Painting after plaster

[Head of Toast]

I recently had the bathrom skimmed with plaster. As it was only a skim, rather than a full replaster, can I paint straight onto the surface with normal paint?

Toast.

[EricP]

"normal paint"?

Emulsion probably yes, but not anything oil based.

[Head of Toast]

I was going to use Crown paint for kitchens and bathrooms, not sure if that would have oil in it. Toast.

[Mike]

Crown is a manufacturer not a type of paint, their emulsion is fine, look at the tin. I normally water down the paint by about 25% for the first coat on bare plaster.

Mike

[Andrew Gabriel]

First coat should be a matt emulsion, watered down by 10-20% (dilute more, the more polished the plaster surface is). Alternatively, you can buy special paint for this, but matt emulsion works just as well. Don't use PVA to seal plaster; several paint manufacturers specifically say not to, and it can cause the next paint layer to bead up rather than wetting the wall.

The kitchen and bathroom paints are moisture proof, and you should not paint this on the wall until the plaster is completely dry. For a skim coat, wait several days after it looks dry.

[Mark D. Smith]

i recently painted our new bathroom which is skimmed plaster (on plasterboard) with B&Q Kitchen & Bathroom brilliant white satin finish paint (2.5ltr). room is half tiled and we used just under 2 tubs ceiling included. (room is 5M x 3M)

2 coats with a roller and very happy with the result. cheaper than other brand names and recommended by our builders.

Mark