How do I prepare a tired wall for repainting. The plaster is old and I do not want to replaster.

Question

I have just removed old wallpaper from the walls. The plaster is old and a bit loose in places. I do not want to repaper or replaster. . I just want to paint the walls and hide all the duff bits. Should I repaper before painting or is there a way of repainting so that it looks good and if I repaper before painting how do I prepare the walls?

Answer 1

Sand it down until you reach desired effect,  

Answer 2

You have 2 choices, you can either fill it then paint it with matt emulsion or paper it with lining paper and then paint it.

Answer 3

You'll want to do some repair work on your plaster before you do anything else. If you have cracks, sections of plaster that are loose, then you'll want to re-fasten it with plaster washers and do a little patching to even it all out. Read this bulletin from the historic preservation section of the U.S. Park Service - they own and maintain many historic buildings and the information in this article is very good: http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/tps/brief... Having worked in historic preservation myself, I can vouch for the techniques outlined in this article, it's all sound advice. In particular, use the plaster washers (about half-way down the page in a photo) for re-attaching loose sections of plaster to the lath. Once the plaster on the wall all feels solid and secure again, patch any holes or cracks to get the wall surface as smooth as is possible under the circumstances.

Once you've conquered that beast, then you have some choices. Lining paper isn't a bad way to even things out. It also can help hold things together a little.

You might consider doing some kind of decorative painting treatment on your walls - rag rolling, sponge painting, or other methods, to help to obscure any uneveness, lumps or repairs that might show through the paper or a solid color paint job. Even a very subtle use of two tones very close to each other can go a long way to mitigate a scarred plaster wall.  

Answer 4

it all depends on what you can put up with, if you just sand down and paint then you will have a rustic look but if you fill and sand dowm then it may look better , we have done our whole house like that and now the missus wants the just rubbed down room done propperly , I should have done it that way from the bigining , re plaster the realy bad wall and filled the rest and rubbed down every thing properly then blind with a heavy latex paint then what ever colour she wants, the end result will be worth it

Answer 5

Use lining paper. It is available in differing thicknesses to be used in accordance with the condition of the wall. If you are going to apply new wall paper  on top then apply the lining paper horizontally. If you intend to emulsion then it does not matter if the lining paper is applied horizontally or vertically.

Answer 6

Let it rest for a few days, then give it a few cups of coffee.

Answer 7

give wall a light sand then fill holes dents etc sand these bits then use cheapest white matt emulsion and coat walls this will expose more bits that need filling, do this then sand again and recoat with white paint, as you go along you will get a better finish each time and your wall should be a bright white smooth room when you are happy with this choose a better quality emulsion in the colour of your choice and give another 1 or 2 coats, you will not believe how good your room will look, i have just done this and i am useless at diy but my room now has a better finish than it would had it been reskimmed and as it is still the old plaster on walls there is no shrinkage or cracks that will start to appear after a couple of weeks.

Answer 8

you would be better off getting ready to roll skimcoat you just roll it on like paint then sand it down and paint away