Hairline Cracks in Paint - What to do?

[sanaxe1]

Hey, I am looking at decorating soon but im unsure on what to do with hair line cracks in the paint. They are very shallow and very thin at around 1mm. They literally look like somebody has drawn a line with a sharp pencil. Will this be ok to just paint over or will i need some sort of filler if so which should i buy?

Ive attached two images to show what i mean, one is a close up and one taken from 1m away to give you some scale.

Thanks

Spoiler: Close up

Spoiler: 1m away

 

[Mercenary Keyboard Warrior]

How old is the property? By the walls I am assuming fairly old?
Are they in one place or many? I mean the cracks not the walls

I hate to say but they dont look good, could be a sign of a settlement issue
Do you know much about the history of those cracks, ie how long have you lived there? They could be very old issues now complete, but if they are new then I would be suspicious

Only other thought, is the wall backed onto by stairs or a door or something, ie culd something be sending some shock stress to that wall

 

[Delvis]

Scrape it away and see what it's like underneath tbh, if you just paint over it will just come back

 

[Maccapacca]

https://www.brewers.co.uk/product/NC7110F

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[Bug One]

Is that paint over textured wallpaper

 

[Hedge]

https://www.brewers.co.uk/product/NC7110F

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This stuff is excellent. Has a texture like marshmallow or something and is so easy to work with.

 

[jonnypb]

All depends on how long it's been there, if it's getting bigger and if you want to just paint over it or paper. could also just be cheap paint that was previously on. I'd rub it down first to see if it's just a hair line or if it goes deeper.

 

[DB_SamX]

These cracks are insignificants. When I do structural surveys, I wouldn't even report these.

 

[jonnypb]

Yeah they don't look much at all. I'd sand them down, fill if needs be and then sand again to get a smooth finish.... or just paper over the cracks lol

 

[Delvis]

Yeah they don't look much at all. I'd sand them down, fill if needs be and then sand again to get a smooth finish.... or just paper over the cracks lol

Paper over wins

 

[JRJ]

https://www.brewers.co.uk/product/NC7110F

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Can't rate this stuff any higher, great for hairline cracks and so easy to use.

 

[pp111]

Cracks like that are probably movement cracks but they are absolutely nothing to worry about. They can be a job to seal though, because often the crack goes right through the wall so in future when things move again ( and they will ) the crack may reopen. Best thing to do is seal it with a filler at the moment and wait a few years to see what happens.

 

[JayMax]

It could be heat expansion cracks if the room was decorated cold with the rads unmounted. Try turning the heating off in that room and see if the cracks contract.
I've suffered similar after getting a renovation property painted in a November with all the rads off and no heating in it.

 

[b0rn2sk8]

Fill, sand and paint. That’s all to be said really. If the crack is really narrow you can get fine fillers that will do a better job.

 

[phil-k]

Can't rate this stuff any higher, great for hairline cracks and so easy to use.

It better be good for that price

Just noticed its for 4 litres

 

[Rich1988]

from personal experience, you may either get lucky and its a standard settlement type crack and the plaster will be sound behind, in which case a simple skim and sand before paint. If you are not lucky... like I wasn't in my house, then you will find that the plaster will have blown and half the wall will come away when you start working on it.

Give the wall a gentle tap with your knuckle, youll quickly be able to tell if its solid behind, if it sounds hollow then you may have issues.