After living in my house for 6 months, Iv'e noticed that the paint on the walls (which were nicely painted when we moved in) has started to flake in a few areas. It looks like the previous owners stripped the wallpaper off and didn't clean/wash off the old paste as it feels rough in certain areas, then just painted over it.
What is the best way to solve this, do I sand the whole room, use chemicals (don't really want to) or just line it with a thick grade paper?
Any advice grately received

RB, September 2014

Thanks for your advice Barry. Will probably take me a bit longer but I think I will sand the wall.

Cheers.

RB, September 2014

I had this in my bathroom about a year ago - I sanded the edges - applied a mist coat and then two top coats. I can no longer see the affected areas - but I probably could if I got up close.

As for "is it worth it?" that has to be your decision - in all honesty I would never contemplate using lining paper - and I would never leave flakey paint on the wall no matter what I did next.

You might think through the result of lining paper on flaking paint - in some instances the adhesive will fix the flaking paint - in other instances the lining paper will just stick to the paint but not to the wall - I can imagine you needing to strip off the lining paper and starting over.

But I'm just a DIY person - a professional would give a more considered opinion.

Continuing good luck...

Barry, September 2014

If I wanted to line the walls with lining paper is it worth sanding off the flakey paint before hand?

Cheers.

RB, September 2014

I have seen this before - if the paint is applied to dry plaster without thinning it with water - a mist coat - the layer of paint fails to soak into the plaster - it skins over and blisters and then goes flakey.

If it were my room I would brush off ALL the flakey paint and sand the edges and then apply a mist coat - whenever I do this with 20% water I get paint splashes everywhere - then I would look at it and make a decision - I can cope with a few small blemishes - you don't notice them unless you're searching for them - then I'd put the finishing coat(s) on.

Then I'd look at it again.

Somebody told me that wallpaper is becoming fashionable again but not in my house it isn't.

Of course you could always call in an interior decorator and have it done professionally.

You might also inspect the walls in all the rooms - there may be issues yet to emerge...

Good luck...

Barry Bucknell, September 2014