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What type of filler for minor dips and bumps on a painted wall.

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JohnB47
JohnB47 Posts: 2,668 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
I'm about to give our hall and landing a fresh coat of paint but some of the areas suffer from past damage. 

One area has a lot of patches where bits of an old coat of paint had flaked off and have simply been painted over. Other bits look like they've been damaged by the edge of a scraper biting in here and there. These are not deep depressions but very noticeable when the light strikes from the side.

Is there a particular type of filler for this? I'm thinking something fine and fairly liquid that I can squeegee on and maybe sand or damp wipe off.

I tend to use a powder filler on much deeper holes but that would be far too coarse for this.

Thanks.


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Comments

  • FreeBear
    FreeBear Posts: 18,186 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Easifill would be the go-to stuff to use. If you want ready mixed, Knauf Fill &Finish - This one, you can wet sponge sand for a very smooth dust free finish.
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  • grumbler
    grumbler Posts: 58,629 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    edited 15 October 2022 at 5:11PM
    For the smallest imperfectnesses I found filler in a plastic tube to be very convenient and good. Mine was from Home Bargains
    Bartoline Ready To Use Instant Filler  Colour Supplies
     It's very fine, sticks well, sands well if needed and you don't need to mix small amounts every 15 minutes.
    There are similar other brands that, I think, are basically the same.



  • Bendy_House
    Bendy_House Posts: 4,756 Forumite
    1,000 Posts Second Anniversary Name Dropper
    edited 15 October 2022 at 6:30PM
    I think 'fine surface' should be the go-to description.

    John, a wide-enough bladed filling knife should do the job, as it'll apply the right amount, using the surrounding surface as it's guide. Then a nice flat sanding block, of at least a third-sheet size, and with a 180 grit. That should blend it all in.

    You may find that your perfectly-sanded finish 'rises' fractionally with the next coat of paint. If so, one more light sanding.

    If it's 'almost' there but not quite perfect, then a further skim...

  • twopenny
    twopenny Posts: 7,528 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    I'd go for a tub of filler, ready mixed. I've found this easiest to run a trowel over and dig repeated small bits out of.
    Where paint has flaked will be harder. Sanding out edges works better, even making it larger but shallower so it doesn't notice.

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  • JohnB47
    JohnB47 Posts: 2,668 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Thanks everyone. All sounds good. I'll look into those suggestions.
  • fenwick458
    fenwick458 Posts: 1,522 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    My choice would be any fine surface filler Eg easyfill, toupret etc. (not ready mixed)
    coupled with a decent quality trowel 
    and a trough
  • JohnB47
    JohnB47 Posts: 2,668 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    My choice would be any fine surface filler Eg easyfill, toupret etc. (not ready mixed)
    coupled with a decent quality trowel 
    and a trough
    Interesting that you say not ready mixed. Somehow I feel that ready mixed would be finer, not sure why.

    I've found Toupret fine surface filler available locally and I'm thinking of going for the ready mixed option.
  • Jonboy_1984
    Jonboy_1984 Posts: 1,233 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    We had all sorts of bumps, scratches and dinks after removing wallpaper from a feature wall a couple of months back. Dulux Base Coat 3 in 1 worked a treat on it for us and didn’t need Sanding back etc afterwards.
  • JohnB47
    JohnB47 Posts: 2,668 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 16 October 2022 at 3:37PM
    We had all sorts of bumps, scratches and dinks after removing wallpaper from a feature wall a couple of months back. Dulux Base Coat 3 in 1 worked a treat on it for us and didn’t need Sanding back etc afterwards.
    Thanks but my problem is more areas of dips - some small and some approx. 3 x 4 cm.

    Imagine if a fairly thick coat of paint deteriorated over years, then fairly large patches simply flaked off, then were painted over without any surface preparation. (Edit: or if you had something held to a wall using tape and you removed it along with a bit of the paint as well.) That's what I have.

    Dulux Base Coat 3 in 1 wouldn't fix that. The imperfections would still be there afterwards. That product is described as: "Covers cracks, blocks stains and obliterates strong colours". None of that matches my wall problem.

    Thanks again anyway.
  • danrv
    danrv Posts: 1,599 Forumite
    Seventh Anniversary 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    edited 16 October 2022 at 4:59PM
    JohnB47 said:
    One area has a lot of patches where bits of an old coat of paint had flaked off and have simply been painted over. Other bits look like they've been damaged by the edge of a scraper biting in here and there. These are not deep depressions but very noticeable when the light strikes from the side.
    Best scrape off all the old paint if possible. The raised edges of the patches will certainly show through any new paint. 
    The scraper dings can be easily filled with Polyfilla or similar.
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