Key Post: Painting/Wallpapering

Hi

I've just been painting my place and having a problem with where the walls & ceiling meets (esp in the living room there's now some very bockedy lines!!). I used masking tape on the ceiling but when that was pulled off half the paint come off so that had to be re-pained . Anyone any good advice on how to get straight lines when painting where the wall meets the ceiling. Or is there any other suggestions on nice ways to get around this like using boarders etc?

Thanks a mil

Re: Painting Walls & ceilings

Use strips of wet paper, no adhesive on it so when it drys it simply peels off.

Cauition not to use newspaper as news print may come off, but use similiar absorbent paper that will stick

removing paint chips

I'm in the process of preparing a 40 y.o. room for painting. I'm stripping wallpaper from the walls at the moment. To my horror, I discover chipping paint underneath, on a plastered surface. After the pain-in-the-butt tedium of stripping the paper, will I have to scrape every flake of paint?

Please, please someone have a labour and time saving trade secret to help me out. Please?

Re: removing paint chips

Use strips of wet paper, no adhesive on it so when it drys it simply peels off.

Click to expand...

What an excellent tip MichaelL

Re: Painting Walls & ceilings

thanks MichaelL. Will definitely try that.

Re: Painting Walls & ceilings

smree,

IMHO when the paper dries off it will also leave a residue just like the masking tape and possibly pull off more ceiling paint etc. but I could be very wrong.

As far as I can recall you can buy the equivalent of a ruler http://www.diy.com/diy/jsp/bq/category/category.jsp;jsessionid=JQ2S3JFQ4VMF2CRGAWCCFFAKEYCYKIV0?CATID=95094&entryFlag=false&_requestid=37974 (something like the Stanley Window Guards here) and use that as a guide and just move it along as you paint. I always just judge by eye and manage quite well but would have to say some people just don't cope too well with this because hubby is crap at painting a straight line!

Basil,

What do you intend doing with the wall when you have stripped the present wallpaper? Do you intend wallpapering again or painting?

Re: Painting Walls & ceilings

Sueellen,

It depends what type of paper I suppose.
I have used the border from newspaper before without any residue, I guess the best thing to do would be to experiment with a small area first, what I did before was actually peel the strip off before it was completley dried.

Now, since I have been doing quite a bit of decorating, I paint the edge freehand as well. It gets easier with practice.

I tried out those window guards before and found that the paint can run in behind them, so again practice a bit first.

Re: Painting Walls & ceilings

I tried out those window guards before and found that the paint can run in behind them, so again practice a bit first.

Click to expand...

Not if you paint the ceiling first and then use the guard for the side walls

paint

SueEllen,

The intention is to paint the walls. I've never wallpapered before and have no desire to start on this project if at all possible.

Re: Painting Walls & ceilings

Basil,

Hate to be the bearer of bad news but unfortunately IMHO the walls will probably need to be skimmed by a professional plasterer which will make the job quite expensive and messy. A few friends have come across this problem and have taken the above route.

It would be nigh on impossible to remove paint completely from the walls. The previous owners probably wallpapered to cover the problem. I prefer paint myself but its actually not that hard to wallpaper - if I can manage it anyone can See here
[broken link removed]

You may find some hints re painting here [broken link removed] and general info on decorating here [broken link removed] or here [broken link removed]

Good luck with the job as it sounds you might need it

Re: Painting Walls & ceilings

An alternative to re-skimming is to use lining paper (the heaviest grade you can buy) to line the walls, and then paint on top of that. This will successfully cover flaking paint, but of course means wallpapering, then painting.
I have done this in our previous house and it worked very well. It is also much easier, cheaper and less messy than re-skimming
cheers,
Diziet

use painters mate

... instead of paper or masking tape ... you squirt it on and when finished scape it off with a blade ... my painter always uses it for cutting in ... also called painters caulk.

thermalite

I read about a paint called Thermalite.
It is supposed to have insulation properties.
Has anoyone ever heard of this? Or used it? Or recommend it? Or know how much it costs?

appreciation

Sueellen, just want to thank you for the helpful advice (but I'm resisting wallpapering as long as possible!), the shock of suggesting replastering! and the very, very useful websites.
It's amazing what a font of knowledge AAM is, especially the moderators.
Long may it continue!

