Peeling Paint

[Glaikityin]

Had bathroom walls replastered October 2009. Walls given two coats emulsion by decorator after plaster had dried. Gone to repaint walls and paint has flaked off up at ceiling level.Tried light sanding to get back to a stable area but it looks like it could all peel off. Is there a solution to this problem which I could do myself?

[ELVIS68]

Sounds like the walls weren't Unibonded first.

[ummmm]

Would they need to be unibonded because it's a bathroom?

[ELVIS68]

I always Unibond newly plastered walls in any room

[ummmm]

I have the same problem as Glaikityin in the bathroom. I painted straight onto the walls in the other rooms with no problems.

[ELVIS68]

Ummmm, The Builders probably the best person to ask about this, all I know is whenever I've had a wall plastered ive always been told to Unibond it before painting or wallpapering

[theshedman]

The walls should have had 1 or 2 coats of watered down emulsion before the top coats were put on, what is called mist coats. That way it would seal the walls and not sit on top as it sounds like it has done. Best thing to do would be to peel it off and start again using a mist coat or 2 then put on the top coats. I wouldn't use UniBond as they are newly plastered and shouldn't need it. UniBond or similar only needs to be used if there is a problem with the walls.

[Glaikityin]

Thanks to all who replied to post. I`ll have a go at giving the bare area a couple of mist coats and see how it looks. Only left the walls plaster finished to make life a bit easier for me- I should have known!

[The Builder]

I do tend to agree with Shedman about applying a mist coat rather than dilute PVA (Unibond). New plaster, especially in a bathroom, shouldn't be surface-sealed.
Dilute emulsion soaks in to the pores of the plaster to give a good hold.

Another reason why this crops up, is that vinyl emulsion is used. Properly, non-vinyl emulsion for new plaster should be applied. New work, including new houses, always had a few coats of non-vinyl "contract paint" put on. This was only intended to last a year or two before final decoration by the owners.

The same applies to renovation work as well. The trouble is, most folk can't wait, so the vinyl goes on right away. If it's well diluted, the vinyl is broken down so that it sinks in well, and doesn't seal the whole thing up too much.

Dulux say thin with only 10% water, which I think is a nonsense. It'll just stay on top, then peel off. You should be able to see through a mist coat.