Painting lounge

[neal1980]

Hi,

I am currently renovating my house I will be left with freshly plasterered walls. I have painted before obviously but I want a really high standard on this house.

What prep,steps would a pro decorator make. On my first house it was a trip to B&Q for a cheap roller set and some paint however I could always see roller lines on the ceiling. When we had a water leak/claim and a pro decorator in the finish was amazing (which is to be expected)

What is the trick to a pro finish for a keen DIY er, paint / tools

Is the ultimate finish a sprayed finish ?

Any advise appreciated.

[SS2.]

neal1980 said:

What is the trick to a pro finish..

Get a pro to do the job..

Good quality paint, top quality roller & sleeve (very important), technique, patience.

For ceilings, I get far better results using a roller on a short extension than using a long pole. I think this is because it's easier to regulate how much pressure you apply - you certainly don't want to be 'squeezing' paint out of the roller, and don't be shy of loading the roller with paint in the first place.

OK, a short extension pole means you may have to use either steps or a platform to get to the ceiling but the results are worth it.

And as is the case with all freshly plastered surfaces, don't forget to mist coat first.

[craigjm]

SS2. said:

And as is the case with all freshly plastered surfaces, don't forget to mist coat first.

This is the key to getting the walls right

[pdavison]

I used a paint sprayer which gave a lovely finish but you will have to mask everything you don't want to be covered in paint.

Overall I think it's quicker and gives a better finish but some prefer the roller option.

[Hayek]

As mentioned above, make sure you don't squeeze out the roller in places. Or if you do, continue to roll over a larger area to blend in.

I find Dulux matt white stuff (not trade) is good if you want white. I use it on all ceilings.

Use plaster filler (I like the pretty cheap stuff in a mastic tube from Screwfix) with your finger and wet cloth if necessary to make sure any small ~4mm radius between coving or wall and ceiling are even along their length. A very small radius will help to hide any imperfections.

Do enough coats to get it looking done, and then do one more.

Before the last coat check for any 'bits' stuck on/in the surface and remove.

If you want the best finish on the walls I cannot recommend the Little Greene intelligent matt emulsion enough. IMO anything other than matt tends to look pretty council, but you run the risk with matt paints that they're not too durable and some will even wipe off. The mentioned LG intelligent emulsion is 'wipable', meant to be 5% sheen (IIRC) but in reality appears to be as matt as can be. Previously I have used F&B modern emulsion as it's pretty matt and durable, it's very nice paint but the extra matt-ness of LG means it's on another level. Ignore the naysayers who say that there's no point in paying a bit more for these paints, in my experience they're way better.

Edited by Hayek on Wednesday 15th February 09:40

[hyphen]

^^ Ive used that brand, like painting with milk!

Question- how do you stop the roller splashing specks of paint everywhere?

[Edwin Strohacker]

hyphen said:

^^ Ive used that brand, like painting with milk!

Question- how do you stop the roller splashing specks of paint everywhere?

Roll slowly - it's not a race & don't overload the roller.

Given the OP mentions freshly plastered walls, they're going to need first & foremost a mist coat to kill the suction in the plaster. Any old matt emulsion will do, roughly 60% paint to 40% water will see you right. Miss this step & you'll be wasting good paint.

[Hayek]

Edwin Strohacker said:

hyphen said:

^^ Ive used that brand, like painting with milk!

Question- how do you stop the roller splashing specks of paint everywhere?

Roll slowly - it's not a race & don't overload the roller.

Given the OP mentions freshly plastered walls, they're going to need first & foremost a mist coat to kill the suction in the plaster. Any old matt emulsion will do, roughly 60% paint to 40% water will see you right. Miss this step & you'll be wasting good paint.

Agree with this. On newly plastered walls I undercoat with white which will allow you to fix any minor defects before you get to the possibly more expensive paint.

[skilly1]

I found a light sand between each coat helped a lot. You also then spot any lines/high spots in the paint and can get rid of them. Use a sanding tool like this:

http://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Aluminium-Hand-Sand...

Also try not to mix the roller and brush too much. If you have to use a brush to get into corners, go over as close as possible with the roller afterwards.

I found these rollers to be great

http://www.screwfix.com/p/t-class-ultima-roller-tr...

Edited by skilly1 on Wednesday 15th February 14:32

[TRPK]

hyphen said:

^^ Ive used that brand, like painting with milk!

Question- how do you stop the roller splashing specks of paint everywhere?

If using a roller, don't overload. But imo the only way to get a proper finish is by applying with a high quality brush and painting in properly using a horizontal, then vertical method which gets rid of brush lines. A light sand between coats with a bit of wet and dry paper combined with the above technique will have your walls like glass.