wallpapering placo

[Monika]

We have not had much success painting placo. Two or three coats later it still does not look that good. Now we thought of wallpapering the rest of the rooms. Just please tell me we do not have to give the placo a coat of paint first? (because that's what my husband wants to do)

[Payrac-man]

Hi Monica.

There is no problem wallpapering placo, but if you want to get it off later then you will damage the placo if you are not very carefull. I have papered my ceilings but have used a "blown vinyl" with a slight pattern and then emulsioned the paper. I do not intend to remove it just repaint periodically.I have plastered the walls with Thistle because of this problem but you need to buy it in England as it is not available in France.The reason I did not plaster the ceiling before someone asks is that the Living room is 50sq meters and my mate told me to s-d off!!!!

Hope this helps

 

Paul 

[Nick Trollope]

[quote user="Monika"]We have not had much success painting placo. Two or three coats later it still does not look that good. Now we thought of wallpapering the rest of the rooms. Just please tell me we do not have to give the placo a coat of paint first? (because that's what my husband wants to do)[/quote]

I don't reckon you should put anything onto bare placo, except plaster (which takes vast amounts of skill) or sous-couche. This is dirt cheap and available everywhere. Will enable you to paint it, too!

 

[Aly (used to be Charlotte3)]

Exactly, Nick.

I work (as I'm sure you all know by now!) for a very successful French decorating company and we use oil based impression (undercoat or sous couche), but to be honest we often make our own by mixing any oil based paint  with white spirit, thinned down to the consistency of milk. You need to seal the placo because it is too porous and will just absorb all your paste.

We NEVER use anything else................ so I do wish people would stop banging on about PVA (and how they can't get it here, live without it etc). I know no one has mentioned it on this thread yet, but give them time.....

Also, any oil based paint will block damp stains on ceilings etc.....ie, not PVA as was recently dictated to me by an English (unqualified) decorator who apparently knows better than French decorators!!.

Sorry for hi jacking your thread, but some people make me so mad!!!!

Good luck,

Aly[:@]

 

 

[Nick Trollope]

Or you could use PVA....

If you can get it here, of course. Some find it very difficult, you know.

[WJT]

Nick, I have been looking for PVA here to seal my walls, any suggestions on where to get it or what it is called here in France?

[Monika]

What is PVA? 

[WJT]

[:D]

[Aly (used to be Charlotte3)]

[quote user="Monika"]What is PVA? [/quote]

PVA:

Polyvinyl alcohol has excellent film forming, emulsifying, and adhesive properties. It is also resistant to oil, grease and solvent. It is odorless and nontoxic. It has high tensile strength, flexibility, as well as high oxygen and aroma barrier. However these properties are dependent on humidity, in other words, with higher humidity more water is absorbed. The water, which acts as a plasticiser, will then reduce its tensile strength, but increase its elongation and tear strength.

PVA has a melting point of 230°C and 180–190°C for the fully hydrolysed and partially hydrolysed grades. It decomposes rapidly above 200°C as it can undergo pyrolysis at high temperatures.

PVA is an atactic material but exhibits crystallinity as the hydroxyl groups are small enough to fit into the lattice without disrupting it.

 

Some uses of polyvinyl alcohol include:

1. Adhesive and thickener material in latex paints, paper coatings, hairsprays, shampoos and glues.

2. Carbon dioxide barrier in polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles.

3. Carotid phantoms for use as synthetic vessels in doppler flow testing.

4. Children's play putty or slime when combined with borax.

5. Feminine hygiene and adult incontinence products as a biodegradable plastic backing sheet.

6. As a mold release because materials such as epoxy do not stick to it.

7. As a water-soluble film useful for packaging.

8. As fiber reinforcement in concrete

9. As a surfactant for the formation of polymer encapsulated nanobeads

10. Used with polyvinyl acetate to make Elmer's glue

11. Used in eye drops and hard contact lens solution as a lubricant.

12. Used in protective chemical-resistant gloves

 

Nothing there about a stain sealant!

Hope this helps y'all, Aly

 

[Nick Trollope]

But can you use it to seal walls before painting?......

[Gastines]

Most workmen/women have their own preferences for doing most jobs and although ALY obviously doesn't think too much of PVA, I have used it ,a thin watered down mix, rollered on, to seal thousands of sheets of plaster board before wallpapering. It seals the absorbent board finish,or the plaster finish and makes papering/emulsion finish much easier and uses less coats of emulsion. It also makes it much easier if you want to strip the wallpaper. If you want to cover stains use an oil-based paint first,or if you are wealthy there are plenty of stain sealants on the market. After papering approx 90 superstores and dozens of flats/houses I haven't had a complaint yet,not about the wallpaper anyway.

Regards.

[Aly (used to be Charlotte3)]

I didn't say you couldn't use it to seal walls, I said there is a British obsession with it. There are other products on the market which do the same job. Time served decorators tend not to use it, especially for sealing damp stains on ceilings as it's totally inappropriate for this.

Of course you could always use the traditional professional method of "sizing" your walls, much cheaper and just as effective.

Buy wallpaper paste and mix to a thin consistency (most manufacturers give the relevant quantities for sizing). If in doubt mix to the thinnest mix given and then add some more water, it doesn't have to be exact.

You'll find this method much cheaper and less frustrating than trying to find the apparently elusive PVA.

Of course if you find this too easy, you could always start a frustrating and possibly expensive search  in France for traditional Size but it's not much used these days as it's made from chicken's feet....well, they had to do something with them.

Aly[6]

[finisterian]

as i cant stand the smell of oil based paint i opt for the thinned down wallpaper paste - it has a fungicide in it too that stops your wall going black with mould when you go away for two weeks . . . . .  (we are in finistere!) . . . . .  but taking wallpaper off afterwards can still be mighty tricky without destroying your boards

[Jo]

I've just met a decorator who has worked in the south of France for 15 years and has recently moved near me, the Vienne, and swears by PVA, mind you, he is Welsh!

[WJT]

[quote user="Jo"]I've just met a decorator who has worked in the south of France for 15 years and has recently moved near me, the Vienne, and swears by PVA, mind you, he is Welsh!
[/quote]

Are you sure you don't mean PVC?

[Nick Trollope]

No, that is sheep, surely? Ahhh, oft I drift off to sleep counting inflatable sheep..

 

[Aly (used to be Charlotte3)]

[quote user="Jo"]I've just met a decorator who has worked in the south of France for 15 years and has recently moved near me, the Vienne, and swears by PVA, mind you, he is Welsh!
[/quote]

.....and there I rest my case. That just rounds this discussion off nicely!

Bon soir,

Aly

[Nick Trollope]

So you can size walls with mutton fat!

Why do Welsh men marry Welsh women?

 

[Gyn_Paul]

And all these years I thought it was PolyVinyl Acetate !

p

[Aly (used to be Charlotte3)]

"So you can size walls with mutton fat!"

Is that a Welsh thing?

Aly

 

 

[Monika]

Thanks for all your advice which has prompted us to buy wallpaper which leaves a liner when stripping and we will paint it with a thin solution of oil based paint first! [:D]