1st coat satin, second coat eggshell?

Ok, I had the painter put the first coat of paint on the walls, satin, and it looks to shiney.. And, some of the imperfections are showing up, standing out, which is upsetting me. I have a few questions:

1: Before I put the second coat of paint on, should I have the person that installed the sheetrock, finish work, etc come back to fix the imperfection or just let it go.

and,or:

2: For the second coat, can I use an eggshell finish, same color, to bring down the gloss or would I have to reprime? , which I won't do...

Thanks

 

If you have the drywall man come back to fix the spots then spot prime the repairs. Putting eggshell over the satin will not be a problem as long as you prime the spots beforehand.

I would have the problem spots repaired now, rather than be eyeballing them after.

 

Actually wanted to put the eggshell over the entire first coat on all walls... Would I be able to do that without priming it first? Woudl it look stupid? Would it 'tone it down' the gloss?

 

Anytime imperfections that are fixed with drywall mud or spackle, they must be primed before topcoating. If you don't, you will see dull spots pop thru after topcoating. As for priming all the walls because you want to put egshell over satin, there is no need to. In certain brands of paint, there is very little difference between satin and egshell finish. This is true for SW paint. You can buy brands that will say, low sheen, perhaps that is more what you are looking for.
Good luck.

 

I had him back a few times and I dread calling him back to fix... After this first coat of the satin, I so see a lot more that are showing, lines, a nail head, tape line a dent.. A lot shows up with this paint.... So I should call the drywaller back to fix all of this before I second coat? I would have to tell the painter to hold off? So the drywaller will need to mud 1 day and wait the next to sand again? Then the painter will need to prime those spots? and then come back and put the 2nd coat on? Seems like a lot?!

The beam that was boxed shows a few imperfections and shows more glossy then the other walls.. I guess cause of the lighting.

So are you saying if I second coat with the same paint, color, with eggshell, it won't lower the gloss?

 

Depending on brands, there is very little difference between eggshell and satin. Often the 2nd coat of enamel will appear shinier than the first. The higher the sheen, the more defects will show. That is one of the reasons a lot of builders use flat paint on all the walls.

If you want to use an enamel and don't want to see defects, you will need to get the repairs done first. The painter might charge you extra for having to make an extra trip although depending on the size of the job, he might be able to prime and paint in the same day.

 

I should've went with the FLAT Enamel

Today it looks less glossy?! I guess when it dries?!

What if there were 3 coats put on? Does it make it even glossier? Will it cover up the imperfections better?

 

Usually the 2nd coat of enamel seals the wall sufficent enough for the sheen to stay constant. A 3rd coat of paint might help a little but it would really take a lot of paint to build up over the repairs to make much difference.

My house usually gets painted with leftover paint .. . I've mixed both flat and enamel [all latex] together and had the result be a fairly flat sheen but still a good washable surface. You could add a 1qt of flat to a gallon of eggshell/satin and loose most of the gloss. It must be mixed well! and be sure to mix enough or atleast know for sure the mix ratio if you run out and need more. Not necessarily recomending this method - just that it is an option.

 

3 coats will for the most part look like the 2. The third coat may hide some of the minor imperfections but will not do much for the nail pops and the tape or the dent that you mentioned.

 

Thanks work...

Quick follow-up with the 3rd coat... I have an extra gallon for both rooms.... He got 2 coats out of a gallon... With I knew beforehand... Should I have hime put a 3rd coat inthe 2 other rooms... That would leave me with a half gallon in both... That should be sufficient if I needed to touch up or repaint a wall??? I know Home Depot won't take it back so I don;t want to waste a full gallon and if he charged me a few bcuks to put an extra coat on, it might be worth it?

Thanks

 

If it looks good now why bother.Like you said you might need to paint a wall with it later. Now if you just want to pay someone to use it i say go for it. Or if it just does not look quite right.

 

Guys, help me out here... I'm a little upset... Now the painter put 2 coats on... I was down there now, it's been since Friday when the 2nd coat was applied, and some of the walls I noticed they are 'rough' and have a lot of 'specks' on it like dust....

