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I stripped the peeling paint off my wall. Its like grey concrete? plaster below. So I used universal primer on it. But as I was leaning against the wall today, the paint wrinkled beneath my hand and I could just peel it off like plastic.

What can I do, why is this happening? There is no obvious sign of damp

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Did you do any prep on the surface before priming? ie: scraping, sanding and cleaning? – Steven Nov 11 '12 at 15:58
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Did you use the caustic type of paint stripper gel to get the former paint off the wall? – Michael Karas Nov 11 '12 at 16:56
What was the approximate temperature of the wall when applying the primer? – Michael Karas Nov 11 '12 at 16:57
Sure sounds like you have a hard gloss finish you were trying to cover or it was contaminated with some oil or wax. – shirlock homes Nov 11 '12 at 17:20
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I have encountered some old lead base oil enamels that were terribly difficult to prime. There are some new super high adhesion primers out there now. Check with your paint store. – shirlock homes Nov 11 '12 at 17:27
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If the house is in the 100 year old range or older it be be a calcimide coating on the walls and ceilings. It is more of a white wash than paint. If you wipe your hand on the wall and you see a chaulky white powder on your hand, it may be calcimide. The powder prevents the paint from adhering. Sanding does not seem to help because the coating is absorbed into the porous plaster. It must be sealed or removed prior to primming. I have had decent results using Binz or Kilz first then prime and paint.

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