Tips on painting wall

[rodimus]

HI this is gonna be my first wall painting experience!! EXCITED!


my bathroom plasterboard wall's paint is cracked and peeling off on some parts (caused by moisture).

Before repainting, do i have to peel off the old paint? How? Just peel off at the places where it cracked, or the whole wall?

If I just peel off at the spots where the paint peeled off, wouldn't that make the new wall uneven?

Also when you paint, do you mix anything to the paint? Or all i do is get a roller or brush and start painting?

thanks!

 

[Muffinman]

You are best to remove all, there is not much point painting over peeling paint to have it peel again.
Some times sanding will be good enough but often it's easy to just scrape all off and start fresh

 

[wylie]

I would be inclined to scrape back to where there is no more tendancy to peel. If it keeps peeling and peeling, you are in trouble. Otherwise, if you can get it back to a firm surface, you could sand the edges, fill them if really obvious edges with spack filler type product, sand again and paint.

First coat would be a good quality primer, sealer and undercoat.

Until you start scraping back where the peeling is, you will not know if it needs to be totally taken off, which is a big job. As Muffinman says, if it peels easily, then it might be easier to take it all off, but fingers crossed you won't have to do that.

We were advised once to add something like "Flood" (from memory) or a bonding agent to the paint to help the paint to grip the ceiling. Your paint store should know the product that will suit the situation.

 

[rodimus]

Primer, sealer and undercoat? whats that?

I just bought some matt finish dulux waterbased paint.

 

[Rob Williams]

I've had a similar problem with bathroom paint. The more I scraped and sanded, the more it peeled. In the end I scraped off the loose stuff with a scaper, then sanded so the edges of the remaining paint were feathered in, then used a Dulux, oil based product called Prep Lock to seal the entire wall. This product stops stains bleeding through, too. I've used it a lot since then for similar problems and it works like a bought one!

 

[wylie]

When you take a painted finish back to bare wood, or even back to the old chalky paints, you really need to prime/seal/undercoat it so the new paint has something solid to grip.

If you go back to timber, the timber will suck the water from the paint.

We recently painted skirting boards which had been black for 60 years, and recoated by us previously with estapol with black dye to freshen them. When we recently painted the whole house we decided the black needed to go. We sanded any bits that were chipped or marked and put two coats of a combined primer/sealer/undercoat followed up with one coat of white gloss oil-based paint.

We hung a new door and it had to be planed. That bare wood was painted with the primer/sealer/undercoat. You can get it tinted if you are painting a colour.

The primer/sealer/undercoat is good for external painting too. Step treads need to be coated and the stringer, before they are put together to protect them from any moisture rotting the timber.

 

[rodimus]

Wylie,

what type of undercoat/primer would u recommend? Any brand or type?

Do u reckon for bathroon it is ok to use mat finish water based paint for internal applications.

 

[Gools]

You might want to get some of the anti-mould fluid to put in your paint for any wet areas. It comes in a little (50ml or so) bottle and is supposed to stop mould growing on the paint which can occur in wet areas that aren't too well venitlated.

Gools

 

[wylie]

I would be painting in gloss for a bathroom, however, our own bathroom walls and ceiling are matt acrylic (I think).

The bathroom ceiling I just painted, I actually did in matt acrylic because it has a history of peeling, so I figured whatever I did probably would not hold. I scraped back what I could, feather the edges and painted it. It is a tiny bathroom, and I figured that the next paint job (which may have to be a total strip and repaint) will be done by somebody other than me

Of course, that could also backfire.... It could well be me painting it again next time.

I think if this ceiling keeps peeling (VJ board ceiling) we will just sheet over it and start again.

 

[Jacque]

Definitely use an anti mould paint after you prime and seal (one product will do both)- use something like Dulux's MouldShield and you shouldn't need to repaint for a while yet.

http://renovate.realestate.com.au/h...ishes/paint/dulux-mouldshield---4-litre-paint

Happy painting!

 

[rodimus]

the paint I bought is Super Acrylic Low sheen for interior (Dulux). I bought it about 3 - 4 years ago.

So you guys reckon I should also get an undercoat/sealer.

So step
1) scrape off old cracked paint areas
2) sand that area smooth
3) for other undamaged area its ok to paint over it
4)Firstly paint the undercoat on 1 layer
5) Wait till dry
6)paint the super acrylic low sheen
7) sit and watch it dry!

Those steps ok?

 

[jsj]

You will probably need to seal the joins with no more gaps or similar first.
You may want to give a light sand with some 400 paper between coats.
Cut the edges first with a brush and then do the big areas with a roller.
You bought the paint how long ago?
Does this mean you have been nagged for years to do it and finally caved?
That tin will need some serious mixing and may smell a bit but should be ok. When you mix, use something flat like an old wooden ruler and get right to the bottom to make sure the pigments and other additives mix through. For wet areas add mould inhibitor.
If you don't have one , an exhaust fan or vent might stop further problems with peeling.
Have fun. At least with painting, you can see what you have achieved

 

[Elkay]

I usually find that one coat of the low sheen (or top coat) paint won't cover the undercoat sufficiently or provide an even finish. For a nice finish I do two coats of this, letting it dry in between coats. Depends how fussy you are.

 

[rodimus]

thanks guys!
I will get the undercoat.

I bought those paints about 4 years ago wanting to paint my IP, but turned out the tenant said the internal condition is pretty good, so i saved the $ of getting a painter. So the 2 cans of paint just sittting in my house.....