Freshly plastered and painted walls are "chalky" and mark

[furtive]

I recently had my lounge walls skimmed. I then put a mist coat on of watered down white emulsion, and paid a pro to to the final 2 coats of colour.

The walls now have a sort of chalky finish to them and if you run you finger lightly over the surface it leaves a mark and white powder on your finger. It also is really very crap at marking (2 small children) - way worse than any other room in the house to such an extent that one wall looks worse than before we started.

The pro used Crown trade paint. The rest of the house is painted with Farrow & Ball modern emulsion or standard Dulux emulsion.

What would cause the walls to be "chalky" and mark so easily, and do you think I would have any comeback with the guy that did it (just before Christmas)?

[Ollerton57]

Sounds to me like you needed an extra coat (or two) of watered down paint.

[blaineuk]

Maybe he used matt emulsion, if so it is chalky, needs a coat of vinyl matt or a hard wearing matt emulsion

[furtive]

Thanks all. I'm a bit peed off because I told him I wanted a hard-wearing finish due to the kids.

Do you think I have any comeback with him? Will be giving him a call later

[stanwan]

furtive said:

Thanks all. I'm a bit peed off because I told him I wanted a hard-wearing finish due to the kids.

Do you think I have any comeback with him? Will be giving him a call later

If it is fresh plaster you'll have to put up with it for a while. The matt emulsion marks easily but is the best paint for fresh plaster. I'd leave it for 6 months and then paint over with a vinyl emulsion.

BTw who did you get to do your plastering?

[furtive]

stanwan said:

If it is fresh plaster you'll have to put up with it for a while. The matt emulsion marks easily but is the best paint for fresh plaster. I'd leave it for 6 months and then paint over with a vinyl emulsion.

BTw who did you get to do your plastering?

Thanks Stan. In what way is matt emulsion best for fresh plaster?

The plasterer was Dave (07905 336xxx) and was recommended by my electrician. Very pleased with the job he did and would recommend him

Edited by furtive on Thursday 16th January 13:48

[Prizam]

I have also had this with Crown paint and B&Q paints.

Wicks or Duelux are the best for me.

[Mr Pointy]

furtive said:

The plasterer was Dave (07905 336xxx) and was recommended by my electrician. Very pleased with the job he did and would recommend him

Well he might not be too keen on you plastering his phone number over the interweb.

[mart 63]

High opacity paints for new plaster.If you want hard wearing paint,use Dulux diamond emulsion after.Not cheap but its very good.

[Alucidnation]

I have Dulux diamond Paint in my hallway, and the walls are constantly getting marked by the dogs (i do try and hide the pencils but they just keep finding them),

I use a wet cloth and it cleans off without taking any paint off at all. Stubborn marks can be removed with a non stick pan scourer.

It aint cheap, but it's been done 5 years and still looks as fresh as the day i painted it.

[stanwan]

furtive said:

Thanks Stan. In what way is matt emulsion best for fresh plaster?

The plasterer was Dave (07905 336120) and was recommended by my electrician. Very pleased with the job he did and would recommend him

Might give him a go. I used JB the last couple of times.

The plaster needs to evaporate under the paint coats. I've been advised to go with super matt for a few months until everything has dried out, then finish off with a vinyl matt if desired. Also, you might have some cracking and fine filling to do after a while.

The great thing about super matte is that you can patch repair and repaint with ease.... sand down the offending area and just roller over the patch!