I have just bought a townhouse that is 1 year old and has builder's grade paint on the walls. I want to paint the whole place and was wondering if I should spray paint it or use the traditional brush and roller? I'm concerned the spray paint will not provide good coverage. Any thoughts?

 

I have used the spray method with good results. My main suggestion is that you have the room totally empty and flooring protected very well. The coverage is great and a real time saver but it does take more paint to do it this way.

 

I owned a paint store for thirty years, and with past experience, when you are dealing with "builder type" finishes, usually it is no more that glorified white wash. Be prepared to prime first, and I would advise brushing and rolling this time around. Good Luck.

 

Use a brush and roller and buy good tools. Good tools make the job easier and faster and you get a much better result.

If you choose to spray, get a quality sprayer. The $100 diy special doesn't cut it. And do cover everything you do not want painted. Most people underestimate the overspray.

 

Let's see here, good tools. Hmmmm.... extension poles and 18" roller frame and quality roller sleeves $98. Quality primer $75 per 5 gal. pail. quality top coat $95 per 5 gal. pail. Quality sprayer (Graco) $750 min.. plastic and tape and taping machine/tool $65.
your looking at spending around $1600 in tools and paint. Hmmmm....
Best advice: HIRE A PRO.

 

If you have access to an airless spraygun(professional Quality)then it is a much faster way to go,But I would advise when you spray a wall,use the roller over the spray while it is still wet.This way you do not have to spray close to the floor or ceiling and you are using the spray gun to apply the paint and the roller to spread it.The builders grade paint that you speak of is usually a cheaper grade paint that lacks body and washable finish.So all you need to do is apply one coat of more expensive washable paint.(This is all acrylic I speak of)Do not apply a primer,whoever advised that better go back to the hardware store as you have no place in a professional painters world.
As for the glosswork,usually a very light sand with a fine paper,being careful not to cut the edges ,then showing timber through.Apply one coat of gloss enamel and it will give you lots of body and a mirror finish.I would advise against applying an undercoat as this will suck the shine out of the finish.

Hope this helps

 

Ive got a feeling that decorators/painters in the states use different methods to The UK or Oz..They seem to use oil based primers on wall surfaces an awful lot(Imay be wrong) which tells me that it must compliment their latex paints and other materials that I am not familiar with....As this board is mainly made up of Americans..I would have thought some questions are better left to American painters ...Otherwise..confusion among the U.S D.I.Y crowd will be rife!!

 

I really don't know about the U.K., but here in the US the paint manufacturers have spent a lot of time and money developing primers (both oil based and latex, water based), and if primers were not necessary, I sure do not know why they went through the trouble. A friend of mine, that kept insisting that paint is paint is paint, and that primer wasn't needed, passed away last year. One of the things that I think did him, was the fact that he wore himself out repainting walls because of the lack of a coat of good primer paint. If people out there don't want to use primer, that is their perogative, but for my money I still believe in it.

 

I apologise for the primer misunderstanding,I am not from the states,but from Aust and maybe we have different meanings in Primer and undercoat.My wife is Philipino and sure as hell we have different meanings to words from those countries.I will explain our terms and uses of the paints.

Primer is a paint(Oil or Latex) that is used on bare timber/galv/anything that requires a good key agent,usually a first coat from new and mainly external.It is not normally needed interior of a house with white pine timber etc.

Undercoat is a paint(Oil or Latex) that is used as a key over oil based paints for acrylic/oil topcoats.Also as a colour base for a darker colour top coats.It is used on doors/Frames/Skirting boards before the enamel top coats.The quality acrylic paints on the market nowadays rarely need a sealer /undercoat for interior use although it is wise to apply one.

We ask why do they sell it(Primers)?Well I feel there is enough of a market out there to continue selling.They surely dont spend any money on developing the stuff as it is all spent on the quality acrylics that they develop.You will find that the oil paints today are still the same formula that they had 10 years ago.Its just some people wont let go and follow the old ways.I can honestly say I have not used a primer,interior or exterior for about 8 years and I paint many houses,(old and new)every month.The quality acrylics on the market today replace all the older paints and last 2/3 times as long.

