Advice please from a painter/decorator

lojeno

the builders have just moved out of my house after completing an extension, and now i'm down to the rest of the work, floors and painting etc.
The living room had to be completely replastered, which is now dry and ready for paint. The question is, do i need to put something in particular on the walls before lashing up my paint, some kind of primer? or can i paint straight onto it? how many coats of paint on new plaster?

650gs

Do not put pva/polly bond or any kind of sealer at all it just seals in any dampness that might be left just water down some white emulsion and give it one coat to seal and you will be fine

paddy147

lojeno wrote: »

the builders have just moved out of my house after completing an extension, and now i'm down to the rest of the work, floors and painting etc.
The living room had to be completely replastered, which is now dry and ready for paint. The question is, do i need to put something in particular on the walls before lashing up my paint, some kind of primer? or can i paint straight onto it? how many coats of paint on new plaster?

White emulsion paint watered down by around 20% is perfect for a 1st coat on fresh plaster.

As mentioned above,dont use polybond or PVA.

The diluted white emulsion will be fine.

Once thats dry slap on 2 good coats of your chosen paint colour.

Job Done.:)

lojeno

thanks to both of you, that's great info, all i have to do now is get up off my ass and do it

Happyman42

Good advice above.
How long has it been drying out? Don't be fooled by surface drying. The longer you can leave it to dry in normal circumstances the better, I would be thinking 3 to 4 weeks if you can wait that long. Do it too soon and lock in moisture and it will 'blow' the paint off eventually as it exits. That powdery efflorescence you sometimes see on new painted walls.
If the first painting is not right, it will never be right, as my da used to say, 'if you are in a hurry, don't rush'

lojeno

we are coming up to the end of the 3rd week of drying, and haven't even picked colours yet, so at least another week i'd think before getting going. hopefully drying won't be an issue

Happyman42

lojeno wrote: »

we are coming up to the end of the 3rd week of drying, and haven't even picked colours yet, so at least another week i'd think before getting going. hopefully drying won't be an issue

Get the lead out so!

paddy147

lojeno wrote: »

we are coming up to the end of the 3rd week of drying, and haven't even picked colours yet, so at least another week i'd think before getting going. hopefully drying won't be an issue

We waited a good month after all the plastering was done,before painting the walls or ceilings.

You can pick up large 20 litre drums of white emulsion paint in the trade paint shops for around 20 euro.

Just water it down and get it on the walls and ceilings.

Then once thats done,you and the missus can go around looking at and picking out the various colours that you want to paint the rooms.:)

jigital

I once painted onto fresh plaster with a normal emulsion type of paint and it ended up blistering and flaking. Would this not have happened if I had watered it down a bit?

bazmak

jigital wrote: »

I once painted onto fresh plaster with a normal emulsion type of paint and it ended up blistering and flaking. Would this not have happened if I had watered it down a bit?

what kind of paint did you use? ie, vinyl silk ,soft sheen ?