painting onto brick

Annabee

Could I pick the brains of those of you who are more experienced in decorating please. We have an extension with one wall which is exposed brick (the old outside back wall of the house). I wanted to paint this straight onto the brick so you still see the brick underneath. Could you tell me what kind of paint I would need, and do I need to do anything else to prepare it etc?

Also the other walls are covered with a kind of blown vinyl wallpaper and I wanted to just paint over this. Will I need a different kind of paint for this or can I get away with using the same for both jobs?

Thanks in advance.

vansboy

Painting the bricks themselves, is easiest with exterior wall paint - you can get either smooth, or textured. The textured won't go so far, 'cos it's got lots tiny bits of sand mixed in it, so won't be as easy to clean either. You won't get as wide a range of colours, though, by using this, as you would with emulsion.

If you choose emulsion, which should be fine on the vinyl, (don't use exterior wall paint on vinyl)you'll find it needs more coats, as the brickwork will soak it up quite a lot. To help with the reduction of this, have a look at the sealers, you can apply first. Unibond or own brand PVA, won't be too expensive & will save on paint! A bit of messing about, first, but the best way!

VB

adandem

Hi, I have painted on vinyl wallpaper before. I used ordinary matt emulsion and everytime you touched it, it came off, we ended up completely re-doing it. You might need to use something with stronger adhesion such as kitchen and bathroom paint or 'everywhere' paint. Alternatively you could prime it somehow and use any paint you like afterwards.

As mentioned, I think you'll need masonary paint for the bricks.;)