surface to
the wall. Now centimetre wide "spots" of emulsion have come off and we
can see the plaster underneath.

Why have blobs come off?
Is it a reaction with new paint?
Or is the plaster falling apart?
I've done 2 ceilings recently where when coating with emulsion straight
over the old paint, the new paint would bubble up. The only cure for
this fault is to scrape back to the plaster and re-paint.
If you try a little patch of paint, to see if it reacts, and it does,
then it may be possible to paint it all over with an oil based
undercoat, let that dry, then emulsion as normal.

Also the old saw of "hairline" cracks. I'm a Tetrion fan - but it
is too thick for these cracks and I'm not keen on racking out bigger
cracks to give a surface for Tetrion to bond to. Has anyone used the
"inverted V" approach where the opened crack is wider "into" the wall
and still narrow on the surface? The idea being the filler won't fall
out. Any success anyone with this? What kind of tool should I use for
raking out?

Unless the plaster is flaky, then it is best to not scrape any more off,
just get a tube of decorators caulk, and rub that in to any cracks.
If they are tiny, then a thick coat of paint should cover them.
Alan.
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"Clive" wrote in message
...
Hi,

I'm not an expert on emulsion - but I think the walls in a bedroom
are emulsioned with vinyl silk - there's a slightly shiny surface to
the wall. Now centimetre wide "spots" of emulsion have come off and we
can see the plaster underneath. In places it is single spots others
it's more like a "rash". Now I can emulsion on top (any gotchas?) but
I guess the "shadow" of the lost emulsion will still be visible. How
can I "mask" or "fill" the spots before I put the final coat on? I was
thinking maybe some white undercoat to build it up first? Is there an
old-diyers knack to tackling this?

The important question is why the existing paint has come off. My first
assumption would be that it, or the paint under it, hadn't bonded to the
plaster. We had a similar problem and took the walls back to the plaster.
Then start over.

A big job but probably the result you will end up with.

Brian

On 9 Sep, 18:47, "Brian Reay" wrote:

The important question is why the existing paint has come off. My first
assumption would be that it, or the paint under it, hadn't bonded to the
plaster. We had a similar problem and took the walls back to the plaster.
Then start over.

A big job but probably the result you will end up with.

Brian

There must be ten 1cm diameter patches and two areas of "rashes" about
5cm diameter. There is nothing I can see (such as damp) in these areas
that would obviously have lead to the paint/emulsion peeling. For the
(vast) bulk of the walls and ceiling, the vinyl(?) emulsion looks in
good condition but is "grubby" and a change of colour is required by
the "customer". The idea of underpainting the exposed plaster with
undercoat was to try and "build up" the paint depth in the areas the
plaster is exposed. I remember reading somewhere that one can
undercoat glossed walls as a basis for subsequent emulsining rather
than stripping back with chemical stripper to bare plaster.


Clive

On Sep 9, 4:24*pm, Clive wrote:
Hi,

* *I'm not an expert on emulsion - but I think the walls in a bedroom
are emulsioned with vinyl silk - there's a slightly shiny surface to
the wall.

sounds like it

Now centimetre wide "spots" of emulsion have come off and we
can see the plaster underneath. In places it is single spots others
it's more like a "rash". Now I can emulsion on top (any gotchas?) but
I guess the "shadow" of the lost emulsion will still be visible.

yep

How
can I "mask" or "fill" the spots before I put the final coat on? I was
thinking maybe some white undercoat to build it up first? Is there an
old-diyers knack to tackling this?

Many have tried, but theres no easy solution.

* *Also the old saw of "hairline" cracks. I'm a Tetrion fan - but it
is too thick for these cracks and I'm not keen on racking out bigger
cracks to give a surface for Tetrion to bond to. Has anyone used the
"inverted V" approach where the opened crack is wider "into" the wall
and still narrow on the surface? The idea being the filler won't fall
out. Any success anyone with this? What kind of tool should I use for
raking out?

Forget raking out the cracks, I dont know why its so often
recommended. Just wipe a little filler on with a finger, and wipe off.
Done.


On Sep 10, 3:25*pm, Clive wrote:
On 9 Sep, 18:47, "Brian Reay" wrote:



The important question is why the existing paint has come off. My first
assumption would be that it, or the paint under it, hadn't bonded to the
plaster. We had a similar problem and took the walls back to the plaster.