New Plaster Mist Coat mystique or is it a mistake

[agnesf]

We have spent weekend painting "mist coat" on the walls of a new extension. The walls are plasterboard with plaster skim & were left to dry for about a month. having almost blown my mind reading hundreds of different bits of advice about what to use for the mist coat we bit the bullet and used Leyland Trade Vinyl Matt Emulsion watered down about 20-25%. (Tin says its ok for new plaster - dilute 10% ...)

No have read somewhere that you shouldn't use vinyl emulsion because it will trap moisture, get unstuck, form bubbles.

The mist coat looks fine, it is dry, not coming off, no bubbles etc. Will things go badly wrong when I put the next coat on or will it be ok.

if it's skimmed plasterboard, it is probably dry by now.

there is a preference for using Dulux Trade Supermatt on damp new plaster. It is a non-vinyl paint. Although it is not very hard-wearing, it is very porous so allows the plaster to dry out through it without trapping or being pushed off. Once the plaster has fully dried (which in a new build will take longer) you can aplly a vinyl silk if you want, or even a K&B paint.

You can put a second mist coat on if the first one has disappeared into the surface, I do.

It is useful to apply the mist coat in matt white which is quite cheap, and will highlight to the eye any defects that you need to fix and re-mist before applying your expensive colour coat.

Ok am still a bit confused. Our mist coat is not very misty - in fact as I am a rubbish kind of decorator it looks quite like an ok white painted wall to me. Do that mean it wasn't watered down enough?

Shall I do another one of water down paint (have got 2 more tins of the same vinyl matt we used) or shall I just use normal paint on it.

It seems pretty stuck on to me - have spent quite a while rubbing different bits of it with my hands and nothing is coming off.

if the mist coat looks opaque, it has not soaked in much. Usually, on bare plaster, a mist coat soaks in, and doesn't cover much. Perhaps it was not thinned and stirred enough, or perhaps there was some other coating on the wall. Has anybody put glue on it?

No glue used. Honest.

So what shall I do today as am painting second coat on ceilings - water down paint again in hope of getting it more soaked in?

If the surface is now sealed with paint, no need to mist it again.