 

The reason so much oil primer is used in the states on walls that have been painted for years is to seal the poor paint so the water in the new coat can't work on it. These builder grade junk paints will lift and bubble with the application of new paint. This lifting often draws down but when not doesn't make one look very good. For new work when drywall is used an oil primer is the first choice for wall primer but is seldom used in my area. Drywall does well with latex primer for about 20-25 years at which time the drywall will be deteriorating on the face under the paint. This can best be seen when stripping wallpaper that is over many coats of paint. You will get back to the wall in places and its not a pretty site. A good coat of oil primer will hold back all of this funk before you proceed with paint or paper. Wallpaper makers fine print on the warranty will most often state that if an oil primer is not used on new drywall before the paper the warranty is void. I don't know if drywall is used in other countries but it is a different animal to deal with.....Mike

 

I lived in the Manila for over 5 years...Anyway one day I decided to decorate our kitchen and went down to the hardware store and asked what paint was best for the walls as I could not see anything familiar...He sold me a gallon of paint called Boysen..Or was it Dutchboy..Cant remember..Anyway,when I got the lid off and stirred it I realised it was justs too thick so I decided to thin it a little with some water...After about 30 mins,I realised that something was wrong as the paint was drying out with large cracks in it...Turned out to be an oil based paint!! Also the powder filler that they sold me was just falling out of the holes as I was rubbing it down.What a nightmare...In the end I hired a Filipino painter who`s rate was 60.00 pesos a day..Less than a pound at todays rate and I spent the rest of the day drinking San Miguel!!
I was told that most of their materials were imported from the U.S....To this day,I never found out if that was true..

All we do here is paint on what we call a "mist coat" (thinned out emulsion) and then finish with two full coats.. This is also how we treat plaster walls... I have often stripped the notorious woodchip paper from dry wall that was primed in this way with no trouble at all. I strip it dry with a razor sharp stripping tool and it comes off as clean as a whistle..

 

After reading Toptoshers last post here I know how you guys feel when reading these posts from the states. Other than the Dutch Boy paint, which is used here, I don't have a clue what he's talking about except I do take "rub down" to mean what we call sanding.
What is the emulsion you refer to and if walls are not plaster what are they made of?........Mike

 

Vinyl matt...Vinyl silk emulsion is what we use to decorate walls @ ceilings with..The cheap emulsion here contains little or no vinyl and is used mainly for new plaster..
Walls that have no plaster are drywall or plaster board that can be decorated after the joints have been taped,filled and "sanded"....
Most walls in new builds now are done like this for economy..

 

back to original reply
[SIZE=3]I have just bought a townhouse that is 1 year old and has builder's grade paint on the walls. I want to paint the whole place and was wondering if I should spray paint it or use the traditional brush and roller? I'm concerned the spray paint will not provide good coverage. Any thoughts?[/SIZE]
it would be far quicker not to use a spray gun,the time it takes to mask of every thing you could have a coat allready done with a brush or roller-also to spray paint has to thinned down greatly
this reduces coverage it also sit on the surface and does not penetrate as good
unless you are in the trade and do this often hiring a good spray setup is unecessary expense.

 

I just painted all of my interior walls two months ago with a quality sprayer (GRACO). My experience is that the sprayer provided a good first coat, but recommend the second coat be rolled on. The first coat by the sprayer had a lot of spots that didn't have good coverage. Be sure to cover EVERYTHING up, there is a lot of over-sprays, planning on doubling the amount of paint to be used. Spraying over popcorn ceiling is good and easy, but spraying over smooth walls is difficult to product an even effect unless you have done a lot of spraying before (it was difficult for me). I think I will use roller/brush next time. Hope this helps, good luck.

 

HCWH, Don't you back-roll when you spray walls and ceilings??? One should never JUST spray and leave it to dry on these surfaces. Otherwise, it'll look like a dog's breakfast-yuck! If you spray and just leave it be sure to enjoy the uneven application highlighted with a potpouri of runs, dried drips and flashing! Enjoy!
This DIYer's job will look like a DIYer did it for sure! i guess we all agree the DIYer should spend $1600 on tools and materials and a ton of time to do a job that will in the end have a good chance of looking like crap. Let's all cheer him on ...he's a DIYer!!! Rah! Rah!

