Browse Forums DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair 1 May 21, 2008 4:58 pm Hi all.
I'm after advice on how best to prep a ceiling before painting. The paint is peeling in many places and were it is, the cracked and curling paint is the thickness of several pieces of paper and has lifted off exposing the plaster. I really dont want to try and cut off and then sand the edges. There's just too many cracks. I figure paint stripper or heat gun the entire ceiling. Is there any Rentable device that would make this job faster and easier ? Also which paint would be best suitable the hide the marks this job would leave ? I'm told Thick n Easy would be a contender. Thanks for your advice Re: Peeling ceiling paint 3May 23, 2008 8:54 pm salinesurfer,
Another possible reason is that the plaster (eg from a repair) was not properly sealed before painting. Not sure how well a thick coat of paint will work. If paint works, that'll be the easiest of course. If paint doesn't work, one option is to use something like Boral finalcote - it's plaster but easy to put a thin layer on, and easy to sand. ChrisL Re: Peeling ceiling paint 4Jun 25, 2008 12:03 am It's a late response but as I have experienced your issue I thought I had better throw 2 cents.
In my home every ceiling was suffering as you have suggested. One by one I have scrapped all the paint off the ceiling, re-filled the joints and primed/undercoated the ceiling before a final coat. The first room was a fairly ordinary job, but now on the 7th room, I reckon I could start charging!! I've been told that it was due to the initial ill preparation of the ceiling before painting coupled with the humidity and heat in the roof cavity. A good idea is to install a whirly-bird device to cool it down somewhat. Don't just paint over it though unless you are going to go with a textured paint that will hide the imperfections. It just won't work!! Further you will need to remove all loose and flaky paint before applying the Finalcote as suggested by ChrisL. Now, if I was you I would be getting a plasterer in to quote on re-hanging each affected ceiling. There is a couple products that can be hung directly on to the current plaster sheets or rip them all down and start again. I wish I did!! It's no fun. Re: Peeling ceiling paint 5Jul 17, 2008 10:56 am I was told this happens quite often in homes constructed in the late 60s and through the 70s/ early 80s. Back then, ceiling fixers used different plaster that was impregnated with fibre glass for strength. Now of course it is packed within the paper covering for strength. It was also held up with wads of plaster and fibreglass (and horse hair in realy old homes) draped over the rafters.
A painter mate of mine said it is sometimes just easier to replace the ceiling because you will spend so much time scraping and filling, then sanding only to still have imperfections visible. The paint can then start peeling off again in years to come. It tends to commonly happen first, he says, in bathrooms and ceiling spaces where moisture builds up in the ceiling space. The moisture wicks through the fibreglass from the roof space and starts the paint peeling and lifting off. i might add that he suggested some sort of stuff that will help the paint bond into the ceiling better but can't remember what it was. Re: 6May 12, 2009 8:09 pm Sorry to revive a year-old thread... Fu Manchu i might add that he suggested some sort of stuff that will help the paint bond into the ceiling better but can't remember what it was. We bought our 1950's house about 4 years ago and immediately repainted most of the internal walls and living room ceiling. We did the usual sugar-soap treatment, and LOTS of elbow-grease to remove and clean off all the wallpaper adhesive in the main bedroom (I'm NEVER doing that again!). Perhaps 12 months later (if that) the ceiling started peeling between the living/dining room section, so I tried a bonding agent (but can't remember the name of it), but you add it to a small amount of the paint you're applying, then paint it on, then apply the final coat as usual. I only got as far as doing the first stage (no final coat), and it's probably been over a year since i applied it, and within about 6 months the patches of peeling paint continued. According to this thread, it looks like I'll have to re-sheet the ceiling as it's the old horse-hair gyprock - replacement of the section is probably not going to be easily done, but replacing the whole ceiling is also not something I'm keen to do! I have a feeling it's related to the ducted a/c "spider" (where all the outlet ducts connect to) in the roof directly above the affected section of ceiling; all the rest of the ceiling is OK. There is a drip-tray underneath the "spider" but I haven't had a good enough look at it to ensure whether it's sealed on the corners, or where the drain-pipe is (if it's even got one) or exactly what the cause of the peeling paint is. It's very cramped up there, and with the old loose-fill insulation everywhere, it doesn't make shifting it around to inspect for damage very appealing! Every time I've gone into the roof, I've never noticed any water in the drip-tray, or any water in the roof, for that matter. I think I'll need to get a professional painter in to have a look at it, and pay them to do it properly (if it can be repaired easily enough). Re: Peeling ceiling paint 7May 13, 2009 8:44 pm Estimated (minimum) $1500? I might have to contact my home & contents insurance company and see if they cover that sort of damage... Best to get it done properly though - no point in just fixing up the paint for it to peel off again in 6-12 months. If the a/c is leaking, that should be repaired first... Re: Peeling ceiling paint 8Mar 02, 2013 11:13 am Hi, I deal with this sort of thing all the time, and the solution depends on the severity of the situation. If it's mild, with just one or two patches peeling, often over a shower or a cooking area, then the problem is probably caused by moisture from below. Scrape the area right back to the plaster as far around the damaged area as you can, until it becomes almost impossible to get any more off. Paint the exposed area of ceiling with a couple of coats of some kind of sealant...there are commercially available ones, I just use PVA adhesive. Use a plasterboard topcoat finish to plaster over the area, let it dry and sand smooth. You will almost certainly need more than one coat of the plasterboard top-coat to get a good finish; make a good job of the sanding. When fully dry, apply another two coats of your commercially available sealant, or in my case PVA, then paint the whole ceiling. (Obviously, if it's a dirty ceiling, clean the whole thing first). I have been doing this successfully for years. The same procedure can be applied to ceilings where the dampness has come from a leak above, but cure the leak first, of course. If it's a bad one, all over a ceiling, or it's a poor quality ceiling to start with, you might like to think about replacing the ceiling. Now, that is not necessarily as big a job as you think! In some cases, it may be that the plasterboard has not been properly sealed before it was painted, but make sure there are no leaks before you do any work, or you will be wasting your time and money. If it's feasible, I often just "overplate" the ceiling with a new layer of plasterboard right on top of the old one. There are some important points here though...common sense really....you must ensure that the supports are capable of taking the extra weight of the new plasterboard as well as the old, it's not exactly lightweight stuff. If you have good solid joists up there, no problem, if it's metal or feeble timber, perhaps don't do it...err on the side of safety. Make sure you screw up the new boards with longer than normal screws...to go through the old board as well as the new board and well into the timber too. Use plenty of screws since there is no point in using dot and dab adhesive...it won't stick any better than the paint did...still use some on the joints if you wish...tape and finish the joints, replace the cornicing if any (having previously ripped the old stuff down), seal and paint, and Bob is your Uncle. If you judge or worry that the ceiling supports can't take the weight of another layer of plasterboard, then you'll have to just rip the old ceiling down I'm afraid...and perhaps that's an opportunity to beef up the supports too. Good Luck. DIY, Home Maintenance & Repair At a bit of a loss on this one - we're thinking the original owners never removed the protective laminate covers from their kitchen cabinets after installation and in the… 0 6330 Unless the room is for storage then it's non compliant BCA V2 2019 S3 P3.8 You have 2 options 1. The builder deconstructs the section and rebuilds as per plan /… 7 10682 How do you remove one of these ceiling air con vents? And is it possible to disconnect the duct joined to the vent from inside the house, without going into the roof cavity? 0 5928 |