Paint Won't Stick to Plaster

[New Remodeler]

We have a 1920s home with plaster walls. We took the wallpaper off,
scraped the wallpaper paste, and washed with TSP. It did not look like
the walls had ever been painted. We then compounded the cracks,
sanded, and washed with water. Then we applied Behr latex primer and
two coats of Behr latex paint. It looks great, but when we tape
between ceiling and wall, say, some of the paint comes off with the
tape. HELP! What can we do about this?

Thanks,
New Remodeler

[John Grabowski]

Post by New Remodeler
We have a 1920s home with plaster walls. We took the wallpaper off,
scraped the wallpaper paste, and washed with TSP. It did not look like
the walls had ever been painted. We then compounded the cracks,
sanded, and washed with water. Then we applied Behr latex primer and
two coats of Behr latex paint. It looks great, but when we tape
between ceiling and wall, say, some of the paint comes off with the
tape. HELP! What can we do about this?

Stop using Behr paint for one thing. Let the paint dry for a few days
before applying masking tape. I assume that you are using masking tape and
not duct tape. Don't leave the masking tape on longer then you need it.

Post by New Remodeler
Thanks,
New Remodeler

[Doug Kanter]

Post by John Grabowski

Post by New Remodeler
We have a 1920s home with plaster walls. We took the wallpaper off,
scraped the wallpaper paste, and washed with TSP. It did not look like
the walls had ever been painted. We then compounded the cracks,
sanded, and washed with water. Then we applied Behr latex primer and
two coats of Behr latex paint. It looks great, but when we tape
between ceiling and wall, say, some of the paint comes off with the
tape. HELP! What can we do about this?

Stop using Behr paint for one thing. Let the paint dry for a few days
before applying masking tape. I assume that you are using masking tape and
not duct tape. Don't leave the masking tape on longer then you need it.

The blue painting tape seems a little more forgiving when left on longer.
But still....there's no reason to leave tape on for longer than necessary.

[Norminn]

Post by John Grabowski

Post by New Remodeler
We have a 1920s home with plaster walls. We took the wallpaper off,
scraped the wallpaper paste, and washed with TSP. It did not look like
the walls had ever been painted. We then compounded the cracks,
sanded, and washed with water. Then we applied Behr latex primer and
two coats of Behr latex paint. It looks great, but when we tape
between ceiling and wall, say, some of the paint comes off with the
tape. HELP! What can we do about this?

Stop using Behr paint for one thing. Let the paint dry for a few days
before applying masking tape. I assume that you are using masking tape and
not duct tape. Don't leave the masking tape on longer then you need it.

Good advice. Hope you are using painter's tape - blue stuff? It is
risky putting it on new paint, but a few days and careful removal work
for me. Tape should not be left until the paint dries; should be
removed right away. Pull it carefully back on itself, not straight out
from the surface. Lucky you - plaster walls.

TSP must have been something, in the good old days. Now it is only TS-,
since they took out the phosphate :o)

[RicodJour]

Post by New Remodeler
We have a 1920s home with plaster walls. We took the wallpaper off,
scraped the wallpaper paste, and washed with TSP. It did not look like
the walls had ever been painted. We then compounded the cracks,
sanded, and washed with water. Then we applied Behr latex primer and
two coats of Behr latex paint. It looks great, but when we tape
between ceiling and wall, say, some of the paint comes off with the
tape. HELP! What can we do about this?

Don't use tape. It's a crutch and the sooner you learn to cut in
without it, the better. I could show you how to cut in in five minutes
so that you'd never want to use tape again, but it's tough to describe.
A little practice goes a long way.

There are several contributing factors. How long did you let the walls
dry before applying the primer? If that first coat is compromised all
subsequent coats will be just as weak as the first. Another possible
factor is the type of tape you use. You should be using a low-tack
tape, such as the blue 3M tape. Finally, how you remove the tape could
be part of the problem. YOu should be pulling the tape off so that it
is almost 180 degrees to itself. In other words you are pulling the
tape back at a very sharp angle so it doubles back.

R

[Norminn]

Post by RicodJour

Post by New Remodeler
We have a 1920s home with plaster walls. We took the wallpaper off,
scraped the wallpaper paste, and washed with TSP. It did not look like
the walls had ever been painted. We then compounded the cracks,
sanded, and washed with water. Then we applied Behr latex primer and
two coats of Behr latex paint. It looks great, but when we tape
between ceiling and wall, say, some of the paint comes off with the
tape. HELP! What can we do about this?

Don't use tape. It's a crutch and the sooner you learn to cut in
without it, the better. I could show you how to cut in in five minutes
so that you'd never want to use tape again, but it's tough to describe.
A little practice goes a long way.

I know how to cut in a nice straight line, just like I know how to walk
a tightrope. Doesn't mean I can do it. Some of us were born "wobbly" and
can't be cured. :o)

[New Remodeler]

Thanks so much for your replies. We are trying to cut as many edges
without tape as we can. This was a very unusual situation where the
wall curved right into the ceiling. We are using the blue painters'
tape and taking it off right after the second coat has been applied.
We will use the removal trick mentioned.

Another factor that I realized--while it does not look like the plaster
walls have been painted before, the ceiling has. Might it be that the
ceiling was painted originally with an oil based paint, so the latex
would not stick? How could we tell that it is oil based? We would
prefer not to use oil-based paint while we're living here with our dog!

[RicodJour]

Post by New Remodeler
Thanks so much for your replies. We are trying to cut as many edges
without tape as we can. This was a very unusual situation where the
wall curved right into the ceiling. We are using the blue painters'
tape and taking it off right after the second coat has been applied.
We will use the removal trick mentioned.
Another factor that I realized--while it does not look like the plaster
walls have been painted before, the ceiling has. Might it be that the
ceiling was painted originally with an oil based paint, so the latex
would not stick? How could we tell that it is oil based? We would
prefer not to use oil-based paint while we're living here with our dog!

I'd worry about you more than the dog, or equally as much if it was a
really good dog. Those curved corners are problematic to paint. Tape
is really the only way to go. Sorry for the assumption.

Latex will cover oil paint just fine, although the reverse is not
recommended. You might have a different type of paint that they used
to use on ceilings. It's called calcimine and needs special
preparation before you can paint it. Benjamin Moore makes a paint for
covering calcimine - Moorcraft Super Spec® Alkyd Calcimine Recoater
306.

Do a Google search for calcimine and click on the Groups tab - lots of
information on calcimine in various newsgroups over the years.

R