The commercial bonding agents are the same general type of glue (polyvinyl acetate) as Elmer's, and none of it should be exposed after the repair anyway.

You only apply bonding agent to the exposed edges of the plaster, not swab it all over the place.

"it seems the main reason that calcimine causes problems with the adhesion of new paint is that it is a glue-based coating,"

This may not be correct.
Calcimine does not always have ANY glue, but can be made up from lime and water. It then hardens by absorbing CO2.
The glue based versions likely used hide glue, and it is well known to have little water resistance.

Sweet! I knew someone around here would know. Thanks for the clarification; I've been telling friends they could use elmer's in a pinch, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't steering them wrong.

Hey brick, I noticed you mentioned finding an old Boston Herald in a another posting of yours. I didn't know you were a local! Can you contact me directly from my member page? I'd like to ask you for a reference in the Greater Boston area.

Use Moore's Calcimine Recoater 306. It's a special oil-based primer to seal the surface. I would not use anything water-based. Glue will pull as it dries and can lead to blistering. When you apply bonding agent, it is significantly more watery than glue, and it's ideally rolled or sprayed on so there's enough liquid to penetrate.
Casey

"Hey brick, I noticed you mentioned finding an old Boston Herald in a another posting of yours. I didn't know you were a local!"

I lived in Nashua, NH for a year doing missile electronics for Raytheon.

I actually owned a former mayor of Nashua's house (purchased from his son when he was closing the estate).