1st time decorating and im stuck already! Pls help!

Feisty_Fairy

Hi everyone!

We are decorating in our home for the 1st time and are getting the kitchen walls prepared for when our new kitchen is fitted, (this weekend).

Problem is we want to have bare walls and just paint them cos we have a cat that loves to scratch the walllpaper, so we figured that painted walls would be better. So we have stripped the walls and are filling in any cracks etc at the moment, i have a few questions that im hoping someone can help me with.

1, Do we have to fill every iny crack (even if its hairline) before we put the base coat on?

2, Do we have to get all the previous bits of paint off before we repaint over it? There are patches of paint and some has worn off and the concrete is showing beneath, a frind of mine said we need to sand all the old paint off, have tried this and its still there! So do we need to actually remove it all or just smooth it out? I am worried that if i dont remove every last trace that the new paint will just flake off??? Also if the sander wont shift it what do i do??

I am sick of this already as i want nice smooth walls that look nice but dont see how i can get them to look nice!

Any advice greatly received!

Thanks in advance

Feisty!

jayne26

on the mispriced thread , how not to decorate colin and justin is mispriced get down to mr tesco and bag one for free for idears :rotfl:

djohn2002uk

I would scrape some filler over EVERY crack or they'll show through the paint. Then sand them with medium to fine paper.

A smooth surface is what you want but if the areas with paint on are even slightly raised above the rest, they will show through too. You can get some really course abrasive paper in rolls from builders merchants like Travis Perkins. Put some of that on the sander and don't press to hard on the sander and it should come off.
Mark the walls where your units are going and only concentrate just beyond the areas that you will see after they are fitted, that will save you time and effort.

Feisty_Fairy

Hi again

I am using a corase sandpaper on the sander but it doesnt look much different when i have done it.

Is it ok to leave th e paint on a slong as its flush to the wall?

And how long does it take? i have been at the same small patch for ages now and all it looks is a little smoother but the paint is still there!

God i really shouldnt give up my day job!

Feisty!

calmgirl

(CG's HUSBAND HERe) Just a thought I know about the cat prob we had the same. Unless you plaster the walls they will never be perfectly flat and the corners will chip even then, if knocked with a plate or hard edge (Chair, Bin, etc). As its a kitchen I dont recomend linning paper either. I do recomend Tiling in those cheap white tiles with a feature montage or strip running along. Djohn's idea about concentrating around the cupboards is very good. Either that make a feature with the rough walls try colour washing as this hides blemishes quite well, or just keep going as you are I would personally recomend sanding by hand the worse areas as the machines are prob orbital and are meant for finishing work not abrasive work ( and yes fill every gap with pollyfiller even if they are hair line)

robowen

If you want lovely smooth walls to paint, I'd get a plasterer to skim over the walls.
It's likely you will still be able to see where the old paint was. You'll probably see where you've been sanding too.

rob

djohn2002uk

No time for that Rob, kitchen being fitted end of week.

Nothing you buy at a DIY merchants will be as good as the stuff on a roll. It's really course and super abrasive and doesn't clog. But it aint cheap but will last you years.
Other than that, if you only have patches left buy or borrow a heat gun and scrape it off but don't put too much heat on or you'll crack the plaster. As soon as the paint shows signs of blistering, take the heat away and scrape it off. Or a bottle of paint remover but read the instructions well.

Feisty_Fairy

STRESSED!!!!!!!

Given up for tonight, thanks for all the advice folks! Will et ya know how i get on!

Bye for now!

Feisty!

trigger_mike

I'd tile it like calmgirls old man said, save's having to fill the walls, but to be honset, just a light fill of the cracks with some filler and a rub over with a 100 grit sandpaper on a block to knock down any loose paint and your filler, wipe the wall down with a damp cloth to clean it, a coat of cheap white paint to get a base on the wall then paint the with the colour you wanted. job done.

Little_John

If sanding for hours wont remove the bits of paint then I would proberbly expect it to stay there for years, just sand it to remove the dirt and grima and remove any uneaven edges.

the hairline cracks will be filled slightly by the paint but will be still visable so yes get the polyfiller and spreading knife out on them.

for sanding use very fine sandpaper not the corse stuff which is for paint removal the plaster will be smoother and give a better finish the coarse will proberbly leave marks on the plaster and could show like the hairline cracks. you dont need to remov every trace of paint just remove loose paint and if it is very thick get it to blend with the wall.

good luck, the saning is a reall pain in the !!!!!!, try wet and dry paper, its very fine and using it wet will reduce the amount of dust in the air as that is the bit that really sucks.

robowen

I have an idea ! yes...another one...my second this year :rotfl:

Why not use a textured paint ???
We had rough walls in our kitchen and used a textured paint. Not sure where she got it from, but the walls now have a sand paper feel to them. and you cant see where the bad parts were on the walls.
I think you can get it from anywhere.

rob