Active discussions

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Can anyone tell me what has happened to my newly (professionally) painted walls?

114 replies

Sandcaaarstle · 26/11/2025 19:58

Just had my lounge painted. It was silk emulsion and I didn’t fancy panting it myself with Matt emulsion. I’ve come home from work today (it was finished yesterday afternoon) and looks like this. What do I do now?
I’ve attached photos but might not upload for a while.

Can anyone tell me what has happened to my newly (professionally) painted walls?
Can anyone tell me what has happened to my newly (professionally) painted walls?
OP posts:
Laurmolonlabe · 27/11/2025 17:58

looks to me as if the plaster wasn't dry- I would talk to your painter.

Rookiesboy · 27/11/2025 09:56

I had this ages ago in our house. I rhink it was painting over ancient paint ( distemper?). I had to sand back and put on a diluted undercoat, after which is was fine. Go to a proper paint merchant and ask their advice.

Magnoliafarm · 26/11/2025 22:59

We had this in our house from remains of wallpaper paste. Sand it smooth, paint Zinnser Guardz on and then paint on top once dry

TheCorrsDidDreamsBetter · 26/11/2025 22:40

Cripes! I hope that they come and do a thorough re-do of it for you OP. I'd not be happy paying for that to happen.

Original poster
Sandcaaarstle · 26/11/2025 21:49

Christ 🙄

I really hope she can sort it out. It didn’t happen to begin with, after the first coat, but after the second.

@FOJN you sound like you have experience that you wish you didn’t! 🙈

OP posts:
Ahfiddlesticks · 26/11/2025 21:47

This happened to us one time as well, it was due to the oil and adhesive in the previous coat of paint and wallpaper. We had to have the walls reskimmed to stop it.

Greysowhat · 26/11/2025 21:41

Sandcaaarstle · 26/11/2025 19:58

Just had my lounge painted. It was silk emulsion and I didn’t fancy panting it myself with Matt emulsion. I’ve come home from work today (it was finished yesterday afternoon) and looks like this. What do I do now?
I’ve attached photos but might not upload for a while.

Looks like what happened me with acrylic matt emulsion. Turned out the walls were damp and the paint dried from the outside in instead of from the wall out and that caused the cracking. The whole lot had t come off and repainted after a long dry spell and the walls had dried out

Northerngirl821 · 26/11/2025 21:39

This happened to me when I painted matt over silk without prepping it properly. So frustrating! Professionals should know better though, get them back to fix it.

Guettybetty · 26/11/2025 21:31

It can also happen if you paint over glue. Forgers used to do this to get a crackle effect on paintings designed to look old .

FOJN · 26/11/2025 21:14

Sandcaaarstle · 26/11/2025 20:07

Yes they are local and very reputable. I’m wondering if it was the silk emulsion too. Which is exactly why I didn’t want to do it.

Do you mean you painted Matt over silk? This can cause the cracking. You might need Zinsser Peel Stopper to prevent it happening again but that does mean sanding, applying the peel stopper and painting again. Don't ask me how I know.

Original poster
Sandcaaarstle · 26/11/2025 21:03

Yibbleyabble · 26/11/2025 21:00

Oh dear, I'm so sorry this has happened, that's really bad workmanship and should definitely not be happening if done by professionals. I would be absolutely raging if I'd paid for that.
It's called crazing and it's been caused by paint going on too thick and not being left to dry before further coats. I reckon your painter/s have been in too much of a hurry to get the job done.
I paint my own walls/ceilings (not that hard if you are able and have the right tools) and have made this mistake when I started the first few times.
I've been doing my own walls for years and I'd never pay anyone to do it for this very reason.
They'll need to come back, sand it all down and prime it before it can be painted over otherwise it'll just do the same thing again.
Really hope they put it right for you.

I’ve honestly never seen anything like it and I’ve been painting my various houses for over 25 years (I’m not a professional but I knew this would be a nightmare- hence paying someone else to do it!).

OP posts:
Franjipanl8r · 26/11/2025 21:02

I didn’t have an issue painting over our horrid plastic sheen silk emulsion with a nicer natural matt emulsion. I didn’t even bother sanding the walls!

But I did apply the whole thing with a paint brush rather than roller and applied in thin coats rather than thick coats with a roller.

Yibbleyabble · 26/11/2025 21:00

Oh dear, I'm so sorry this has happened, that's really bad workmanship and should definitely not be happening if done by professionals. I would be absolutely raging if I'd paid for that.
It's called crazing and it's been caused by paint going on too thick and not being left to dry before further coats. I reckon your painter/s have been in too much of a hurry to get the job done.
I paint my own walls/ceilings (not that hard if you are able and have the right tools) and have made this mistake when I started the first few times.
I've been doing my own walls for years and I'd never pay anyone to do it for this very reason.
They'll need to come back, sand it all down and prime it before it can be painted over otherwise it'll just do the same thing again.
Really hope they put it right for you.

