Painting over bright / very dark painted walls?

missminx

We're in the process of re-decorating a family member's house. The teenagers that were living there had free reign in terms of decorating, resulting in some bright colours to paint over, and one room painted completely in VERY dark brown... Any darker, it would be black! Just wondering if anyone can give advice about the most expedient method to cover this?
I have done a bit of googling and seen primers mentioned etc, so if anyone has particular recommendations that would be really helpful. No point in buying a cheap one and having to buy twice as much, but if there is a good value one out there then !
Thanks for reading, all replies much appreciated.

spacey2012

Cheapest white mat emulsion 10 Litre, coat it with this, then paint

HappyMJ

Paint twice...maybe three times.... I'd paint the first coat with a cheapish paint myself possibly trade magnolia....then use your better quality paint in the desired colour for the last 2 coats.

Dukesy

Do not waste money on anything fancy. It's just not necessary.

Go and buy the cheapest white emulsion (eg B&Q own value brand) you can find, slap a couple of coats on, and then repaint with the desired colour.

Having carried out a couple of house renovations now, I have successfully, cheaply and easily covered black, brown, bright turquoise, nicotine yellow and more with this method.

nickj_2

i would give the cheapest paints a wide berth , unless you fancy giving them 300 coats , go for something like dulux supermatt - £33 for 10 ltrs B&Q , depending on what colours you are intending to paint . give it at least a couple of coats , allow each coat to dry thoroughly before recoating

SailorSam

I think rather than coat on coat of paint, what about putting a lining paper on the wall to cover it.

missminx

Thanks for the ideas so far. Food for thought

jcb208

As said dulux supermat,decent roller and back roll the walls which means going back over the wet paint with the roller without applying any more paint , then it will cover easy in 2 coats

shegirl

As someone else said,avoid the cheap and value paints.They go on like water,will require ten million streaky coats and could well end up costing the same as decent paints due to it!

BertieUK

We tried the Dulux One-Coat which really did the trick over red walls.

http://www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=110&storeId=10151&partNumber=508096

yoyoegg

I've just brush painted a room which had a very strong blue emulsion. Did one coat of Wickes magnolia then Farrow and Ball White Tie, the paint is pricey but there's no blue peeping through at all!