03/09/2026
This is a good example of why the preparation work underneath a finish is just as important as the finish itself.
I’ve stripped the wallpaper from this room and, unfortunately, the paint underneath has started coming away from the plaster with it.
The plaster was originally painted directly with silk, without being given a suitable mist coat first.
Fresh plaster is highly absorbent, so it needs to be treated correctly before applying a finishing paint. A properly applied mist coat penetrates into the porous plaster and creates a suitable surface for subsequent coats to adhere to.
Silk paint isn’t designed to be used directly on fresh plaster as the first coat. It forms a much less absorbent film on the surface, which means it doesn’t provide the same pe*******on and adhesion that you need on bare plaster.
It can look perfectly acceptable when first painted, which is often why these problems aren't noticed straight away. But the underlying adhesion can be poor, and once you introduce wallpaper paste, moisture and eventually the process of stripping the wallpaper, that weak layer can start to fail.
That’s exactly what has happened here.
The wallpaper itself has done nothing wrong. It has simply highlighted a problem that was already underneath it.
Now I’m left having to remove all the loose and poorly bonded paint, get the surface back to something stable and properly prepare it before I can move forward with the decorating.
This is why good decorating isn't simply about putting paint on a wall.
Understanding the surface, using the correct products and taking the time to prepare everything properly is what gives you a finish that looks good and stays looking good.
It would have been much easier to get the preparation right before the original decorating was carried out.
Unfortunately, I’m dealing with it now 😂
Another reminder that when it comes to decorating, the work you don't see is often just as important as the work you do.
Or in short... the previous decorator before me didnt have a Scooby 🤷
