HELP! My walls look like salt flats.

[neilski]

Are there any painter & decorators or paint experts on here?

I'm trying to change the colour of my bedroom from green (never liked it) to white and after four coats of paint the walls still look like the Makgadikgadi.



So far I've used three coats of Dulux emulsion but when the green was still showing through after the third coat I chucked on a coat of white basecoat which claims to cover fine cracks, filled areas and strong colours but no such luck. The third and fourth coats seemed to give good coverage during painting, it's just when they dry that they pull the green paint through.

Any ideas other than spray painting the walls black or stripping the walls and re-papering?

[Spudler]

Was the green a matt or silk/sheen?.
Im assuming your using a matt for the new colour.

[Zip106]

Looks like 'mud-cracking', where the paint applied is too thick and dries too quickly thereby cracking.

Only real way to resolve this now (by looking at that pic) is by using one or two thinned coats of paint which may fill in the cracks. For internal walls, a soft sheen paint is the most suitable product to use. If the affected area is over wallpaper, the best way to solve the problem is to strip off the wallpaper, cross -line and re-paint.

[neilski]

Spudler said:

Was the green a matt or silk/sheen?.
Im assuming your using a matt for the new colour.

The green was soft sheen and the white is matt, yes.

[Murph7355]

Strip it back. You'll save time and cost and get a better result in the long run.

[JustinP1]

Murph7355 said:

Strip it back. You'll save time and cost and get a better result in the long run.

I agree.

Paint's gone on too thick and dried. The walls look like there is a lot of paint on there even without the cracking.

If it were me I would stop painting now and spend £25 on an electric sander. At least a decent one with the velcro-backed sheets. A quick rub over will at least take it back to a flat surface.

[neilski]

The surface isn't flat though, it's textured wallpaper as the walls were in ste condition.

Re-papering and starting from scratch isn't really an option given the time, effort & cost so I was wondering if there was some kind of "magic solution" that would fill the microscopic cracks and hide the green.

At the moment, I'm considering just leaving it for a week or so while I get on with another room so that the walls are completely bone dry instead of just 18 hours dry then giving it another go with the basecoat. Good idea or not?

[mgtony]

I don't think you're going to end up with a decent finish without stripping back. The cracking is more likely a reaction with the green paint rather than it being too thick.
A coat of oil based or a stain-block paint might do the job, followed by your final top coat colour.

[Zip106]

neilski said:

The surface isn't flat though, it's textured wallpaper as the walls were in ste condition.

Re-papering and starting from scratch isn't really an option given the time, effort & cost so I was wondering if there was some kind of "magic solution" that would fill the microscopic cracks and hide the green.

At the moment, I'm considering just leaving it for a week or so while I get on with another room so that the walls are completely bone dry instead of just 18 hours dry then giving it another go with the basecoat. Good idea or not?

I can give walls 2 coats of paint with less than 2 hours between coats and not have that problem - even on old Anaglypta.

You could leave that weeks between coats and to be honest it'll probably just look the same.
The problem you've now got is the subsequent coats of paint you apply won't cover the cracking sufficiently as you'll be building up the 'high' points and not the cracking.

As has been said, strip and re-hang will be the only satisfactory remedy unless you're not too concerned about the final outcome.

[cod man]

Polycell do a paint type product for problem walls. It seals whatever is underneath, then when it has dried, you paint on the paint you want hopefully without problem - might be worth a go?

[bga]

I've used Guardz sealer for exactly this problem in the past. It's not cheap but did the bodge job I wanted it to.

[Murph7355]

neilski said:

...
Re-papering and starting from scratch isn't really an option given the time, effort & cost ...

Time - how much are you going to spend waiting for it to dry more. Painting another coat. Letting that dry and do the same thing as it did last time then being left with another layer of paint to deal with?

Effort - see above.

Cost - you're going to spend on another coat of paint. Possibly that PLUS a few pots of the Polycell type potions which are really quite expensive (ask B&Q if they'll give you your money back on the Polycell stuff if it doesn't sort it )...and still be left with a poor finish.

Seriously, from the picture you've posted and the stuff you've said, I reckon you're chasing the impossible.

Strip it off, including the paper, throw some more paper on the walls if they're are really bad, and paint knowing you'll just have a couple of coats to do.

(I'm the king of trying to shortcut such tedious jobs, but more and more realise that I spend more time administering my bodges than I would have doing it properly in the first place! If it were me, I'd probably now pay someone to sort it ).

Are you living at the place, or renting it out/about to sell it?

[AlexanderV8]

I had this problem once when using a 'new' B&Q paint. I then tried Dulux with the same result.
Before I gave up, believe it or not, I tried a Wilko cheap & cheerful paint which to my surprise covered well.

I'm convinced it's a combination of drying too fast and paints with a low plasticiser content. You may be able to add plasticisers to your choice of paint.

[pacman1]

I've been in the same position, having bad walls that should really be stripped back, but lack the time or inclination.
Polycell One Fill is not cheap, but lovely stuff to work with, on offer here.
For a large area, I'd use a tile float with it's flexible base to apply it. Then finish with Polycell One Coat with a roller.
Unorthodox perhaps, but take a look at the products and see what you think. Easy to sand and single applications involved. Worked for me anyway.

Edited by pacman1 on Monday 4th October 00:15

[neilski]

Murph7355 said:

neilski said:

...
Re-papering and starting from scratch isn't really an option given the time, effort & cost ...

Time - how much are you going to spend waiting for it to dry more. Painting another coat. Letting that dry and do the same thing as it did last time then being left with another layer of paint to deal with?

Time spent waiting for it to dry is time for me to be getting on with other stuff though. I have a kitchen arriving in 2 weeks and need to rip out the old one, strip the paper and redecorate the walls & woodwork before it arrives. All this on top of fitting in a day job.

Effort - see above.

Wallpaper stripping and re-papering is my least favourite thing of all time. I have quite high ceilings and only one pair of hands and from past experience it's not that easy on my own and takes bloody ages.

Cost - you're going to spend on another coat of paint. Possibly that PLUS a few pots of the Polycell type potions which are really quite expensive (ask B&Q if they'll give you your money back on the Polycell stuff if it doesn't sort it )...and still be left with a poor finish.

The cost of several rolls of wallpaper and yet more paint all adds up. I don't need to buy any more basecoat as I have enough left for another coat and don't really have any other use for what I've got left.

Seriously, from the picture you've posted and the stuff you've said, I reckon you're chasing the impossible.

Strip it off, including the paper, throw some more paper on the walls if they're are really bad, and paint knowing you'll just have a couple of coats to do.

(I'm the king of trying to shortcut such tedious jobs, but more and more realise that I spend more time administering my bodges than I would have doing it properly in the first place! If it were me, I'd probably now pay someone to sort it ).

Are you living at the place, or renting it out/about to sell it?

Living here and as it's my bedroom, it would kind of be nice to be able to move back in there and sleep in my own bed sooner rather than later!