About 5 years ago in 2016, I had my cinder block retaining walls in my yard painted for the very first time (the walls were installed 9 years ago). If you look at the attached pictures, you can see that the paint is peeling in a number of places - I have taken pictures of one particular section. As I am in the process of getting painting quotes to repaint my retaining walls and I am wondering if there is anything special that needs to be done prior to painting? Basically, I want to make sure it is done correctly this time around and will select a contractor based upon how they will prep the cinder block wall prior to painting. Thanks in advance! [img]https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.doityourselft.com-vbulletin/1200x1600/pxl_20210210_232021762_5c81530fc33811d6c082c5089c9ac82c5c9decc2.jpg[/img] [img]https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.doityourselft.com-vbulletin/1200x1600/pxl_20210210_232027477_114282b10b5ae19c3a00cd18bf6d728d83d0508c.jpg[/img] [img]https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.doityourselft.com-vbulletin/1200x1600/pxl_20210210_232041374_aa09071ac40b115a04b6737c069658a6e1ce5712.jpg[/img] [img]https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.doityourselft.com-vbulletin/1200x1600/pxl_20210210_232055864_620128090f1e788f6cdbabdd071fbde3c25e7cd7.jpg[/img]

I'm too old to have to ask this simple question, but I'm pretty sure my painting skills have always been fairly sub-par in general. :) I've always questioned just how thick a first coat of paint (and subsequent coats) should be. I always lay on the first coat very thin- so thin that it is actually streaky. My current project is new interior oak doors "ready to paint" from a home center. I don't know what or if this is a problem. So far I have done the following: -lightly sanded bare wood -tack cloth - 1 THIN coat Zinnser 1-2-3 gray primer for Latex (synthetic 2" wide brush) - sanded lightly with 220 grit sanding block - tack cloth -1 THIN coat white latex (synthetic 2" wide brush) And I have a lighter gray streaky door, due to the first white coat being so thin and the gray primer sitting underneath. I'm fine with this so far, but just need thoughts on if the white coat is too thin, or if I need a better brush, or what. Thanks! First coat result: [img]https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.doityourselft.com-vbulletin/2000x1504/280e2a87_303f_4d9f_bac0_1ee6ffda9f6b_27a07b72acc999531764c8493af0259f3679bd23.jpeg[/img] [img]https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.doityourselft.com-vbulletin/2000x1504/9bc28891_a36c_4603_a858_e614961bc536_eb9bfd89bcf105ad5521a8947cc4881c217277e0.jpeg[/img]