Thereislightattheendofthetunnel · 26/11/2025 20:58

Sandcaaarstle · 26/11/2025 19:58

Just had my lounge painted. It was silk emulsion and I didn’t fancy panting it myself with Matt emulsion. I’ve come home from work today (it was finished yesterday afternoon) and looks like this. What do I do now?
I’ve attached photos but might not upload for a while.

Something very similar happened on a smaller scale to me.

I painted a wooden caddy with spray paint that had a lacquer finish and was 2 in 1 with primer. It had like a shiny sort of cast, like plasticky and slippery. I did not like it, I sanded it back to remove the shine but not all the paint and applied chalk paint in a different colour. Well, now I have a crackleled effect that I wasn’t looking for.

However, i would be inclined to think that either the paint that they used was old or they didn’t mix it properly.

Can anyone tell me what has happened to my newly (professionally) painted walls?
Original poster
Sandcaaarstle · 26/11/2025 20:56

CandyCaneKisses · 26/11/2025 20:45

Silk is a nightmare.

I agree. It’s bloody awful to look at too. Why anyone would want shiny walls and ceilings is beyond me 🤦🏼‍♀️

OP posts:
Original poster
Sandcaaarstle · 26/11/2025 20:55

OverlyFragrant · 26/11/2025 20:39

Its called crazing. And its usually when a paint like vinyl silk is painted over a surface that hasn't been prepped properly and is painted over wallpaper paste remnants.
The new wet coat causes the dry underneath to expand, which when it dries itself, will cause the top layer to crack and shrink.
Paint Zissner peel stop over it, allow to dry fully then recoat with paint of your choice.

Thank you. This makes sense. I wonder if the previous owners didn’t prep the wall properly when they painted with silk. It wouldn’t surprise me. Their DIY skills in the rest of the house are questionable. And they’ve painted every single surface throughout in silk (including ceilings).

I might have to use lining paper in the rest of the house 🙈

OP posts:
CandyCaneKisses · 26/11/2025 20:45

Silk is a nightmare.

CloudSky · 26/11/2025 20:44

I painted new plaster with normal emulsion (forgot to let it down that time 😂) and it was absolutely fine.

Never seen anything like that happen before at all 😳

UninitendedShark · 26/11/2025 20:39

I had this after painting normal matt emulsion over one coat matt emulsion.

OverlyFragrant · 26/11/2025 20:39

Its called crazing. And its usually when a paint like vinyl silk is painted over a surface that hasn't been prepped properly and is painted over wallpaper paste remnants.
The new wet coat causes the dry underneath to expand, which when it dries itself, will cause the top layer to crack and shrink.
Paint Zissner peel stop over it, allow to dry fully then recoat with paint of your choice.

horseplay12 · 26/11/2025 20:37

Was it painted on fresh plaster? If so, it hasn’t been sized properly prior to painting and the moisture has been sucked from the paint.

SwedishEdith · 26/11/2025 20:36

Sandcaaarstle · 26/11/2025 20:18

Thanks @HappiestSleeping

she seemed genuinely upset and replied straight away. I’m sure (hope to god) she’ll fix it!

"She". Wonder if she's on here? 👀 Good news that she's going to fix it.

Original poster
Sandcaaarstle · 26/11/2025 20:36

Didimum · 26/11/2025 20:32

If they sanded the walls, which you said they did, then this should have nothing to do with the silk emulsion. It looks like the cracking you get when paint is either applied too thickly, re-coated before first coat has dried or dried too quickly from over heating (near radiators or heaters or dehumidifiers used to speed up drying time). Any of that possible?

Definitely not over heated and no dehumidifier. They put a coat on on Monday and it was fine. Then when they finished on Tuesday it looked amazing (I don’t know if they gave it one or two coats yesterday). Today it’s all cracked 🙁

OP posts:
Quamarina · 26/11/2025 20:35

Silk is a nightmare to paint over. It’s like water on oil. You need to do a very good job sanding over the silk surface to give it a ‘key’ to paint over it with matte, beyond the usual prep. If you don’t it either peels or crackles. You can use a primer but I’ve always gone with the first option.

the decorators should have known this; there’s no way to mistake silk emulsion on the walls for anything else.

Ineedolourinmylife · 26/11/2025 20:34

I hate matt paint, can't stand the feel of it. Silk is so much nicer to touch and doesnt show marks as easy