When you look from afar you see nothing... Different lighting sometimes you see and sometimes you don't..

I need to know what are my options?

1) Do I ask him I will pay him extra if he went over all the walls, sanded what is bad and put another coat on? How much extra work do you think that would be? He did mention the one time I asked that if he sanded he could leave pits/holes and it might look worse..

2) Do I just let it go?

I don't know!!! Help me!

 

It is hard to say since we can't see what you see

Can you feel the roughness or does it just look that way? Is it a texture difference?

I'm not sure why your painter said sanding could make it worse. Did he sand thru the previous coat and not reprime?

It could be a coating issue - not enough paint to cover/seal the repairs as well as it did the adjoining section of the wall, or it could be a difference in the texture.

 

Yep, I can see it.... Like little specks scattered... Not sure if it is the spackle dust...

Well he did the one section, sand a little before the 2nd coat and it looked good.

Maybe he said it make be worse because it would take him longer?

He already put the 2nd coat on the 2 rooms that some of the walls would need to be 'sanded' and another coat....

I also see, depending on the light, the 'spackeled' areas still from some of the walls.... Would another coat fix that?

 

Another coat might help.... and there are those out there that will say 'whatever won't work' because they either don't have time to mess with it or they're afraid they might have to do a little extra work for no extra pay.

 

Did he prime the spackeled spots with a primer, or did he go over the spackeled spot with the satin?

A common mistake is not to dust the wall off after doing repairs before top coating. Doing this can cause the rough spots. Then again so can a poorly sanded wall.
Do you have a digital camara? If so snap us a picture of these walls.

 

I was actually in charge is priming after he spackled and I did... I used a swifter to wipe down the walls and used a damp cloth to wipe down before I primed over those spots... I guess I didn;t do a good enough job??

How do I upload a pic on here?

 

I am pretty sure that you have to post the pic in a photo site like photobucket and then post a link to your picture. Or maybe you can just inset an image. I have never inserted an image in this forum and some are different then others.
Have your painter sand the walls smooth. Dust them off and put that third coat on. This will take care of your rough spots and also should fix the odd looking spots.
The bad looking spots could be roller technique or poor quality equipment. It could also be poor quality finish paint. It is really hard to say from here.
Honestly though if you are paying to have the job done then it should not be this frustrating for you.

 

Ok, painter is here today.. I brought it up to him and he said it was probably the drywall dust from the top of the drywall near ceiking and around the outlets... Said that maybe when he was painting up/around there, some got caught, got in the roller and went on the wall, in the paint.. Beer 4U2

So I asked him if he can sand down those walls and put another coat of the eggshell on top... So I had the 2 coats of satin and now the 1 coat of eggshell on top.... Hopefully it will look better, hide some of the imperfections, he sanded right and didnt; catch anymore dust withthe last coat of the eggshell and then I will be happy... I can't win!!!!!

 

Ok, he sanded most and added the 3rd coat, eggshell this time, and it looks good!!!! The gloss is a LOT less which makes me happy so any other imperfections don't stand out

I do have a question for you guys.... I was taking the tape off of the shower and the paint got 'stuck' on one of the sections and pulled away a 2 inch section of the drywall paper near the shower... Now I have this piece pulled away hanging... How do I correct that always soemthing!

Thanks

 

Tape always has the potential to cause problems

You will need to spackle or use j/c to level the repair, sand, prime and paint.

Next time if you can't remove the tape while the paint is still wet, take an utility knife and score the line between the wall and the tape. That will break the bond the paint made between the wall and the tape.

 

Yep Marksr nailed it. Joint compound, sand, prime and paint.

 

Thanks guys... Always something with me!!!!

I don't need to paint the entire wall? Do I??? Just that section after it is fixed?

Yes, I stopped... I didn't want to cause anymore damage... I should've waited...

Thanks for all your help guys... It looks good and the painting is done FINALLY!!!

 

"I don't need to paint the entire wall? Do I??? Just that section after it is fixed?"


Enamels don't always touch up well although touch ups at or near corners will touch up better than the middle of the wall. I'd prime and apply 2 coats of finish, let it dry a day or so and see how it looks. It will probably be ok.