----- Original Message ----- From: "Hammarberg, Eric" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Monday, November 19, 2001 1:41 PM Subject: Re: Painting Stucco Exterior of Chimney > Be careful what you paint masonry with. Eric and all, now the $64K question -- can I paint real plaster walls with latex paint, or will it re-activate the lime? every old plaster wall I've seen so far is blistered and peeling, (3 houses), and that is supposed to be the reason, according to a wise one whom I consulted last time around... so I repainted them with oil based enamel and the result was the same -- six months and the paint was peeling again.... even though there is no current source of moisture and all the old finish was sanded prior to repainting.... how do you even skim coat old plaster without getting it wet, and thus reactivating it? can anyone recommend a reference source for this information? we used joint compound in a couple of spots to repair holes, etc, and got bad results, so then tried plaster of paris, bad job there too.... is it a function of how long you let it sit open to dry? the wise one stated that the plaster had to cure for 6 months before painting, but that seemed like an awfully long time to have big blotches all over the walls when the tenant wanted to have a dinner party in there in a couple of weeks ;) deb