PVA PAINTING PROBLEM General decorating topics, questions and answers. find help, tips and advice on completing your decorating projects

[toplondonchef]

Hi there - read plenty of useful information on this great site plenty of times but this is my first post...

Had buiding works carried out on my kitchen some months ago and have started to paint ceiling and walls but have come across a room full of problems, I think due to the use of PVA;

Had ceiling boarded out and plaster skimmed only for sparky to fit 6 spotlights all in wrong position !
After much discussion the plasterer filled holes and re-skimmed repaired area, leaving a nice even ceiling

Now when I have sealed the plaster and emulsioned the ceiling, just the repaired areas are showing up. It seems that the paint wont cover the repair area, no matter how thickly or how many coats are applied whilst the rest of the ceiling is lovely

Same problem around wall/ceiling junction where old plastered walls were coated in PVA prior to skimming I'm left with a border around the newly skimmed ceiling where again the paint wont cover (The walls were skimmed a month after the ceiling)

Also various splashes and drip marks on the skimmed walls where the paint wont cover (These are probably from PVA used during ceiling repair)

I'm a competent DIY'er and always aim for a near perfect finish, so carried out work in the following order;

Lightly rubbed over walls/ceiling with 180 grit sandpaper
Wipped down walls/ceiling to remove dust
Sealed walls/ceiling with watered down emulsion - 60% paint - 40% water using Wickes trade matt
Painted walls/ceiling with Dulux super matt using short pile roller

I've seen posts discussing staining when painting but I'm sure that this is due directly to the use of PVA - Definately a bit of a "Marmite" product

Any advice would be much appreciated as this has totally wasted and spoiled my weekend - Cheers

[bimbim]

just wondering if the repair man used such a stiff mix of pva the water in the mist coat of paint would not soak in and wash over. perhaps try an oil based undercoat to prime the surface. also pva drips need to be properly sanded off.
al.

[chris_on_tour2002]

are you using a good quality paint? i'd suggest a dulux trade vinyl.

[toplondonchef]

Thanks guys for your replies - appologies to bimbim for the delayed response though ...

After some further research to solve the painting problem I have seen, as suggested, to try using an oil based undercoat. Will this be ok to then topcoat with water based emulsion as emulsion does not cover well over oil based topcoats and can end up peeling due to poor adhesion ?

PVA drips have been sanded down during preparation but these areas wont cover with either the mist coat or topcoat - it's where the pva has soaked into the bare plaster that is causing the problem, not a lumpy mark where the drip was

As to the quality of the paint - have used Wickes trade matt for the mist coat (have used this paint many times for both mist coat and topcoats and have found results good) and Dulux super matt for the topcoat

Popped into Dulux decorator centre and discussed problem and they sold me a tin of Zinserr Bulleye 1,2,3 - used as instructions but had no effect on problem areas - still paint will not cover

Phoned the Dulux technical helpline and they suggested using as an undercoat - Dulux Alkali Resisting Primer (solvent based)
Obviousely they couldn't gaurentee that this would solve the problem but at £48.20 per 5ltr tin don't want to spalsh the cash only to find that again this will not cover the problem areas

Has anyone used the above primer in similair situations to good effect ?
Or another product or solution or advice ?

Further feedback would be much appreciated as I have 4 rooms to decorate, all re-plastered over the last 2/3 years
Have tried a mist coat on 2 of these rooms and have the same problem as the kitchen in my original thread

I have now used 1200 grade lining paper in the kitchen and emulsioned over with good results to get this room completed
Don't really want to have to line remaining 4 rooms after spending the money on having these rooms skimmed - walls and ceilings

Have decorated loads over the years and have never had this problem with plastered walls so pretty cheesed off to be polite !

Many thanks for any help