Nothing to do but what you are doing

Here is a link that might be useful: calcimine

Who knew! After scraping every ceiling and repainting with latex paint when we first moved in, I'm left with even more peeling. Currently, I'm going with the don't look up method--it is quick and cost-effective. Thanks for the link.

Thanks for the info, Christophern! You gave me a lot of good advice when I ran into this originally in my livingroom. It looks fabulous now, btw!

Here's some pics of the bedroom. Check out the paint peeling off like wallpaper....wow! Just amazing!

Also, that is the original color from 1925. It looks like they applied the paint onto the base plaster and never applied a final plaster finish coat. Could that be why the paint is peeling now?

I think the color is somewhere between coral pink and salmon pink......definitely not my favorite color at all!! But, I understand it was very popular in the '20s and it's very interesting to see this.

The calcimine problem is related to its less than strong hold on the plaster.

A new layer of paint puts additional strain on the poor bond and is starts to peel.

The more layers of calcimine that had been applied the worse the problem.

4-inch razor scrappers and a lot of elbow grease can usually get it all off.

But a LOT of spare blades.

The plaster dulls them very quickly, leading to increased surface damage to the plaster.

A new sharp blade can slice the calcimine off the plaster cleanly.

A scrub with TSP, then a rinse are next.

Apply primer, then paint.

I've done a few ceilings after a roof leak.

Was actually pretty simple. I spread plastic and newspaper across the floor and sprayed warm water on the ceiling with a garden sprayer. After doing that a few times, and spending perhaps an hour with multiple sprays to keep the ceiling damp, the stuff came off in huge sheets almost effortlessly with a 4" wallpaper scraper. The only places that were hard were where the calcimine already peeled and layers of the calcicote (sp?) paint had built up.

I'm dealing with this same problem in my bathroom...because of the lead paint, I'm choosing to tin the ceiling instead. Less headache and quite pretty in a vintage home!

Thanks for this post; I learned about something I didn't know. Thank goodness I haven't encountered this problem (yet!), in my old house. Hang in there, Saintpfla, sounds like you're on the right track and it'll turn out great!