Painting the House

ifti

Hi,

we have just had the rented house re done up. ie all new plaster, new coving, new wood skirting and wood doors can anyone give us some tips on painting the house, i have been reading that the walls should be painted with white paint first, does this have to paint thinned down or not. i read that the first paint of white should be thinned downed 50% and then the next 30%, but its the 1st time we are doing this on the whole house so we are not sure.

we are also after some cheap paint that will look good but not too expensive, (no dulux)it cost us much more than expected to sort the house so we are on a tight budget, we are looking to buy in bulk and paint the whole house the same colour, its not worth painting different colours as it costs more.

also can anyone recommed any cool colour, we are thinking of magnolia or anything close to this colour. also anyone have any colours that might go on the coving if the walls are magnolia. the doors and skirting will prob be varnished as well as the skirting.

so all in all i am after the following advice,

ways to paint newly plastered walls.
cheap paint.
and colours for bits and peices int he house.

thanks in advance

The_Economist

When i painted my newly plastered walls i just watered the paint down. Did'nt realy worry to much about the % of water to paint, just as long as its watery enough to soak into the plaster to seal it. I think this is done so when you do the main coats of paint it stops the paint from flaking or cracking.

Cheap paint. I would say goto wickes or wilkinsons

Colour. Maybe white and magnolia?

Jack0212_2

Hi,
I am just coming to the end of doing up two houses and tried every way possible to cut costs without compromising on finish or quality. I found that the best way to paint onto newly plastered walls is to mix standard white emulsion paint with water in a mix of about 85% paint to 15% water. It means that the paint mixture still covers the walls and forms a good base without splattering everywhere. You will know if you haven't added enough water as the paint will come straight off again if you go over it more than once with the roller.

I found that if you buy huge tubs of white emulsion, it works out a lot cheaper. I stuck to dulux, B&Q's own and Wilkinsons own but there wasn't much difference in the prices. Watch out for the extra 10% off days in places like Homebase, or if you know anybody over 60, get them to buy the stuff from B&Q on a Wednesday (It's a Wednesday in my area) for an extra 10% off.

BE CAREFUL in your choice of "cheap paint". If you can afford it, I thinks is worth payong more for a better make. For instance, I paid £10 for a 15 litre tub of magnolia. When I tried to decorate with it, I needed to paint the walls at least 3 times before the finish looked half reasonable. Again, I found B&Q's own and Wilkinson's own just as good as any. If you time it right you will get them on special offer too.

I painted all ceilings and covings white, and all walls cream of some description. There are loads of different versions of cream available now.

Hope this helps.

ifti

thanks for that,

the paint do i have to water down the magnolia or a coat of white paint.

also ive heard wickes paint is good but has anyone tried wilko paint.

thanks in advance.

also how many watered down coats did you do and and how many unwatered down coats.

also how long did you leave the paint before the next coat.

thanks

she_grinch

Home brand paint is fine it,s the essential or budget one thats runny. Homebrand can be slightly smellier but does the same job.

misgrace

ifti wrote: »

also ive heard wickes paint is good but has anyone tried wilko paint.

thanks

Please do not buy wickes, its absolutely useless.

Go to your local Dulux decorating centre before the 31st may,(offers end) and have a look at 'gliddens', its made by ICI who makes 'Dulux'
I have used gliddens lots of times and am very impressed with it.

A 10 ltr tub of white or magnolia contract emulsion including VAT is £15.85, this is the best thing to put on new plastered walls, dont use silk, you will have trouble.

Like OP says, do a miscoat with a watered down emulsion, add about 20-25% for this.(if you have a plaster coving do the same)
when you do your 2nd coat, thin down again by about 10-15%
Then your third coat, just slightly water down, you will get a far better finish.

If you have pine woodwork/skirtings etc,they need to be knotted with a knotting solution, then primed, then a couple coats of undercoat followed by your top coat.

White ceilings and white coving looks lovely with the magnolia.

misgrace

Oooops forget about the advice about the woodwork, just realise you are not painting the skirtings etc but staining them.

<memo to misgrace, must go to specsavers>:D

TheOne

Chances are Glidden Contract Matt will be the same price next month, and the month after that....

ifti

hi

thanks for the reply. i just wanted to know about the mis coat, is that the watered down version of the white or the magnolia.

", do a miscoat with a watered down emulsion, add about 20-25% for this.(if you have a plaster coving do the same)
when you do your 2nd coat, thin down again by about 10-15%
Then your third coat, just slightly water down, you will get a far better finish."

can i do a watered down coat of white 1st and then the water downed of magnolia and then a slightly water downed of magnolia. will this be ok. or shoult it all be the same colour. this is the part im confused with.

but i know how its done in regards to the watering down.

thanks alot for the info

its really got me ready,

misgrace wrote: »

Please do not buy wickes, its absolutely useless.

Go to your local Dulux decorating centre before the 31st may,(offers end) and have a look at 'gliddens', its made by ICI who makes 'Dulux'
I have used gliddens lots of times and am very impressed with it.

A 10 ltr tub of white or magnolia contract emulsion including VAT is £15.85, this is the best thing to put on new plastered walls, dont use silk, you will have trouble.

Like OP says, do a miscoat with a watered down emulsion, add about 20-25% for this.(if you have a plaster coving do the same)
when you do your 2nd coat, thin down again by about 10-15%
Then your third coat, just slightly water down, you will get a far better finish.

If you have pine woodwork/skirtings etc,they need to be knotted with a knotting solution, then primed, then a couple coats of undercoat followed by your top coat.

White ceilings and white coving looks lovely with the magnolia.

ifti

just found my local Dulux decorating centre

if i was to buy bulk of white and mognolia will they be ok from watering down to the final coat,

also how many 10L tubs would i need for the whole house. its 4 bed, 2 rooms downstairs and hallway, the celings would prob be white. so its a tub of white for that but how many for the mongolia ?

also i see they have Glidden Trade Vinyl Matt Magnolia too.

i dont understand the differences but might prob get the contract one.

TheOne

TheOne wrote: »

Chances are Glidden Contract Matt will be the same price next month, and the month after that....

Yep, thought so... next months offers for anyone interested:

(CLICK FOR BIGGER)





Coverage with Glidden Vinyl Matt/Contract Matt is about 14-15m² per litre, so work it out from that. The difference between the 2 is, Contract Matt is generally for new plaster, and Vinyl Matt is for redecorating, although you can use Contract matt for either. Vinyl Emulsion can be used once the plaster has fully dried out.