Re: We're all embarrassed now but thank you

Basil,

Some other posts

Litirspam
Registered User
Best place to buy paint?

Hi all, I am going to be doing a lot of painting of indoor rooms soon. Does anyone know of a good place to buy paint or are they all the same?

Gar123
Registered User
Re: Best place to buy paint?

in Drimnagh on the canal, ( grand) there is a HGW Paint factory but it has a trade counter that you can buy at as a member of the public and can be good priced

Chevy
Paint

Also,

Try B7Q, their prices for Dulux and Crown are cheaper tahn Woodies, Atlantic etc

PEM
Good place to buy paint

I posted this question last autumn and was recommended to try Nash Paints Ltd of Rosemount Tce. Dundrum rd, D, 14. Definitely recommended, I made considerable savings. Tell them what you want and they make it up.

0
Frequent poster
Re: Good place to buy paint

Yeah - I've always found local DIY or paint specialist shops much better value than the warehouse DIY superstores. For lots of things apart from paint too.

BlueSpud
Registered User
Re: Good place to buy paint

A painter friend of mine told me that the Woodies paint is the business. It is cheaper and the same as the well known brands. We painted most of our house this summer and used it on his advice, and I can see no difference from Crown or Dulux. I did this with sceptcisim as I once used no-name paint and it was pure crap. Very happy with woodies paints, both emulsion & gloss.

p.s. No connection to the place.

Aido
Paint

Homebase have an own brand which is the cheapest I've come across. 5L for €25, and they have an excellent range of colours. They also do a 10% off day regularly, usually on a Friday (like today for example) & they also have a loyalty card which can get you another discount of up to 10%, depending on your annual spend.

richus maximus
paint

when i bought my house i did a lot of shopping around for all kinds of things. for paint i found B&Q (own brand) Liffey Valley (and soon in Swords) to be the cheapest price per litre. The finish was excellent too. Look for the price per litre in small print on the price display.

The Snork Maiden
Registered User
Specialist paint suppliers

Hi,

Would anyone have any idea where I would buy paint that only glows/shows up under ultraviolet or black light?

PS I live in dublin but would be willing to travel if needs be.

Thanks,
Snorkie

Penny Foolish

B&Q have quite a few specialist paints, and I'm pretty sure I saw something like that, but it'd be best to ring first. Try the Liffey Valley branch, the Tallaght one is a bit smaller and doesn't seem to have as wide a range.

Elcato
Moderator

Try your man on Charlemont street - Its a new branch called Able Locksmiths and building supplies or something like that and moved into the new apartment bulidings shopfronts there. Check the phone book for a number.
Disclaimer: I don't have any connection but always find them to know a bit about what you need.

The Snork Maiden
Registered User

thanks to you both.

Elcato
Moderator

Could you let us know how you get on for future reference ?

temptedd
Moderator
Re: MCB

MCB in Dublin 8 have a great range of paint and very knowledgeable staff. If they don't have it, they'll know where to get it.

gerry
mrcb paints

MRCB Paints, 12 Cornmarket, Dublin 8 - at the end of Thomas Street. Tel: 6798755

They definitely know their paints - no "whot" factor here.

They saved me a lot of money a couple of years ago by stopping me from making a silly mistake painting a difficult surface.

The Snork Maiden
Registered User
Re: mrcb paints

Hi - I have tried MRCB paints. They did stock such paint a couple of years back but not anymore. And they couldnt point me in the right direction either. Though very courteous.

I have tried the usually H/ware stores, WOodies, Atlantic, B&Q and nothing so far.

A search on the web only shows up UK and US companies but I am a bit reluctant to order at the moment with the postal dispute.

