Hi guys,

Just a quick one for you.

About to skim a wall in my girlfriends dining room, it's not in bad nick but a few dents and bits of rough paint. Thought I'd give it a fine skim to get the practice.

Am I right in thinking that I can just remove any loose paint (gone over the whole wall with a sharp scraper already), scratch the hell out of it with a blade/saw (or else persuade my cat to go for the wall, not the sofa), water/PVA the lot (1 in 3) and then proceed as normal?

Cheers.

yes mate crack on...
good tip for scratching it up - use a devil float... a plastic float with a few sharp screws driven through the nose end...
or just have the loose paint off, give it a coat of bonding agent and leave it overnight to dry - best way really if its silk paint, and the paint is sound...

bonding agent

dries like sandpaper and gives you a good key, use board finish...

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http://www.peterborough-plasterer.co.uk/

Paint is matt emulsion. I've scratched it to hell with a pad saw, but will certainly be trying the devils float in future...

Cheers for the advice.

i like the devil float idea chris never thought of that before thanks chris

its not as fantastically good as it sounds cos it rounds the screws off pretty quick but its still quicker than sweating your nuts off with a sharp stick...

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http://www.peterborough-plasterer.co.uk/

Is it sensible to apply one thin veneer over another? Skim is intended to smooth over render so it can be painted or papered, not for filling dents in older paintwork.

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I started out with nothing, I still have most of it.

Directmail scam information site: http://astrocat.proboards.com/index.cgi?

its a simple overskim mooncat. im confused as to what you are getting at

mooncats in the house man!!!

straight forward respray mooncat, do it day in, day out...
you see all these smooth over type products? designed for the diy'er?
kin waste of time mate, skimmin aint rocket science but it does require at least 50% knowledge to 50% skill....
its all in the prep... get that wrong, and its gonna be a mess....
rest of its all in the wrist... and the timing...
but its done all the time, best way to prep a scabby old wall for fresh new paint..

different if you want it to look old and scabby, nothing wrong with that...

theres as much to learn theory-wise as picking up the skill mate, if not, more...

adhesion, suction control - basics, but absolutely essential.....

get yerself a trowel mooncat, ill talk you through it mate...

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http://www.peterborough-plasterer.co.uk/

My point is that paint is a finish, not an undercoat for a different coating. But since you say it can be done and it is, I'll have to accept it. I wouldn't do it though. But then, I do prefer wood to masonry.

_________________
I started out with nothing, I still have most of it.

Directmail scam information site: http://astrocat.proboards.com/index.cgi?

youve hit it right on the head mate... long as the paint is sound, as in well stuck on there, mist coat prep, proper top coats, then its as good as the plaster underneath...

if not however, your right... it aint a good background....

many a time has a reskim been attempted only to find blisters and bubbles appearing, not due to poor prep by the plasterer, but poor surface recognition.... hence the old 'devil float' method, gets through the paint and onto the underlying substrate....

bonding agents are brilliant, but ONLY when the surface theyre applied to is sound, theyre only as good as whatever you apply them to...

50% theory, 50% skill...

its all about the key....

how you go about creating that key is the point in question... good shout mooncat..

_________________
http://www.peterborough-plasterer.co.uk/

Did my wall this afternoon and I'm pretty pleased with it. Very smooth and seems solid, just hope there's no change when I undercoat it tomorrow (going to do the usual 1 in 4, water and Crown matt emulsion)

I'd say cwplastering is spot on with the 50/50 knowledge/skill thing. I taught myself, with a little help from the pros on here. I picked up the skill bit myself after a few walls, and the forum gave me the knowledge (how and when to use bonding coats, scratch coats, how long to leave before polishing etc). Now I know how long to leave the top skim before I polish it off, it's a piece of cake.

As always, thanks for the expert advice mate!

dnt think itll be ready to paint tomorow mate

Unibond do an expensive PVA for going over paint and it is used undiluted, although I have always just used any old PVA because I don't believe a word of it.

No need to dilute, just make sure the surface is sound and hit the PVA when it is tacky.

Mooncat is right about skimming over emulsion, it isn't ideal to keep adding to walls, paint then skim, then paint. Some of the work I do involves scarifying the paint so that the new skim adheres to the plaster beneath. Typically, it costs about £ 300 to treat a whole house.