How to Paint Matt Emulsion Over Silk Paint

19 October 2026 · Pixie Painting

A bedroom with dark blue silk-painted walls, the ceiling already repainted white and a dust sheet covering the floor, part way through redecorating

Painting over silk paint sounds simple, until the walls are covered in stickers and the ceiling is covered with stars, waiting above you like a very large blank canvas.

This job was a flat in Charminster, Bournemouth, with several rooms to decorate and two quite different problems in them. One room had dark blue silk paint on every wall. Another had a collection of stickers that appeared to have settled in permanently and were possibly paying rent.

Space stickers across a bedroom wall in Charminster, before any of them came off.

Why matt emulsion does not go straight over silk

Silk paint is smooth, shiny and remarkably good at showing every mark. It also does not give matt emulsion much to grip, so rolling matt straight over it is asking for trouble: poor adhesion, patchiness, and peeling later on.

The answer is preparation. The walls are cleaned, lightly sanded to take the sheen off, checked for loose paint or damage, and primed with the right primer. Skipping that stage is a bit like putting socks on before your shoes. It may technically be possible, but it is not the right order.

Removing the stickers

Rockets, planets and a few dozen stars. Each one leaves adhesive behind when it comes off.

Sticker removal takes patience. Pull too quickly and you lift the paint underneath, or leave behind a stubborn layer of adhesive that shows through the new colour.

Lifting the stickers with a scraper, slowly enough to leave the paint underneath where it is.

Once they were off, the remaining glue was cleaned away and the walls were filled and sanded where they needed it. Every bump, edge and patch shows much more clearly once the final matt colour goes on, which is why the finish is really made at this stage rather than the last one.

Why the ceiling is painted first

The ceiling was painted before the walls, as it should be. It keeps splashes and roller marks off finishes you have already completed, and gives the room a clean starting point.

Edges were cut in carefully, then even coats rolled on. Working from the top down means any drips get dealt with before the walls are finished, instead of landing on them afterwards.

The matt finish

The same bedroom finished in matt emulsion, with no trace of the stickers.

And the silk-painted room, finished. The shine is gone and the walls read flat and even.

With the surface properly prepared, the walls took matt emulsion without complaint. The glossy finish disappeared, the sticker collection became history, and the rooms were left clean and modern. Paint can hide a lot, but it cannot perform miracles, and it definitely cannot negotiate with a glossy wall.

Painting matt over silk is not difficult when it is done properly, but the preparation cannot be skipped. A little cleaning, sanding and filling at the start saves a great deal of frustration later.

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