Painting house internals - any tips

[Lincolnshire Ian]

Hi everyone 

I asked about spray painting the inside of the house a few days ago, I've had some great responses and decided to go down the brush and roller route.

We want to make it as painless as possible to paint the inside of the house and will be using platforms, rollers with extendable handles, good quality masking tape etc. 

Does anyone have a "hack" which made their painting easier. Maybe it's a brilliantly simple tool, but really effective, maybe a type of paint that made your life easier etc,etc.

Many thanks 

[Russell griffiths]

Work backwards 

look at your finish paint, then read up on the primer / undercoat for that paint. 
do not rely on a mist coat of watered down cheap arse contract Matt 

everyone does this, but it’s not 1980 anymore, the top coat anti scuff Matt paints don’t like sticking to it, there are lots of videos on problem jobs. 
 

don’t put £100 a tin top coat over £10 a tin primer. 
 

I’ve got a couple of horror walls that might have to go back to bare plaster. 

[Oz07]

2 minutes ago, Russell griffiths said:

Work backwards 

look at your finish paint, then read up on the primer / undercoat for that paint. 
do not rely on a mist coat of watered down cheap arse contract Matt 

everyone does this, but it’s not 1980 anymore, the top coat anti scuff Matt paints don’t like sticking to it, there are lots of videos on problem jobs. 
 

don’t put £100 a tin top coat over £10 a tin primer. 
 

I’ve got a couple of horror walls that might have to go back to bare plaster. 

Is there any universal mist coat you can use? I used that cheap Leyland in last place for mist and put the dulux diamond matt over the top no problems and that was pretty expensive paint 

[Russell griffiths]

42 minutes ago, Oz07 said:

Is there any universal mist coat you can use? I used that cheap Leyland in last place for mist and put the dulux diamond matt over the top no problems and that was pretty expensive paint 

Same here, I thought I had no problems until I scratched a bit of wall, then discovered it wasn’t really stuck on to the mist coat very well, did some research and found the thick non porous anti scuff paint doesn’t really like the chalky contract Matt. 
if you watch all the YouTube stuff and ask 100 painters 80 will say they still use contract Matt, but the other 20 have been to sort out a new set of problems that are just coming to light with the newer scrubbable paints. 

[SimonD]

As I'm using clay paints, which may behave differently to the scrubbable paints, I use the auro plaster primer https://www.auropaint.co.uk/product/plaster-primer-no-301/ It goes on a treat and works far better than mist coat. but as it works with emulsion, it might be fine.

[Oz07]

2 hours ago, Russell griffiths said:

Same here, I thought I had no problems until I scratched a bit of wall, then discovered it wasn’t really stuck on to the mist coat very well, did some research and found the thick non porous anti scuff paint doesn’t really like the chalky contract Matt. 
if you watch all the YouTube stuff and ask 100 painters 80 will say they still use contract Matt, but the other 20 have been to sort out a new set of problems that are just coming to light with the newer scrubbable paints. 

What about if super diluted? Still same?

[Russell griffiths]

1 hour ago, Oz07 said:

What about if super diluted? Still same?

That’s sort of what the paint manufacturer say, just use the top coat diluted as a primer

contract Matt is just for really cheap low spec jobs. 

[MrSniff]

May be obvious, and apologies if so, but good quality roller sleeves and brushes, and definitely a good solid adjustable pole - a lot easier to roller larger areas using two hands on the pole than one hand on the roller handle.
I found a 14” roller a good compromise size wise.

[Russell griffiths]

As above 

use what the professionals use, a 12-14 inch roller on a frame, so fixed both ends, not a roller on a handle that you can’t put even pressure on. 

[Oz07]

1 hour ago, Russell griffiths said:

That’s sort of what the paint manufacturer say, just use the top coat diluted as a primer

contract Matt is just for really cheap low spec jobs. 

I meant the mist coat super diluted. There must be a way to make it stick to another paint else they are basically saying you need a fresh plastered wall if your going to use this paint ie not suitable for existing walls without re skim. 

