Painting new plaster

Yes.

You need to paint it with white emulsion thinned to about only 20-30% paint. Couple of coats of that, then a couple of coats ~60% paint, then your topcoats. If you just put full strength paint straight onto fresh plaster it'll suck all the moisture out of it and you'll be left with peeling paint that isn't adhered to the wall.

The good thing is that those first coats will probably dry quicker than you can paint them. First coat, have a cup of tea and it's probably ready for the 2nd in an hour.

That's what I thought originally but we recently had a ceiling plastered and the plasterer and another DIY enthusiast said don't bother with a mist coat it's not needed so I skipped it and just did 2 coats of Wickes bathroom Paint no peeling or coverage issues at all.

As much as a pain as it is, follows TINASs recommendations and then some, don't scrimp on this step. I know from experience having done exactly that (5 coats of mist, not scrimp) and the paint still didn't adhere and was peeling off like old wallpaper. I've now got to do the walls again but i'm starting with either an alcohol based primer or PVA mist based on advice from someone in the trade

I wonder if it depends on the plaster type?

5 mist coats?!?! Jesus wept!!

I've got a fair amount of recent experience here, having decorated an entire barn conversion from bare plaster last year. Used a variety of paints etc....only seemed to need one mist coat and two top coats. Little Green I only needed one top coat! It was a very light colour though. Farrow and Ball paint was a bit shit, avoid Valspar at all costs. Little Green was a different league, we got 25% off which softened the blow somewhat. Otherwise my recommendation is Dulux Trade.

I'd still be painting it now if I'd stuck to some of the above advice!

another vote for TINAS' post - the other benefit of a white base coat is that the colour you've picked will be a truer representation, like motor manufacturers do with a base coat of white on a black car

Avoid Farrow and Ball paint tho - it's thin crap quality and expensive. Take the F&B sample card to the local Johnstones/leyland paint shop and they will mix you one in the machine, they often have the paint already coded into the machine, it's half the price and double the quality

I’d still be painting it now if I’d stuck to some of the above advice!

Lol!

I'm currently doing a lot of bare plaster painting in a house extension, and i'm using a Wagner sprayer for the first time. A 50/50 primer is essential, which i'm following with a cheap Leyland trade matt white everywhere.

Top colour coats are so far, a mix of Valspar and F&B. Both are going on fine with the sprayer and the finish is noice... I dont think it uses much more paint either, once you consider how much is soaked up by rollers, etc.

Edit- agreed about F&B being a bit thin- for the sprayer, all emulsion needs a 5-10% dilution, but it wasnt really needed with the F&B, it sprayed easy.

Take the F&B sample card to the local Johnstones/leyland paint shop

This. And get the tough scrubbable stuff too - future you will thank you.

I wouldn't do a diluted mist coat unless I had a sprayer.  Its hugely messy with drips and runs and if you try a roller it sprays everywhere IME

I would do a base coat of cheap white then topcoats of good quality trade paint

You should ask Nick Knowles how the DIY SOS crew manage this, they seem to be able to plaster during the day, paint that night and family move back in the next day!

I m doing the whole house in f+b colours, mixed up by local paint co. Tbh I can't tell the difference between some of the v slight tints. The durable paint as a base is a winner.

Johhny is doing it the right way, nice Wagner sprayer and well watered down cheap emmulsion - jobs a goodun. Did my whole house with that and there's a lot of walls and ceillings.

Spend an hour or 2 prep, then spray away in about 5mins flat. Perfect non streaky finish and gets into all the nooks and crannys.

I have (almost) always used cheap white emulsion watered down to ~50/50 for the first couple of coats after fresh plaster.
The only time I didn't (we were in a rush & my Wife kept insisting it wasn't necessary and I was being over-the-top) it looked shit and took longer to get decent coverage of the chosen colour.

What TJ said. Cheap shit white paint then proper paint is all you need to do.

I've recently painted a fully re-plastered house like that and not a single bit of paint peeling anywhere, and coverage has been great.

we recently had a ceiling plastered and the plasterer and another DIY enthusiast said don’t bother with a mist coat it’s not needed so I skipped it

I’ve got a fair amount of recent experience here, having decorated an entire barn conversion from bare plaster last year.

