Whitewashing walls

oslamp

hi

My house has just been skimmed internally and now dry. Can I white wash the walls with

1.) /a roller
2.) 30% water, 60% basic emulsion paint
3.) do I need 2 coats?

thanks

totalsolutions

Use about 60% PVA mixed with 40% water, for a single base coat to seal the porus finish plaster then you will only need about 4 - 5 coats of paint. I would suggest getting Leyland Trade Super Laytex matt emulsion as it has the best coverage and a higher opacity, roughly about £20 for 15 litres. Bargain...ohh yes roller, get the right one, not sure something like a medium thickness ask when you are buying.

misgrace

totalsolutions wrote: »

Use about 60% PVA mixed with 40% water, for a single base coat to seal the porus finish plaster then you will only need about 4 - 5 coats of paint. .

NOooooooooooooooooooooo, do not use PVA on any circumstances to seal new plaster, it does not seal plaster, as it does not penetrate new plaster, it sit on top of the plaster and leaves a film, therefore any subsequent coats, cannot soak into the plaster and sits on top of the PVA, which can cause you loads of grief.

You need a mistcoat of watererd down matt emulsion, this will get into the plaster, and seal it, ready for your proper coats.

I paint new plaster all the time, infact, the last 4 jobs I have had have been new plaster, (getting fed up with it) lol

Trust me, you dont use PVA.

For a brilliant finish, and a nice professional finish, have your coats slightly thinned.

Do your mistcoat, (watered down), by at least 30-35%, then do your first proper coat, personally I would thin by at least 15-20%, if going for a good make.
Thin down by at least 10-15% for your proper second coat, so you now have done 3 coats.

Again its personal choice, but I always do 4 coats on new plaster, the 3 coats I thin down, as you get a superb finish, but like I say, its personal choice.

BTW, always use Matt as a mistcoat, preferably a contract or supermatt, (non Vinyl), then you can use either the vinyl matt, or soft sheen, or god forbid Silk.:eek:

oslamp

Thanks to you both

Misgrace I think I will go down the thinned emulsion route.

Just to clarify are you saying

- 3 thinned coats followed by 2 proper coats.

I have used one coat so far (thinned white). Where from now as my actual wall colour is an off white

Thanks

misgrace

Sorry Oslamp, I read my post back, and I can understand why you got confused, as I got confused reading it lol.

What I meant was that every coat you do on your new plaster walls, thin down with water.

Your first coat (mistcoat), by about 30-35%, then your next coats, still thin, but adding less and less water to every coat.

Trust me, you have really nice flat walls if you do this.

As your colour is an off-white, its up to you really, if it was me, I would do 4 coats, the mistcoat in the cheapo contract matt, also the second in the cheapo contract matt.
Then I would do 2 coats in the off-white, but I would still thin down the off-white, specially if its dulux, I would add at least 10-15% water, you wont lose any of the depth.

If you want a nice flat finish, then go for a medium pile roller sleeve.

You can pick up what looks like a tiger stripe roller sleeve in any of the DIY shed, they give a lovely flat finish, that and adding water will make your paint go on more smoother.

What you dont want is to use the paint straight from the tin/tub, as its far too thick, and you will get dragging, lumpy, orangepeel effect.

BTW, I'm not saying you do four coats, but its what I do in all my jobs when I am painting new plaster, and the finish is perfect

Dont forget, you have spent a small fortune on getting it all skimmed, so you want a nice end result.

Any problems you can PM me, and I will give you as much help as I can.

I take it you have already bought the paint for the miscoat?, or I would advise you in my opinion the best paint to use as a mistcoat.:D

Optimisticpair

Scuse me butting in but is this the proper job for lime plaster or modern plaster?

How can I tell if a wall is lime plaster or modern plaster that has been painted over?