What the hell had been painted onto this ceiling?

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hurstbags

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I recently skimmed over an old ceiling, which was plaster board skim and painted in a dull deep matt red paint.
Having applied pva and allowed to dry in the usual fashion nothing appeared to be amiss. However after applying the first coat and while 'closing in' the plaster began to bubble. It was much like when you apply a sticker to something and you push and chase the air bubbles along the sticker. Well this happened to the plaster, also the smell was very strong like solvent and it was obvious that the surface was giving off a gas. It wasnt until I polished the ceiling did I finally flatten out the plaster.
However after all this hard work the fresh skim began falling off the ceiling when it was being painted. It all came down with ease as it had not adherred to the painted surface. The paint did not come down with the plaster and I was totally flumoxed as to what the paint could be. I am in the trade myself and have asked a number of fellow plasterers who have not ever encountered this before. Anyone any ideas? ???
 
What mix was the pva ? poss that the paint never stuck to the ceiling due to heavy nicotine on surface ???
just taking a guess.
 
No nicotine stains at all and my normal pva mix around 4 to1. But confident that it isnt either of these as I have never had a problem like this before. The only time similar has happened is when the paint has been unsound on the old surface and the new skim brings down the coat of paint. But in this instance the paint remained on the ceiling.
 
The only time i had a similar thing happen was on a chimney breast wall , the chimney was sealed off stopping it from venting ,the soot inside was sweating causing a liquid to bleed through the brick and plaster work, it reacted with the pva causing the ammonia smell and the new plaster to come off hope this helps .
 
I had 1 like this, turns out the ceiling had been painted with that flexible (npaint for cracks), when trowelling up it just rolled of in sheets like rubber, and yes it stunk.
 
as kebab king has said ....sounds like polycel...breaks down with pva ...but takes near enough to wet trowel to start the reaction....it'll start bubbling ...bubbles get bigger and plop on the floor..polycel are proper c**ts for making the stuff...it does contain ammonia........cant skim the stuff...had it happen to me twice since starting...
Distemper could be possibly but only if its been artexed, ( where it can def catch you out) otherwise its easy to tell as its chaulky and white and rubs away alittle with your wet finger.....and pva drys within seconds...and you would have to be a mug to try and lay onto distemper.
My moneys on polycel.....im sure you remember me on another forum a few years back telling you about how a whole ceiling plopped on the floor just as we were getting the dustshhets up lol........if in doubt now i reboard cause of it...........never gonna be a good look when your nice flat ceiling lands on a customer head :o)
 
The pva did soak in very quickly and as suggested earlier by mcplaster and commented on by phippsy i think i have been a mug to try and skim onto distemper. Does distemper give off a smell like this and is there any other warning signs that it is distemper before you start spreading onto it.
 
if you wet your finger then rub it on the surface, if it comes of on your finger its a good indication thats it will be distemper or lime wash
 
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