Painting Unfinished Basement Area
#1
06-29-15, 08:48 AM
Painting Unfinished Basement Area
I'm slowly finishing my basement and there is one area that is just going to be walled off and remain as unfinished storage. It's poured concrete walls and slab. Some areas were previously painted while others weren't.
I once lived in a town house where it seemed like the owner just went down and sprayed everything over in a generic gray. This included the ceiling joists, walls, floor and anything else that was around.
I want to do something similar. Have a clean painted area (floor, walls, ceiling), but I want to make sure I'm doing it right. Should I be worried about spraying utility items like wires and piping? What kind of paint should I be using? I was thinking just a grey primer would do the trick. Is spraying really the better option or should I roll/brush or some other option?
I once lived in a town house where it seemed like the owner just went down and sprayed everything over in a generic gray. This included the ceiling joists, walls, floor and anything else that was around.
I want to do something similar. Have a clean painted area (floor, walls, ceiling), but I want to make sure I'm doing it right. Should I be worried about spraying utility items like wires and piping? What kind of paint should I be using? I was thinking just a grey primer would do the trick. Is spraying really the better option or should I roll/brush or some other option?
#2
06-29-15, 09:15 AM
IMO it's best not to paint the floor. If any moisture migrates thru the slab, the coating will pop plus many coatings don't wear all that great when exposed to foot or tire traffic.
While its best to use a primer on anything previously uncoated, primer is not formulated to be left uncovered and will get dirty quicker than paint and not easily cleaned. It is also possible for primer to degrade/deterioration when not covered with a finish paint.
Normally there isn't any issue with painting the mechanicals although glavanized ducting often has an oily film [from the factory] that needs to be removed before any paint/primer is applied.
While its best to use a primer on anything previously uncoated, primer is not formulated to be left uncovered and will get dirty quicker than paint and not easily cleaned. It is also possible for primer to degrade/deterioration when not covered with a finish paint.
Normally there isn't any issue with painting the mechanicals although glavanized ducting often has an oily film [from the factory] that needs to be removed before any paint/primer is applied.
