What to apply after Skimming ?

If your final finish is to be ordinary emulsion paint then well-thinned white matt emulsion makes a perfectly good base coat (known in the decorating trade as a mist coat (or piss coat)). The paint manufacturers usually recommend thinning by about 20% for this, but see the instructions on the tin. Allow to dry, then and apply two coats of the chosen finish. "Mist and two" they call it.

No for chrissakes don't use PVA or you'll find the paint flakes off a damned sight faster than 2-5 years (ie, it will do so as soon as it's dry!) See

Dilute emulsion is definitely the way to go.

David

White paint IS watered down PVA, but with some white bits added. It is safer to use diluted emulsion, as it is easy to cause a disaster with PVA by not watering down enough.

I use Dulux Trade Supermatt. Available in any colour and specifically formulated for new plaster so that it can breathe. You can paint a lot sooner than 7 days afterwards with no cracking at all. Don't use standard Vinyl Silk/Matt on new plaster, as it can craze.

Do the first coat 30% watered down. If you are doing the ceiling as well, do the first coat in white all over, then paint the ceiling, then the walls. This avoids drips and gets the job done quickly.

If you are just painting the walls, just use the final colour from the off.

Christian.

Thanks for the responses folks!

Think it'll be thinned down emulsion then.

Just to confirm... when people say 20% waterdown, do they mean 4 parts water to 1 part paint, or vice-versa ?

Cheers.

Well you start with the paint and water that down by 20% so, no, its 4 parts paint to one of water.

Mostly paint, with a little water. No need to be particularly accurate.

Christian.

Dulux make a paint specially for painting on plaster that is not dry-

I'm a diluted PVA fan, but a well-diluted paint should work perfectly well too. Main thing is to apply several nice wet coats so that it sinks deep into the plaster. This prevents any flaking later.

In the old days we called it 'distemper' and all new plasterwork got it...

Dulux Supermatt is nothing like distemper. Distemper is a PITA.

I forgot to add the smiley ;-)

Use a matt emulsion. Thats probably what the Dulux is anyway.