Old walls but never painted - is primer needed

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stresshead

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Okay just spent the weekend peeling off lumpy bumpy wallpaper with 10 layers of paint over it - and happily discovered that the walls underneath aren't so bad. I think with a little sanding and a little filling we could paint them - which is good as I thought we might have to put up lining paper first. It appears that this was the first ever layer of wallpaper to go on them so there isn't years of damage from peeling and re-application.

My question is whether I need to prime the walls? I've seen posts about priming new walls before putting on undercoat - These walls are around 30 years old but have never been painted.
 
Oh and to hijack my own thread - I have another stupid question!

I've been looking on the dulux website at colours, and you know the colours that have "names" like 90RR19/358? Are these ones that they mix up in the shop? And if so, I guess that means you can't get testers?
 
You probably won't need to - an undercoat of a cheap white emulsion, such as Woodies' own brand or the like, will do the trick.

The one crucial thing to do, before filling etc., is to wash the walls down with warm water and sugar soap - this removes any residue of wallpaper paste, which if left on can make a complete mess of your paint job.

Make sure you rinse the walls afterwards - it's a messy job, but as with most things DIY, a quality finish is only achievable by thorough preparatory work.
 
Thanks Sherman - looks like I'll be sugar-soaping every surface in my house at this stage as the ceilings are filthy too! :(

Another quick question for you - with respect to the cheap white emulsion for undercoat - would this be a matt finish emulsion? I was in Woodies yesterday and found myself perplexed by the amount of finishes available. I ended up just buying a big container of dulux ceiling paint because it's pretty clear what it's intended for! But I haven't bought any wall paint yet.
 
Yep, matt emulsion will do the trick!

Don't bother washing down the ceilings - unless they papered over them too :eek:
 
The ceilings are not wallpapered but:

1. Stippled (ew!)
2. Painted the same colour as the walls (green, blue, cream, whatever)
3. Covered in dirt - possibly due to smoking in the house

Somebody advised me to clean them with sugar soap as they are so dirty and discoloured.
 
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