I will keep searching.....or if anyone can think of anywhere else? Maybe a theatre supply store or a DJ supply store?

Thanks,
Snork.

Da Vinci
Painting for Dummies

Hi,

Can anyone give me a definitive explanation on what some of the following paint terms mean :
Gloss, Sheen, Mid-Sheen, Undercoat, Satin, Ceiling paint.

I just want to paint an indoor wall.
Thanks.

decbuck
Registered User
Re: Painting for Dummies

basically you have a choico of 3 finishes.

Vinyl Silk: Shiny surface, totally washable (eg kitchen )

Vinyl Matt: Dull surface, not totally washable. sitting room

Vinyl Soft Sheen: in between ( most popular)

decbuck
Frequent poster
Re: Painting for Dummies

[broken link removed]

Da Vinci

Thanks for that.
What does Gloss and Satin mean ?

decbuck
Frequent poster

gloss is for radiators, skirting boards and door surrounds. It has a "gloss" off it.

It is an oil based paint (really strong smell) and if you let it stains your clothes badly.


I'm not sure whta satin paint is. Unless you mean satinwood paint which is the same as gloss but for wood. it will who up less bruch strokes as gloss.

zag
Administrator

My laymans understanding is similar to what has been outlined above.

Gloss is thick oily paint used for heavy duty areas like skirting boards, or doors. You need white spirits to clean this off, water does nothing to it. Since water does nothing to it, you can normally wash these walls.

Matt is the normal paint you see on interior walls. It can be cleaned off with water, but because of this you don't want to go wiping the walls with a damp cloth unless the magazines say it is this years look to have streaks on your walls.

Most paints (whatever their marketing name) should fall into one of the two categories above.

Ceiling paint is . . . well it's paint you use on ceilings, really.

I think the satin bit relates to the finish, and I *think* it is a type of matt. Check the cleaning instructions and you should get an idea of whether it is gloss or matt.

z

zag
Administrator

Undercoat is well . . . a coat of paint that goes under another one. I think I should be working for Ronseal.

The normal application for undercoat is to mask a distinct colour. If your wall currently has dark green paint (or paper) you could paint an undercoat on top of it, wait for that to dry and then paint your yellow (or whatever) paint on top of the undercoat.

If you painted directly on top of the original colour you could quite easily see patches of the colour coming through where your brush stroke was a bit light.

z

ninsaga
Frequent poster

If you pick up a Dulux colour brochuer it describes the diff paint types & typical applications.

ninsaga

sueellen
Moderator
Re: Painting for Dummies

[broken link removed]

Da Vinci
Thanks

I knew ceiling paint is for a ceiling but I wondered how it looked in terms of sheen/matt etc.

Undercoat - for covering up darker colours. Sounds grand but a pain to put on two coats. I thought modern paints were solo applications.

Anyway, I will tear into it tonite and let ye know...
Cheers.

ninsaga
Frequent poster
Re: Thanks

You can get solo paints such as Crown Solo - guatanteed to cover in 1 coat as long as instructions are followed (don't know what they are though!)

Typically ceilings are covered in a flat finish (matt). Again though if painting in kitchens or bathrooms there is paint you can get for those areas (due to high moisture/steam).

ninsaga

Dr Moriarty
Frequent poster
"guaranteed to cover in one coat"..?


They don't work - believe me. I've tried...

stobear
Very frequent poster
Re: "guaranteed to cover in one coat"..?

I had a neutral colour and it took two coats to cover it, so Dr. M is right, its a marketing ploy!! Pay attention to the roller you use, it can affect the finish.

Some other posts

ShowMeTheMoney
Registered User
Cost of Paint

Hi there,
apologies if this was asked before but didn't see it posted.

I am about to do a good bit of painting and was wondering if anyone had any experience in the cheapest place to get paints. (I am looking at Crown paints).

I was going to pop up to B&Q in Newry to get it there but a quick check on their website and Woodies website showed Woodies as being cheaper...I wouldn't be worried about it if it was only a few cents in the difference but with the amount of paint I expect to get I think it is worthwhile shopping around.

Any comments appreciated.

Thanks.

Elcato
Moderator
Re: Cost of Paint

Its always worth shopping around but you must allow for time and travel costs when deciding on the best deal. Are you near the border ? If not I suggest trying all the builder providers as well as the DIY stores. Like some, I find that quite often your local hardware is competetively priced as is far more convenient and helpful than the large stores. If in Dublin you should consider this.

sunnyday
Registered User
Re: Cost of Paint

Woodies in the Republic I've found to be hard to beat for paint at the moment, though I can't comment on prices up north.

On another note, a friend was talking just recently about painting his new self build 2 storey house. He bought a single 10litre bucket of paint to do the entire house and couldn't understand what they were all laughing about in the shop as he left with the bucket!
To anyone else completely clueless on these things, it took a further 14 buckets to do the house!

ShowMeTheMoney
Registered User
Cost of Paint

Thanks for the responses. Has given me something to think about.

Cheers.

legend99
Very frequent poster

Sunny, it sounds like your friend didn't prime the bare plaster. It should have either painted it first using pollybond I think it is, or else, and this is what most, including myself have done, it shoul dhave used a 50:50 mis of plain white paint and water. Plain white because its cheaper than using a watered down colour and also because its a fully neutral base.

sunnyday
Registered User

Sunny, it sounds like your friend didn't prime the bare plaster

Click to expand...

It wasn't plastered, but skimmed. Does the same still apply?

legend99
Very frequent poster

Maybe I'm missing somthing but plaster/skimming are interchangeable terms as far as I know. Basically, were his walls a kind fo dried out brown looking colour before he started?

sunnyday
Registered User

Maybe I'm missing somthing but plaster/skimming are interchangeable terms as far as I know

Click to expand...

Hi legend. Plastering uses sand&cement mixed to coat your walls, whereas skimming uses bags of skimcoat (a powdery substance) mixed with water to put a very thin layer over plasterboard slabs. The finished appearance of skimmed walls would I suppose have a "dried out brown looking colour". So are you saying skimmed walls should be "polybonded"? Also, I wouldn't have thought that more than a 20% addition of water would help reduce the overall use of paint? Anymore than 20% is just absorbed by the wall and eventually evaporates, so is of no benefit in arriving at the desired colour.
I'm open to correction though, as interior decoration would not be high on my list of skills!!

legend99
Very frequent poster

Well I'm not saying that the first coat helps the colour at all. What I am saying is that the first coat gets soaked up really fast. So you don't want to waste gallons of paint on the first coat. hence you mix a plain white with lots of water and get the plaster primed with that. Thats what I have always done on bare plaster, and thats what I have been told to do by plasterers!!

Betsy Og
Registered User
Money Saving Paint Mixing

Yes, base coat of slightly diluted white paint is the way to go.

For colours, take Dulux bog standard white paint and have it mixed with colours on the computer mixer, cost about €32 per 10ltr bucket. This compares to about €25 for a 2.5ltr tin of Dulux factory paint.

Works well on light colours, havent tried darker shades yet but apparently works fine too, might cost €35 for the 10ltr as extra colour.

So comparing 10ltr with 10ltr its €32 V €100 - you'd really have to give the mixed paint a go at those prices.

Monkey0804
Registered User
Color trend/Farrow and Ball paints

I've just discovered the above two paints in a factory outlet in Celbridge. After a very long hunt, and about a million of sample paints later, i've finally found paint colors I love in their ranges.

I neglected to check the price before leaving with my color samples, and have a feeling that they are expensive - anyone know by how much more?

Thanks.

EvilDoctorK
Re: Color trend/Farrow and Ball paints

Farrow and Ball is really quite pricey alright .... Colortrend I don't think is especially expensive - could be wrong though.

rose
paint

Monkey

could yuo let me know the name of the outlet please

Diziet
paint

You can of course have the same colours mixed in Dulux or Crown at a good paint shop.

Monkey0804
Registered User
Re: paint

Hi there, the outlet is General Paints on the Maynooth Road in Celbridge. Great shop.

I have tried to match them to the Dulux range (I have every one of their cards!) but there are very subtle differences in colour - enough to make Color Trend worth buying.

Diziet
matching paint

You may still not want to match them, but I was not referring to the Dulux cards, which are only a subset of the possible colours. Good paint shops have shade 'books' with thousands of colours, and I would be very surprised if there was anything they could not match. I am forever having non standard colours mixed!

On the other hand, if you have found the right colour at a good price, that's even better!

Mersey
Colourtrend v Farrow & Ball

We are renovating an old house and have used Colourtrend paint for most walls. We get it at MRCB near Christchurch and it is great quality. I liked several Farrow & Ball colours - MRCB were able to identify the most similar colour in Colourtrend for me. Both these paints are superior in quality to Dulux, Crown etc.. according to MRCB and the various painters we have taken on. I understand that F & B is more expensive than Colourtrend.

Kildrought
Registered User
best paint in the country...

Even if it was twice as expensive, I would still get the Colortrend paint (I've recommended it on this board before). I have in the past scrubbed a Colortrend painted wall with Scotchbrite and it came up perfectly so worth every penny in my book. Also being acrylic paint it dries very quickly. You can be painting your second coat within an hour of finishing the first. They have the full range of matt, vinyl and gloss finishes and do exterior paint also. Plus (very best bit of all) all your brushes/rollers can be cleaned in washing up liquid and water (even the gloss finish paint). What more could you want!

Baggy1
Registered User
Re: best paint in the country...

I bought Farrow and Ball paint at MRCB paints in Christchurch. Great finish. It costs around €38 for 2.5litres. Well worth it.

sueellen
Moderator
Re: Color trend/Farrow and Ball paints

www.paintquality.co.uk/

Some other posts

EvilDoctorK
Painting Concrete Paving

I have a large area of concrete (with a sort of pseudo-paving type pattern moulded into it - a failed attempt to look like cobble dock!) at the side of the house .. was painted black but the paint is now fairly worn and missing in loads of places.... while it is pretty horrible I would imagine the costs of removing it .. (probably about 300sqft of it with drains etc. mixed up in it) would be prohibitive... therefore I would like to fix it up.

So what I would imagine doing is
1 - pressure hosing (or something similar) it to remove unsound paint and thoroughly clean it.
2 - cleaning with a (not plant/pet toxic) bleach solution to kill any green growth on it - any recommendations ?
3 - Repainting it - should I seal it first ? - what should i use to paint - I saw something called "patio blacking" or something similar in the local hardware.

does this sound like the right way to go about this ?

Or should I just get rid of it altogether .. would it really be that expensive ?

sueellen
Moderator
Re: Painting Concrete Paving

Have a look at these sites you might get some advice
Paving
and

or
might provide some useful info if you check the 3 sites.

Another option would be to call out a paving contractor possibly from the link above and ask them for advice/quote and then do the necessary work yourself if repairs are possible!

P.S. If it wasn't for me bad back I'd do the job meself :lol

EvilDoctorK
Re: Painting Concrete Paving

Thanks sueellen - that www.pavingexpert.com site is really excellent .. answered almost all my questions ... the only thing I didn't see there relates to re-colouring the concrete.

What I have is "Pattern Imprinted Concrete" PIC - www.pavingexpert.com/pattnimp.htm

This is apparently usually coloured by the addition of some powdered colorant while the concrete is still wet .. obviously this ain't going to be possible to do now it's no longer wet ! (I suspect my paving was never properly coloured this way as the colour is just flaking off in places)

Any advice on what to use to recolour the concreted once I've cleaned it and removed all weeds / loose bits etc. ? .. Can you get a combined colorant / sealant that would do the trick ? .. Sticking down regular black exterior paint probably isn't really going to work and I'll end up having to do it again in 6 months I would guess.

My pavement currently looks like this - www.pavingexpert.com/images/pic/badpic01.jpg

It should look like this - www.pavingexpert.com/images/pic/patrandm.jpg

sueellen
Moderator
Re: Painting Concrete Paving

Hi,

I think you should give B&Q a call and ask their advice on what is available for repainting the surface. The black paint as you say would not last any length of time.

A high pressure cleaner might be a good idea for removing all the present dirt etc.

Good luck with the job.

P.S Must get around myself/get the lazy hubby to clean our cobblelock one of these days!

EvilDoctorK
Re: Painting Concrete Paving

In case anyone is interested

Washed it down with high pressure hose .. cleaned it with "Jeyes Patio Cleaner" (€6 woodies)

Got a product called "Drive Seal (Black)" from Thompson's - Green & White coloured 5 litre tin available in Woodies

It costs €23.99 .. but for whatever reason they only charged €14.99 .. an inexplicable and unsigned €8.00 discount .. not complaining as the coverage isnt' great so you need to use a fair bit.

Anyway seems to do the trick pretty well .. first impressions are good anyway .. though obviously will be interesting to see how it wears over time.

MissRibena
Registered User
Re: Painting Concrete Paving

My concrete backyard is a dimpled surface. I'd love to do something to liven it up but funds are tight. Ideally I'd like to tile it but obviously this would cost an arm and a leg and I'm not altogether mad about decking. I was thinking of painting it to take the grey look from it but wondered if this would be a mental idea? It's all the garden I have really so it's kinda important to me to have it nice.

Rebecca

EvilDoctorK
Re: Painting Concrete Paving

Certainly for livening up crappy looking concrete I'd recommend this as a cheap solution .. sure it's not as nice as natural stone paving but it's a tiny fraction of the price .. but for a small area of paving you could probably do this for €20 and it would keep you going until funds permitted doing a nicer job.

I think the advantage of using the sealant I used is it's specifically designed to penetrate into the concrete and provide a moisture repellant and deter the growth of that greeny mould that makes exposed concrete look very bare.

It takes the grey/green look off bare concrete and makes it look fairly smart ... you can break up the Black-ness of it with a few nice pots and you'll be surprised how nice it will come up.

MissRibena
Registered User
Re: Painting Concrete Paving

Thanks Doc. I have loads of pots growing and trellice and hanging gadgets all over the place and a nice little table and chairs. It's just the flooring that bugs me. I wonder if the black would make it dark looking - especially as there is no going back. I think I might give it a whirl though.

Rebecca

Some other posts

techman29
Registered User
cleaning paint brush after sand & seal

Does anyone know what to use to clean brushes after using sand & seal?

furntech
Registered User
Re: cleaning paint brush after sand & seal

Celluose Thinners should work

techman29
Registered User
Re: cleaning paint brush after sand & seal

Thanks furntech.

zag
Administrator
Re: cleaning paint brush after sand & seal

One line of thought is that it is not worth cleaning brushes after use.

The thinking is that you are using all these nasty chemicals to clean the brush and then washing them all down the (normally outside, untreated) drain. There is an environmental cost and a monetary cost attached to this option. As well as this, it is also quite messy.

The alternative is to use the brush and when finished put it in the bin. Next time you need a brush, go out and buy a new one. There are also environmental and monetary costs, but some people prefer this option to avoid using all the chemicals, and having them hanging around the garage for years.

z

Some other posts

esthercasey
Registered User
Could anyone recommend a reliable painter

I need a reliable trustworthy painter that I can leave on their own in the house to get on with the job. One who will pay attention to preparation and not say that they have put on two coats when I know that they only put the one on! Any recommendations??

GrahamP
Registered User
Re: Could anyone recommend a reliable painter

This guy does a lot of work for me call him for a quote. Company is Laurendec, Paul Dunne (087 669 1609).
Highly recommend him!!

Graham homedesign@iol.ie