Help! Painting plaster and bad advice from builder.....

8 replies

QuentinSummers · 22/09/2017 10:13

We have just had a knock through between kitchen/dining room and walls/ceiling plastered. We wanted to paint before new kitchen fitted. Builder told us the plaster would take 3 days. 1 week later and it appears not totally dry.
We thought one wall was dry so painted it with a mist coat and a top coat of soft sheen paint. Now one of the other walls looks a lot lighter than the wall we painted.
I've googled and am now worried we are going to have problems with the wall we have painted.
Don't know what to do. Put more coats on the wall and hope for the best? Leave it?
Google says it could take weeks for the plaster to dry! it's not skimmed but plastered over old plaster.
I have bought some supermatt to put a mist coat on the other walls but if I put that on how will I know they are dry enough to paint?
Help!

OP posts:

5rivers7hills · 22/09/2017 10:29

3 days to dry is a bit optimistic

Heating on and windows open and/or dehumidifier will help

PigletJohn · 22/09/2017 12:02

show us some photos.

Was it an old, dry interior wall; or a newly built one that has been out in the rain?

walls dry by fresh air, not heat, so open the doors and windows.

JoJoSM2 · 22/09/2017 12:59

That's a long time to dry if it's been ventilated. I think out plaster was dry and getting painted after about 36h. But that was in summer, dry weather and windows and doors open. Have you got any damp problems in the house?

Original poster

QuentinSummers · 22/09/2017 13:10

No. I just can't tell if it is dry or not, it's kinda streaky light and dark. I've got this super Matt now and am doing a mist coat with that and also the electrician is here and has tod me to calm down
It's the wall I've painted with soft sheen I'm most worried about but guess I just going to have to wait and see. Might leave it a few days before putting another coat on