Painting bathroom

k1rkyc

Hi all, HNY!
We had our ceiling & bathroom walls (2 of them, others are tiled) re-skimmed at the beginning of December. We've just used Leyland Contract Matt for the mist coat (watered down 10% as instructed on the tin!), and now we're ready for the proper paint to go on.
We're looking at Zinsser (Zinsser Perma White Self-Priming Interior Paint Matt White 1L (toolstation.com) for the ceiling, as before we had the bathroom re-fitted we had a little mould around the edges of the walls (even though we have an extractor!). 
My question is, would we be able to paint this straight onto the mist coat, and do we need to fill in any imperfections/sand them now, or after the first coat of this?

For the walls, we have been recommended the 'Dulux Trade Diamond Eggshell' (we want a colour). Again, is this ok straight on the mist coat and do we fill/sand now or after a first coat of that?

Big thanks to anyone who's read this and replies - I have of course Googled this, but like anything, there are SO many conflicting answers and I'm confused!!

Emmia

k1rkyc said:

Hi all, HNY!
We had our ceiling & bathroom walls (2 of them, others are tiled) re-skimmed at the beginning of December. We've just used Leyland Contract Matt for the mist coat (watered down 10% as instructed on the tin!), and now we're ready for the proper paint to go on.
We're looking at Zinsser (Zinsser Perma White Self-Priming Interior Paint Matt White 1L (toolstation.com) for the ceiling, as before we had the bathroom re-fitted we had a little mould around the edges of the walls (even though we have an extractor!). 
My question is, would we be able to paint this straight onto the mist coat, and do we need to fill in any imperfections/sand them now, or after the first coat of this?

For the walls, we have been recommended the 'Dulux Trade Diamond Eggshell' (we want a colour). Again, is this ok straight on the mist coat and do we fill/sand now or after a first coat of that?

Big thanks to anyone who's read this and replies - I have of course Googled this, but like anything, there are SO many conflicting answers and I'm confused!!

The Dulux eggshell won't be mould resistant - so as you do have a (slight) mould / damp problem then rather than it being on the ceiling (The Zinsser is great stuff) it will be on the walls instead, (also, as bleach is the quickest, cheapest and easiest mould killer / remover) will using that affect the colour of your paint?

I think you can get anti mould additives for paint (although I've not used them personally) so if you want the Dulux, then you could try one of those to reduce the risk of mould. 

Does your current extractor have a humidstat fitted, which will activate the fan if the humidity goes over a certain level? If not, I'd consider getting a new fan which has this feature. 

Le_Kirk

If you have had your walls reskimmed, why do you think you need to  fill and sand now?  After the mist coat, I would go straight on with my chosen paint - unless the walls are bumpy due to poor plastering.

k1rkyc

Ah, thanks Emmia, I did wonder about the Dulux Eggshell and if it was mould resistant. Throws a spanner in the works now as we like the colours
No, current fan just goes on and off when we turn it on and off.
Le_Kirk - as there's a few holes/scrapes etc where the units were fitted. We want it to be as perfect as possible and wondered at what stage we fill/sand

neilmcl

Just use the Zinnser stuff on the walls to with some tint if you want to colour it or get a bathroom specific Dulux paint.

Le_Kirk

k1rkyc said:

Le_Kirk - as there's a few holes/scrapes etc where the units were fitted. We want it to be as perfect as possible and wondered at what stage we fill/sand

Ah OK, makes sense now.  I would fill and sand any holes/bumps/scrapes, rub down and then apply another (partial) skim coat before the final paint finish.

neilmcl

k1rkyc said:

Le_Kirk - as there's a few holes/scrapes etc where the units were fitted. We want it to be as perfect as possible and wondered at what stage we fill/sand

Now would be the time to fill before any further coats go on. A good tip is to add some of the paint to the filler at this stage to ensure it's a perfect match and won't show through the next coat.

k1rkyc

Thanks all. Really wanted to use Dulux Trade as we'd chosen the colour.... now we know it's not mould resistant it's back to the drawing board!

Emmia

k1rkyc said:

Ah, thanks Emmia, I did wonder about the Dulux Eggshell and if it was mould resistant. Throws a spanner in the works now as we like the colours
No, current fan just goes on and off when we turn it on and off.

I'd seriously recommend a humidstat fan, we installed them last year in our 2 windowless bathrooms and it's made a huge difference to the general humidity in the flat (it dropped 20% within a couple of days - whilst I repainted the bathrooms with the Zinsser stuff 5.5 years ago, there was a tiny spot I clearly missed (white paint on white paint) in the one we use most which I've been bleaching every couple of months (yet to muster the enthusiasm to get the paint & equipment out for this awkward  spot).

Since installing these fans I've bleached once (just after installation) 11 months ago. I noticed that it will need redoing on Sunday evening - so that is on the to do list for this week.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/vent-axia-vash100htc-7-5w-bathroom-extractor-fan-with-humidistat-timer-white-240v/870gy

neilmcl

k1rkyc said:

Thanks all. Really wanted to use Dulux Trade as we'd chosen the colour.... now we know it's not mould resistant it's back to the drawing board!

If you have the colour code there's no reason why you can't get the Zinnser in the same colour, or as I said do Dulux do the same colour in their bathroom paint?

Emmia

Or, would an additive like this work with your Trade Paint preference?
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kair-Anti-Mould-Additive-Emulsion-Gloss/dp/B004X4T190