Painting - How To Paint Plaster Walls?

The bathroom I renovate has plaster walls (house was built in the 60’s). Over the plaster there are at least 4 coats of glossy paint with the last coat been a glossy white. After removing the wall accessories and door trim, the paint next to them peels away in sheets of various shapes and using a putty knife I was able to remove almost all the paint which comes off fairly easy. I can see that the plaster under all these coats of paint is also glossy and hard like a rock. I am concerned that if I paint over the plaster with a latex paint, my new paint will not stick properly to the glossy plaster. Any ideas what I should do for a proper paint job?

Remove the remaining paint repair any defects and prime with bullseye123[first link+read the whole page] then paint with kitchen and bath paint,or the second link stuff=better.Stay away from the semi-gloss stuff. good,but joneq don't like the way it looks. :eek:


http://www.zinsser.com/product_detail.asp?ProductID=11

http://www.zinsser.com/product_detail.asp?ProductID=35

I suspect your bathroom was originally painted with oil base enamel. Without the proper primer latex won't adhere well. After you remove all the loose paint and make any repairs I would prime it with a solvent based primer. Then you can coat with any type of latex. The sheen used isn't all that important [use sheen you like] but I wouldn't use flat in a bath.