how do you prepare a ceiling for plastering where it has previously failed to take. does pva glue work?

PVA is/should be used in plastering to control suction and NOT to provide a 'key'. There are products on the market that are specifically designed to be plastered over onto smooth,low suction backgrounds like painted surfaces called plaster bonding agents. For example: Febond Blue-Grit which is what i use. Brian has named a couple of others. What is this fascination with PVA on everything ?????????????? Carl.

Without seeing the job its hard to say. If its in a kitchen i would wash the ceiling with sugar soap to get rid of the grease. then PVA it, before its plastered.

yes but make sure you scrape the ceiling first then give it 2 good coats of pva cheers andrew ab plastering

It depends what you are plastering onto, if its not on new board, then we pva the ceiling day before, then another coat just before plastering and let it go tacky. Another Plasterer on here (Carl), swears by, Wickes PBA, Thistle Bond It, and Febond Blue Grit. Sure he will be long to verify it, probably use it myself on next job.

I take it by"failed to take" you mean did not adhere.Plastering over any existing surface will require scrupulous preparation in order to produce a sound finish.All previous traces of loose/unsound paint etc. need to be removed,if necessary washing with sugar soap.Allow to dry and seal with a diluted coat of p.v.a. and an additional coat allowed to become "tacky" Then apply setting coat in the usual manner.

some ceilings have egg shell paint on only very few amount i have encountered. egg shell paint can cause big problems when plastering even if pva'd before hand. if this arises. i advise on simply re-boarding the ceiling and plastering much better this way. otherwise the plaster over time will flake away and sometimes blow from the egg shell paint.