Hall, stairs and landing had artex removed and was replastered 4 weeks ago. Waited 2 weeks to paint and used a watered down coat first. I then added two more coats (matt emulsion). In some areas on this application the paint bubbled and when dry it split. The paint peeled away back to bare plaster. I scraped back a large section of wall, applied plaster sealer and then started to build up the paint. This appears ok at the moment but there are still bubbles elsewhere.
Is there a fault with the plaster, the paint or my technique?

Ian Smith, November 2008

Thanks to Alan, problem solved for us, just rubbed it down....again, and used a white oil based undercoat, no bubbles appeared, excellent. It was quite un-nerving, putting paint on only to see it bubble up at once!! Thanks again

Ann & Terry, June 2012

Hi I have tried the undercoat but it has started to bubble again and worse than last time it only appears to be one corner of the room what can I try now

Jeanette, September 2009

walls needed sealing before painting use gluesize

tommo, December 2008

It all depends on what paint you used. If the plaster was to "shiny",this is when the plasterer finishes off and polishes the wall to get a nice looking shiny finish.Good for the platerer but not good for the painter, if you dont use a high opacity matt the paint wont take very well. Silk paints shouldnot be used on new plaster as they just peel and dont take that well. Rub down to remove all the bad areas and key the plaster with some worn sandpaper,get a high opacity matt and re-paint.This should help

rob, November 2008

hi im a decorator by trade and have seen this loads of times , to stop the bubbling apply some oil based white undercoat before you emulsion this should seal the problem for you

alan, November 2008