Painting directly onto plasterboard?

Mark M

Mark M

Mark M

Soldato
Joined
6 Jan 2006
Posts
3,423
Location
Newcastle upon Tyne
I had a small leak that was luckily in a cupboard and Ive had to take the ceiling down for access. Now the leak is fixed I was planning on boarding it out with a single sheet and painting it without getting it plastered. Is this possible? Its just a coat cupboard and has a load of hats and scarves etc on a shelf so you can hardly see the ceiling. Im not bothered about the finish as long as its not going to cause any problems etc?
 
Last edited:
Yep, no problem. Just thin it down a bit for the first coat. Fill any screw holes with polyfilla after the first coat, sand down then another couple of coats should do the trick.
 
Don't do PVA, you massively weaken the bonding strength of any subsequent paint. A watered down first coat is a good move though.
 
Ive seen some on here say to use PVA prior to painting bare plaster/board. In 21 years of painting i can safely say it's something ive never used. Much better to just thin the first coat as this will do a good enough job of sealing the surface. If anything, i suspect that subsequent coats of paint on top of PVA will be more apt to peel or blister due to not soaking into the surface.
 
I would do as post 2 says. I've heard of PVA on fresh plaster, but never on plaster board. Although, even on fresh plaster I still just use a watered down first coat.

Some people do:
60/40 water/paint
40/60 water/paint
100 paint
IF required a further coat.
 
Fit the board give it a watered down base coat, fill and sand any screws (use as few as possible it's a boring job) being careful not to damage the surface of the board Seal the edge with decorators caulk then slap on one or two coats of you finish colour. I've done similar myself in cupboards etc where a plaster finish is an unnecessary luxury and it works really well, not sure on the PVA advice it seems to me people get a bit carried away with PVA I've never been recommended anything other than watered down emulsion on plaster by plasterers/builders.
 
You can get some plasterboard with a smoother grey side that is ideal for painting. I think they are made by British Gypsum. Also make sure to get square edge and not tapered if you're just using one sheet and not plastering.

I'd just stick a coat of paint straight onto it, but there's no harm in watering a coat down.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom