Painting tips for novice!

pog it

Hi there, am painting for the first time and would be really grateful for general tips!
It's for my bedroom, it's already painted lilac and I'm going with either a yellow/creamy colour or a greeny colour and I was wondering would I need to use a primer at all to get a good finish, or is that more suitable if you're changing colour in the extreme- like light to dark, and dark to light.. the walls are just normal concrete, not damp or anything.

Also what else do I need to know in terms of painting techniques? Rollers etc.? I heard you start from the top and work down, doing the difficult bits first- the top and bottom edges (i.e. beside ceiling and skirting boards), and I plan to scrape any area where there is an edge of chipped paint and then sand it to make it smooth- is that the best method for this?

Thanks!!
S

jack of all

There's loads of tips and info on the net for this but here's my tuppence worth.

1. Don't skimp on preparation, it's the secret to all good decoration jobs. Remove any loose or unsound finishes, fill and sand smooth. Prime any difficult stains (old water marks/ leak stains etc) with a stain blocker. Powdery surfaces may need a stabilising primer like Sealapore.

2. Wash down dirty/ greasy areas with sugar soap and rinse off with clean water. Use an acrylic caulk (painter's mate) in corners and around trim.

3. "Cut in" around ceilings and wall corners with a good quality synthetic brush (for use with water based emulsions). Use roller after this, thinning first coat with 10% water.

4. Follow up with subsequent full coat, un diluted. A third coat may be required for strong colour changes. In this instance a cheap white emulsion may be used for the first coat followed by two coats of your chosen colour. Never over thin the paint and don't skimp when applying- it's a false economy.

Happy painting!

partyguinness

If your are painting on fresh plaster, make sure to use undercoat on the corners where those metal things (sorry I dont know the names) are used.

This prevents rust coming through when the water based emulsion is applied.

mad m

partyguinness wrote: »

If your are painting on fresh plaster, make sure to use undercoat on the corners where those metal things (sorry I dont know the names) are used.

This prevents rust coming through when the water based emulsion is applied.

Those things are Angle Beads/mini mesh, they are aluminium. They shouldn't rust, but I know what you mean, its like there is not enough skim applied and you can see them burn though emulsion.

bauderline

Folks,

I am going to paint brand new wall which were plastered a few weeks ago and have dried out now.

What should I use for undercoat, I then intend to tackle it with a nice white paint for the whole house to start off with. Do you recommend magnolia or brilliant white for this sort of thing ?

P.

pog it

jack of all wrote: »

There's loads of tips and info on the net for this but here's my tuppence worth.

1. Don't skimp on preparation, it's the secret to all good decoration jobs. Remove any loose or unsound finishes, fill and sand smooth. Prime any difficult stains (old water marks/ leak stains etc) with a stain blocker. Powdery surfaces may need a stabilising primer like Sealapore.

2. Wash down dirty/ greasy areas with sugar soap and rinse off with clean water. Use an acrylic caulk (painter's mate) in corners and around trim.

3. "Cut in" around ceilings and wall corners with a good quality synthetic brush (for use with water based emulsions). Use roller after this, thinning first coat with 10% water.

4. Follow up with subsequent full coat, un diluted. A third coat may be required for strong colour changes. In this instance a cheap white emulsion may be used for the first coat followed by two coats of your chosen colour. Never over thin the paint and don't skimp when applying- it's a false economy.

Happy painting!

Found this extremely helpful, thanks so so much!

Can I ask you quckly about your point no.2-- sugar soap- what is this?? And re. the acrylic caulk used for corners and trims-what do you mean by this? Do you just mean if there is a crack in a corner of trim you'd use caulk?? I always thought caulk was just used for filling in cracks..

Also re. thinning the paint 10%.. would I pour paint into another smaller bucket, etc. and then thin it in that,leaving the rest 100%?
Thank u!

jack of all

Sugar soap is used to clean down greasy surfaces prior to painting, you'll find it in a hardware store. I would use caulk where a skirting meets the wall as this is flexible it will accommodate the inevitable shrinkage of the wood. It gives a very good professional finish if used correctly (ie do overdo it!). Also it's good for internal corners on skirting as these are inclined to open up and regular filler just falls out or cracks.

pog it

jack of all wrote: »

Sugar soap is used to clean down greasy surfaces prior to painting, you'll find it in a hardware store. I would use caulk where a skirting meets the wall as this is flexible it will accommodate the inevitable shrinkage of the wood. It gives a very good professional finish if used correctly (ie do overdo it!). Also it's good for internal corners on skirting as these are inclined to open up and regular filler just falls out or cracks.

So would you need to colour the caulk too to get it the same colour as the paint, or do you just want it for the filling in only..

Also- I'm now going with a warm off white colour- and going from the lilac, will I prime it over or just give it an extra lick of paint? Cheers!