I’ve recently painted a fully re-plastered house like that and not a single bit of paint peeling anywhere, and coverage has been great.

I'm noticing a theme amongst those who avoided the mist coats, give it a few years.

i didnt do the mist coat. it flaked.

used primer next time which is basically watered down emulsion but i wasnt taking any chances.

Screwfix do a bare plaster paint. Really works well.

What other have said about DOING a mist coat is they way ahead. I painted my brother house, jesus around 8 years ago, and didn't bother with the mist coat.. it has eventually flaked, in large pieces, and I need to go back and do it again....

I didn't mist coat some fresh plaster.  No flaking many years later.

I always do a mist coat, normally around 2 parts paint to one part water but in reality just fill a roller tray and chuck a cup of water in it. As long as it’s a bit thinner than normal it’s good.

And as to messiness, just don’t overload the roller and go a bit slower, never had a problem with splattered paint myself.

I painted my brother house, jesus around 8 years ago,

Jesus is your brother?

I always do a mist coat, normally around 2 parts paint to one part water but in reality just fill a roller tray and chuck a cup of water in it. As long as it’s a bit thinner than normal it’s good.

Been doing lots of painting fresh plaster recently and this is pretty much what I do. If you read the paint tin it usually says do a mist coat and don't dilute more than about 10%, which seems like codswallop as the paint doesn't seem much different with that little water in it. 🤷‍♀️
I chuck in roughly 20% water and hope for the best. Still seems quite thick. We'll see in a few years I guess...

This ^

https://www.screwfix.com/p/no-nonsense-trade-bare-plaster-paint-brilliant-white-10ltr/51004?tc

What is that? Basic trade paint with 50% water for twice the price?

It's important to thoroughly clean down the new plaster before mist coating as well, scraping back any plaster snots or rough edges as you go.
New plaster can have a fine dust layer on it so if it's not cleaned you're effectively painting on top of dust and dirt which can affect paint adhesion.

The mist coat also allows you to see what an where needs filling on your walls too before you commence with top coats. thinned acrylic primer undercoat always works well as a mist coat if costs on the job allow, your top coats will flow out better on top of it and dry more evenly.

The screwfix paint covers in one coat. Much better than a mist coat in my experience.

What is that? Basic trade paint with 50% water for twice the price?

whatever 🙄

Had 3 ceilings plastered to cover hideous artex from when house was built and a wall re skimmed, the plasterer advised me to use that. It is certainly not watered down trade paint, but seeing as you know better than my professional plasterer and the other 900+ reviews I'll bow to your superior review of the product and never use it again.

I was just being a bit skeptical is all... so many of these things are aimed at gullible home diy'ers (like me) for a huge markup. I hadn't looked at the site or read the reviews.

eg buy a packet of soap for 50p or buy a packet of "pre painting wall cleaner" for £5 when it's the same stuff (a silly made up example, but see it everywhere).

Granted I'd trust Screwfix more than I'd trust B&Q even if they are the same parent company.

If it's really a good product, then great, maybe I'll try it 🙂

Another vote for the Screwfix plaster paint. I think we've had pretty much all of our house replastered in the last 15 years. I've always used it and the only bit of flaking is by a socket in the kitchen. Which is weird as it only appeared a month ago and was plastered and painted about 10 years ago. Hohum.

Been a deccy 20+ years. Contract matt thinned down 20% or so has always done me fine, 1 coat maybe 2 if the opacity isnt great..never had issues with peeling paint. Personally prefer Armstead C.matt its cheap and bleaches out really well.

I AM an ex plasterer, always give it a coat of watered down paint before you start with the fancy colours. Suction as much as anything else.

I AM an ex plasterer,

I think I'd quite like to plaster my ex as well.

+1 for bruneeps stuff.

You continue doing what you know best. I've done it both ways..... Bruneeps way is far quicker and easier as a non decorator decorating..... I want it done asap and with minimal fuss. That product achieved it. I've had my whole house fully skimmes over the years.

