Painting interior brickwork

Viking_mfw

Looking for some advice please.
We've just had an extremely old boiler/ gas fire combo removed from our dining room wall, leaving us with a fireplace ish type hole. We are going to use it as a storage nook for our young one's toys etc. We are boarding up the chimney to stop drafts. We'd like to paint the brick on the inside of the fireplace- it's quite stained with what is presumably soot and the brickwork has a few worn bits. Any advice re paint types/ undercoat? Do we need to use a sealant first?

Thanks in advance!

VfM4meplse

I have no idea but can share a recent experience. I couldn’t use the electric fire in my new home because it was irritating my eyes. So I bought a new heater and when I dragged the other one out of the (blocked) fireplace, I found a huge pile of gritty debris had accumulated in the corner, am guessing that the fan heater was sending these particles straight back into the atmosphere. The rest of the house had been left spotless, so I can only imagine that the previous owners were not actual aware of this shedding.

Going by this, it sounds like a clean and a sealant would be a good idea.

Viking_mfw

Yeuck! Yes, I've removed a bucket full of soot and rubble and debris from the space. Good point!