Need advice on painting walls please.....

[robbie_001]

I've just stripped all of the wallpaper off walls in the spare room and inevitably this has taken some of the old emulation paint that was behind it off the wall too. I spent most of the day yesterday trying to sand these bits as flat as I could, but some of them are still detectable with your finger tip. 

If if I use a good quality emulsion and apply it with a roller, just how flat do these areas need to be so that they won't be noticeable once painted over, or will the fact that I can feel them at all mean they'll stick out like a sore thumb?

Yes, I know it it would be best to have them re-skimmed, but having unfortunately been made redundant from work in the week, I could do with avoiding that expense, but wanted to use the remaining paint I had one over from another recent job.

TIA

[dark_castle1]

Could you not get a small bag of plaster and mix a thin batch then skim a thin layer over the bits yourself. Then give a couple of coats of emulsion.

Alternatively I think the big DIY stores have an item similar to thick emulsion called something like polyskim or such like ! that might be of use to you.

[robbie_001]

Thanks, I might have to give that a go, but confidence is what I'm lacking in I guess DC.

[dark_castle1]

I think I read somewhere you can paint that polyskim or DIY stores own make on with a roller and that evens the wall out.

[robbie_001]

Ok, definitely sounds the thing for me. Thank you. 

[jazzymazzy2015]

If you paint over whats there it will show badly. Even when you can't feel it with your fingertip you will still see it. I had the same problem in my living room.  I bought some cheap, paintable paper and put that on first, then painted. It covers a multitude of sins, and looks lovelly. Next time, I can just repaint.

[robbie_001]

Thanks for your post. I was trying to avoid papering again having literally just stripped paper off the wall, but all suggestions gratefully received.

[stan3502]

Not sure where abouts you are but our local college has a building / plastering course and want practice for it's students so they come out to folks homes if they qualify and will plaster / skim for just the cost of the materials.

Every thing is supervisesd and any mistakes they make are put good by the lecturer so you always end up with a top job

If you are now unemployed you would qualify under the scheme here , worth an ask

[robbie_001]

Thanks Stan, it might be worth asking at least.

[mustavaquid]

To make the wall smooth enough for it to have no defects show after repainting without skimming, you would probably be best to build up only the 'stripped' areas with several coats of emulsion paint. Put a small quantity of the paint in another container and dilute with a little water for the first coat on bare plaster, it'll soak in and bond better than 'neat' paint. Use a brush and overlap only a little on to the edges of the firm paint. In a warm room you should be able to get at least three coats on in a day, which should go a fair way to levelling the surface. Sand the overlaps a little between coats to check how it's building up and wipe away the sanding dust.

  As for skimming that's an excellent idea from Stan to use college trainees.

Don't be afraid of learning how to plaster for yourself at college or even by teaching yourself.  I taught myself about 37 years ago along with how to install damp courses - both liquid injection and plastic membrane. Even today the basic tools can be had for a few tens of £s.

I could probably have made it into a business but never bothered. There wasn't Google and You Tube in those days to help. Today there is apparently a shortage of skilled workers such as plasterers in the building industry if you fancy going that way for another job.

[robbie_001]

Thanks mustavaquid. I must confess I half expected that no one would bother to respond to this thread (or I'd just get sarcastic comments), so I've been more than proved wrong. I appreciate your suggestion too.

[stan3502]

There's a lot of helpful folk on here who are more than happy to help out if they think they can that's why so many of us are still around