[Russell griffiths]

2 hours ago, Oz07 said:

I meant the mist coat super diluted. There must be a way to make it stick to another paint else they are basically saying you need a fresh plastered wall if your going to use this paint ie not suitable for existing walls without re skim. 

No not really 

they said diluted contract Matt goes chalky as it has a cheap base with lots of cheap filler products as a bulking agent. 
once the walls are all sealed up you can use the good gear straight on by diluting the first coat a bit to thin it as they are generally very thick. 
 

because of the thickness they don’t suck in well but sit on top, and because of the scrubbable nature stuff doesn’t stick well to the surface so the underside doesn’t stick well to the coat below. 
 

I phoned a couple of technical help lines and they all said the only people using contract Matt are the mass house builders. 

[Lincolnshire Ian]

Thanks everyone, very useful 👍

[DownSouth]

Agree with @MrSniff buy good quality kit.

 

I am one room away from rollering the whole house (with my sister’s help) and we have used the same 2 brushes and 2 rollers.

@Lincolnshire Ian My top tips (which might be obvious to BH-ers):

- when cutting in paint 10cm or two brush widths on each wall edge - so you can roller up to the edges and it blends better.

- Wooster 4-8’ extension pole was worth the money - easy to do the 2.4m wall in one movement up and down, hardly ever needed scaffolding except for cutting in the top of the vaulted ceilings.

- the related roller is a must as it clips in so can’t swivel round the pole like screw on pole attachments, meaning you get good pressure.

- get a paint scuttle or two, we used pelicans with liners for brush work (has a magnetic side so your paint brush doesn’t fall in!) and Wooster 15litre scuttle for the roller.
- paint kept for a week or more with lids on, great for self-builders like us when it was a week between site visits. 

- wrap brushes and sleeves in cling film, just wash brushes every so often when clogged. Wooster sleeves still not yet washed/replaced so were definitely worth the ~£9 each cost.

- wipe the roller frame ends and frame down at the end of each session though, magic wipes good for this.

- make sure the brushes are stood up in the pelican when not in use

- bigger people might cope with big rollers, being little myself I went standard 9’’.

- found paint drips came off our window frames with a soft cloth and water so just kept a bucket handy and wiped spots up when touch dry - might be worth seeing what your paint does on an inconspicuous area rather than trying to mask off.

- on that note, don’t try and paint window reveals when hungover 😆 

- get a couple of work lights if you don’t have natural light/ lights up yet, hard to see drips if there’s just one direction of light source. 

- drips can be gently sanded back with 240 sandpaper so don’t stress if you miss any, just make sure they’re totally dry first.

- get friends/family in for a painting party if you can. our mist coat (60/40 paint/water) downstairs was done in one day! To go from dry plaster to a patchy white coat in a matter of hours was a huge boost.

- if you do get help then give instructions- the mist coat shouldn’t be perfect but my experience is that people will try going over the same bit again and again, so you do have to explain what you need. 
- take before and after photos from the same angle, it is so satisfying to look back.

Best of luck 

 

Edited Monday at 20:31 by DownSouth

[Lincolnshire Ian]

Thank you everyone 

[SteamyTea]

TL;DR

 

I am a fan of water based paints.  Also makes cleaning up easy.

 

A good palm sander (1/4 sheet) is useful and I have found that brushes and rollers can be very variable.  I dislike using large brushes or rollers, but then I have tiny hands and tendonitis.  Good quality dust sheets that are easily washable i.e. not so large it would overload your washing machine.

Radio that you don't car if it gets splattered.  Radio 4 is my station of choice, you want a constant 'beat' and apart from the news, not much to get the pulse racing.

[wozza]

Wash and spin your roller sleeves before use - you will be surprised how much rubbish comes out of them.

 

Mix your paint well, and mix again if using a few hours later or the next day and store at room temperature - always clean off the lid and rim.

 

I have had good results with and like Wickes own brand washable emulsion - but limited color choices.

 

Recently used some Dulux Heritage emulsion on a feature wall and imho it is fantastic paint.

 

I have used Tikkurila Anti Reflex 2 on all of my ceilings and will continue to do so until I find something better.