Ok, so you've spent a reasonable amount of money and had your rooms plastered, or you may have even had a go yourself (Well done) but I find that many people haven't the right information concerning how to paint the finished work, your plaster'r should tell you how to correctly paint the finished wall or ceiling once it is dry, but here's a little reminder anyway.

1: Make sure that the freshly plastered wall or ceiling has completely dried out, you should be able to tell when this is because the whole of the plastered surface will become one colour, with no dark areas, sometimes, you may find that the external wall of your room will take a little longer to dry out than the rest of the room.

2: Once completely dried, get yourself some basic MATT Emulsion paint, it doesn't matter if it is of a 'thin' consistency (in fact, all the better.) Now, if you find that your emulsion is very thick, it needs to be watered down first (so that this first coat, once applied, sinks into the plaster.) Pour half of the emulsion into a roller bucket (A large square bucket) & mix in with this, about fifty percent water, mix it well together, now the consistency of the mixed MATT emulsion should resemble 'thick water.'

3: Use a sheep skin (or synthetic) paint roller, &, roll the head of this over the surface of the mixed emulsion (taking care not to completely saturate the whole of the roller head,) then roll out the emulsion covered roller head over the inside of the roller bucket (to even out the paint)

4: Now, starting from the top of the wall (Or one corner of the ceiling) apply the roller head to the surface & gently roll the paint on (up & down, back & forth) until the emulsion is spent onto the surface. You will notice that there will be roller edge marks (resembling lines of emulsion) you must use your roller and gently roll over these so that the lines dissipative. Continue until you completely cover the whole ceiling or wall.

5: Using a quality paintbrush, cut in around all of the edges, trying to blend it into the existing emulsion. You will be left with a patchy painted surface, this is normal, because the first coat that you have just applied acts as a sealer, ready to take the next coats of emulsion. This sealer (or mist coat) keys into the plastered surface, and is vital for your trouble free painting project. Let this completely dry out before continuing with any other coats of Vinyl Silk, Vinyl Matt, or just plain Matt Emulsion Paint:

6: But, before you continue painting any further, get out your scraper, & check over the dried, & painted wall, what you're looking for is any splashes of plaster that may have stuck onto the finished surface (once you have given the surface the first coat of paint you should be able to see any discrepancies, sort these out first before continuing.)

Here are just a few pointers: Don't be tempted to use a 'thick consistency emulsion' for the first coat, you may just be successful (without it peeling off once dried) but wet it down first to be on the safe side: Never apply Vinyl Silk emulsion straight onto a new plastered wall or ceiling (A surety that this will definitely peel off once dried because this coat of paint sits on top of the surface, instead of sinking into the surface) Always make sure that your paint roller, your roller head, your paint brush, & your emulsion is clean (Nothing looks worse than little bits stuck to your finished, painted surface.

Thank you for reading this article, I hope that it will help you in your quest to correctly paint your freshly plastered surface: & don't forget, for more ideas on interior surface preparation, please take a look at 'Texture Revival.'