I have just knocked down kitchen / lounge divide and ceiling plastered to cover old artex and where walls been taken out.

I used the Leyland trade white emulsion from Screwfix, currently £26 for 20 litres, just watered down by 20-25%, roller made mess, but room was well covered, had no issues and its what the plasterer recommended to me.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/leyland-trade-contract-matt-brilliant-white-emulsion-paint-10ltr/33680#_=p

I'm confused: if the OP likes the colour of the plaster, then surely the best advice is to refund the paint and just leave it be!

In terms of painting onto bare plaster, I'd be cautious about using any old cheap paint as the base coat. If you use a chalky matt paint for the mist coat (e.g. Leyland contract matt) then you'll probably find that adhesion of your nice paint on top is poor. Use paint that is known good for as a primer/mist coat or water down the top coat paint according to the instructions - usually 20-30% water, not 70% water 30% paint.

We messed up once watering down some old paint and ended up sanding 2 walls of a (thankfully small) bathroom. Since used that stuff up there ^^, or the B&Q version, and never had a problem since.
If you know your paints properly then watering down may be the best option but for low hassle in DIY it's £28 well spent. It covers well too. You'll probably not use the whole bucket for one room unless its huge.

Yes liked the plaster colour but not the streaky effect and need to paint over the metal edge bits too. Anyway I did a test patch and the paint went on really well. Colour is great and I could almost get away with a single coat! 2.5l used up on a 12m sq room. Second coat tomorrow. I'll report back in a few years if there's any flaking but as my plasterer had said don't worry about a mist coat and his plastering is shit hot I decided to give the white Wickes trade base coat a miss. Not used Craig and Rose paint before but it seems quality.

I’m noticing a theme amongst those who avoided the mist coats, give it a few years

When I say recent I mean a couple of years ago. Always done it the same, never had peeling or flaking. I've done it quite a few times.

Whatever you do ^^, don't use vinyl emulsion as the base

https://www.dulux.co.uk/en/expert-help/dr-dulux-painting-on-new-plaster#:~:text=Mist%20coat%20paint%20is%20simply,use%20Dulux%20Sealer%20for%20Plaster.

You don't need to use Dulux but this advice will be sound. They are a good technical team and will have done studies on the best approach rather than rely on anecdote.

I'm a decorator and agree absolutely with the other decorator who posted a reply. Fresh plaster is very porus 'sucky'. It has to have a thin watered down mist coat from which it will suck in the water leaving a misty looking white coat which has sealed the plaster. You're then good to go with regular emulsion. Always use cheap contractors emulsion for a mist not expensive vinyl matt emulsion, this is counter productive. The water is key.
Multiple mist coats is nonsense (a second rarely needed).
Dusty walls are bad.
Going straight on with paint will mean the paint will dry and sit on top of the plaster rather than adhering to it. Sometimes I redecorate a room and as the new paint is rolled on the previous paint just peels off revealing immaculate plaster below. This wasn't mist coated.
Not sure what these tubs of plaster paint are that they sell. As another poster said , most likely ready watered down contractors emulsion with an appealing label !

Another vote for watered down cheap. Used this on most of a house about 12 years ago. Was Dulux something at the time, about 30 quid for a massive tub from Dulux Decorator Centre, but I think it's been rebranded. Then did a full coat of undiluted stuff to give a good solid base for the colour. Just followed this approach in another room and only took 2 coats for a really nice finish.

I'm going to argue against the 'posh paints are crap, just get them colour matched'. I've used Little Greene a lot. Yeah, it's expensive, but I wanted it for the depth of colour, and most significantly, the level of sheen. None of the standard paints have got anywhere near as matt as the LG Intelligent Emulsion has. Their Intelligent Eggshell is the same. It's hard to describe until you see them on a wall next to each other. The way the light is reflected is significantly different. We tried a sample of a LG paint next to a 'matched' color and the difference really is noticeable.

Submarined is correct in what he says about colour matched equivalents of posh paints. Farrow and Ball type paints have a flatter, chalkier finish which is more authentic on period properties. Coupled with the fact that colour matching is only accurate up to a point and you can be left slightly underwhelmed with the final look of inauthentic paint.