New plaster to paint 2023

twopenny

I tried a search but there were old threads. Sure it was asked more recently but it is what it is.

After 4yrs I've finally got a bathroom

The plasterer while good, got a bit carried away and ignored the markings and picture presented to him with the result that it's still drying out even in a heat wave.

I understand that I have to wait for the whole to go pale (dry) pink and I'll wait a tad longer as it's on plasterboard.

What is a 'mist' coat? Sounds like it's a spray but I'm thinking it means a diluted amount of paint.

Do I need special 'new plaster paint' ?

Should it be a trade variety?

Or can I use a dilute amount of ordinary paint?

The end colour I would like is Antique Cream by Johnstones. I find it does a decent job elsewhere.

Do I need to do a white base coat? Should it be diluted white or can I dilute the Johnsons?

The area is smallish as a tiny bungalow so don't want to do anything unnecessary

Sellers in my rural spot include Toolstation, Travis Perkins. Jewsons.

Money is tight with the amount that's gone wrong with the house and car at the mo but I want to get this right as I've waited an age, had to accept what's available in the hardware dept and worked like an aged donkey lately so any clear advice to get this right would be most welcome.

PS anyone looking up Antique Cream it's nothing like the photos online - sheesh!

daveyjp

For a mist coat cheapest trade paint you can find - see if you have a local paint recycling centre - watered down slightly. 

 Leave to dry.  You may want to do another trade white coat once dry to give a decent base for the final colour as trade white is cheaper than the final finish colour.

twopenny

No recycling centre but I have a bunch of large pots of Bergers from my last house.

I'll check if they are still viable.

If not I'll look for the cheapest that's ok. Though I have a sneaky feeling that Johnstones is going to be it.

I guess I just brush or roller it on?

Cactus_Flowers

I've just been mist coating today - I use my vat of bogstandard white paint that I probably got from Toolstation (they usually have some sort of '2 for £20/30ish' deal on, which I've used as my base paint everywhere). It feels more watery to begin with than fancier paints, so I think I ended up doing about 70/30 paint to water. I used a brush as I thought using a roller might make it even messier than usual, but I'm not sure I made the right decision there - it took so much longer than I planned for!

twopenny

Ah yes, the 'little' jobs that you have great ideas for.

Been tackling those today as I had to get away from the radio/saw/tile sander etc. Takes a lot more patience than you think.

But as the ceilings here are artex that have never been painted ie sealed I've practise at expecting numourous coats

Impatient as I finally have a room that isn't a h'hole after 4yrs some locked in with it.

Have to get the laptop on a good podcast series and go for it.

flashg67

I've just finished painting a new extension. I mist coated with about 20% diluted Wilko standard matt emulsion which has worked well, then 2 coats of my final colour.  If you use a roller, cover everything because it will splatter more than normal!. My builder recommended a 'new plaster' paint from screwfix but reading the instructions, this seems to be for plaster that's still wet so it can have the final finish applied sooner

twopenny

Thanks. All helpful 

Just been looking closely and it's quite rough and doesn't cover the metal used on the corners round the window.

Quite gritty surface compared to the original wall. Maybe that will go with painting. But because it faces a large doorway and a bathroom I'm a bit concerned.

Just wondering whether to smooth down with something. Sandpaper would be too rough. 
Maybe a new dish scourer?

Doozergirl

twopenny said:

Thanks. All helpful 

Just been looking closely and it's quite rough and doesn't cover the metal used on the corners round the window.

Quite gritty surface compared to the original wall. Maybe that will go with painting. But because it faces a large doorway and a bathroom I'm a bit concerned.

Just wondering whether to smooth down with something. Sandpaper would be too rough. 
Maybe a new dish scourer?

A dish scourer?  How bad is it?? 

It should be smooth and silky to the touch to the point that some plasters will make it feel almost feels like glass.   A few splashes of rogue plaster maybe, but it should not be rough.  

Re: mist coat.  It should be 50:50 paint:water.  The lack of a proper mist coat only shows when you go to repaint a room but the results are bad as the bottom layer peels easily off the wall. The purpose of the mist coat is to allow the dry, thirsty plaster to take on enough water to allow the paint to bond rather form a skin.  

If you don't have any spare paint lying around then you should just use your paint colour.   You're saving no money buying two tins of paint.  White is not a neutral - it needs to be painted over like bare plaster or black, in many cases white is just as difficult to cover as black.  

FreeBear

Doozergirl said:

twopenny said:

Thanks. All helpful 

Just been looking closely and it's quite rough and doesn't cover the metal used on the corners round the window.

Quite gritty surface compared to the original wall. Maybe that will go with painting. But because it faces a large doorway and a bathroom I'm a bit concerned.

Just wondering whether to smooth down with something. Sandpaper would be too rough. 
Maybe a new dish scourer?

A dish scourer?  How bad is it?? 

It should be smooth and silky to the touch to the point that some plasters will make it feel almost feels like glass.   A few splashes of rogue plaster maybe, but it should not be rough.

Smooth, yes. But not polished to a glossy finish. Plaster should have a matt finish like an eggshell.

That said, there is a polished plaster finish (usually waxed for a higher gloss), but this is a specialist finish that takes time to do.

FFHillbilly

I water it down 20%, I guess it really depends on which paint you are starting with but assuming you go for a 10L tub of whatever they sell at toolstation/screwfix for £10 they are already quite thin so trying to go 50/50 with that is going to result in you making a mess or taking forever as you won't be able to get a decent amount of paint to stay on the brush it will be all over the floor

twopenny said:

The plasterer while good, got a bit carried away and ignored the markings and picture presented to him with the result that it's still drying out even in a heat wave.

what marking and pictures did they ignore and how is that related to the drying time? how long has it been drying out?

stuart45

twopenny said:

Thanks. All helpful 

Just been looking closely and it's quite rough and doesn't cover the metal used on the corners round the window.

Quite gritty surface compared to the original wall. Maybe that will go with painting. But because it faces a large doorway and a bathroom I'm a bit concerned.

Just wondering whether to smooth down with something. Sandpaper would be too rough. 
Maybe a new dish scourer?

There's different grades of paper, so just use a fine one. If you've got galvanised angle beads don't sand any of the galvanizing off, or it will rust quicker, especially in a bathroom. Knauf fill and finish is a good product for smoothing out the rough bits.