New Plaster

[Steve Rainbird]

I have just had some walls replasatered where the old plaster had blown.

How long should I leave it to dry before I paint it?

TIA

[mrcheerful]

you should paint it with a porous paint, it will not dry fully for about 6 months. after that time repaint with whatever you like.

mrcheerful

[The3rd Earl Of Derby]

Months although no one can give you a definitive answer.

Best solution if you wan't to speed up the process of drying out is the aid of a Dehumidifer left on for 3 to 4 solid days with window kept shut.

-- Sir Benjamin Middlethwaite

[Weatherlawyer]

Don't be so bloody silly. It will be fit to paint with the trade paint recommended above, in a few days. If it is only a small patch, you can paint it with acrylic in a week or so.

What holds up painting new plaster is the amount of water in the walls. In new builds this can be a phenomenal amount, considering that brickwork will be fresh and the gutters might only just have been fitted by the time the painter comes around.

A newly plastered room will have tons of water in the walls. Well gallons, certainly.

A small patch in some corner of a room might be bone dry in days. Of course if it fell off due to the integrity of the wall failing in some way....

Did he cure the leaking plumbing that wet the wall that softened the plaster? sort of thing

[Andrew Gabriel]

I would suggest leaving it at least twice as long again as it takes for the plaster to visibly dry out, which is probably going to be 3 weeks at this time of year for a scratch and finish coat. If you are painting with anything other than matt emulsion, probably want to double that time. First coat should be watered down matt emulsion anyway, regardless of what the remaining coats will be.

[Steve Rainbird]

It wasn't a leak it was blown when I used a wallpaper steamer to get rid of Woodchip.

This means that the patches are not very deep just .5 cm in patches and a skim over the rest.

The other bit he did was where a gas fire was recessed in to a wall here although I didn't see him do it the plaster must be about 1 cm thick.

So I guess I have 2 different situations.

[Steve Rainbird]

So what happens with a new build? They don't wait months to paint those. A week at the most is my guess.

[Peter Taylor]

Steve, I think you realise some of your replies are a load of rot. If you've been flooded out, or if you have new brick walls, 15mm of new plaster and an unheated room maybe a de-humidifier could be justified. In a heated room, with dry walls and only a thin coat of plaster, virtually all the moisture will have evaporated in a couple of days, especially if you open a window. If you use emulsion (as opposed to oil-based paint) it will breathe and allow the wall to equalise with the air in the room very quickly. In theory you could actually paint the wall as soon as the plaster has set if you're prepared to decorate it again later if necessary, but you'll be fine if you leave it a few days until the plaster appears dry.

Peter

[Steve Rainbird]

Thanks Peter that's of course what hoped I guess I will try it and see. Her indoors wants it done by Christmas of course.

[marble]

This paint from Dulux can go over skimmed walls after 24hrs and doesnt need diluting:

[Christian McArdle]

Use Dulux Trade Supermatt and you can start painting right away. It is available in pretty much any colour from the mixing system. I wouldn't use standard vinyl emulsion for a few months, although even if you did, it probably wouldn't be a total disaster or anything.