 

Yes,sometimes it takes a lot of effort to tape up,so what we do is as I spoke of earlier is to use an airless spray(Very small amount of overspray with no thinning of the paint necessary)and we can spray up to one inch from powerswitchs and lights without getting any paint or overspray on them.The only thing we tape is the lights,so that we have an even finish on the ceilings.(These are rolled as well) Making sure you cover floors and tops of cupboards etc .The idea of it is to use the spray to apply the paint and the roller to spread it,thus being able to get close to all the skirtings yet keeping all clean.Even in new homes,we do not tape up windows as it is to time consuming.I like to work smarter,not harder.

 

I spray a lot and when looking a job over I roll ("paint stick" @$25) when there is too much natural wood, or too small an area ( like a bathroom) to bother with the taping off or spray gun clean up. The sprayer (as stated above -not a $100 hand held) is best suited for doing the whole house, one color, same base (flat, satin or gloss). Back rolling after spraying gives an even looking coat but not always necessary. I cover floors and furniture with plastic, remove switch and duplex cover plates,etc. and tape everything not easily removeable. After spraying (let dry) the paint in areas may show "holidays" (light or sketchy coverage) -no problem the place is still covered hit it again with the sprayer , now its done. The paint stick is a hand operated long tube that is filled with about 1 qt. of paint and pushed though a perforated roller head) and keeps the paint coming out the roller at the sweet spot. To see my site with painting & spraying info. go to www.geocities.com/jksabrosa fair winds jeff

 

I just painted my living room after successfully repairing many 'problems.' Even though I primed the repair patches with Kilz and allowed sufficient time to dry, when the paint dried I could see the larger patched areas. Each wall has a large patched area. Can I use the same semi-gloss paint with a smaller roller and feather the edges by stippling with the bristles of a paint brush? Please tell me I don't have to repaint the whole room!!!

Also, since this is my first posting, I'm not sure where to find your response.

 

Kilz is by no means a "cure all" primer. It is made in both Oil Base and Water Base..........but which ever one you used........it may not have solved the problem. One thing to consider.........where you have areas that have been patched.........a flat paint helps to conceal any defects in the patching. The higher the gloss of the finish coat..........the more they will show. So, unless a semi-gloss or gloss is absolutely necessary (like if you are a part time emergency room.......out of your home) .....stick to a flat finish coat, and you will be happier with the results.

 

You don't have to paint the whole room you just need to redo the patch. How big are these patches and how far did you feather out past the tape. What kind of tape did you use [paper or fiberglass]

 

The actual patch is not the problem. I used the tape that comes adhesive backed with lots of little holes - don't remember the trade name. The joint is finely feathered and you cannot see or feel it (we took out a door and a window and replaced with sheet rock, you can't tell they ever existed).

It is an older house and the original builders just slapped up the sheet rock and did not cover the joints very well. We took out the nails that caused puckers and replaced with sheet rock screws. Then we sanded with a rotary sander.

The paint coverage is the problem. In bright sunlight you can see those sanded and repaired areas from the floor to the ceiling. Once there is furniture in the room they will not even be noticable. I just don't want to 'hide' them - I want them not to even exist.

Will the technique I mentioned before work? I've never had to do this before. The semi-gloss paint is supposed to be a 'cover in one coat brand' for which I paid a small fortune.

 

I hate that tape. used it once and never again. Sorry to tell you but imo you will either have to keep painting the room until it looks ok or if the color is light to medium you could get the primer tinted toward that color as much as possible and spot prime the bad areas and then paint those areas then paint the whole thing again.you didn't say but did you ever try to put on a second coat of paint. I would try that first and i would also try to get the paint for free since it didn't cover in 1 coat. Don't offer up too much info when you try to get the paint for free though. Just tell them it didn't cover until the guy grills you for more info. Maybe someone has a better solution. Also go with the flat or eggshell like HH519 said it will look better and is more appropriate for a living room.

PS what brand of paint is it.

 

I used to have a friend (he passed away, and I no longer have to argue my point)..........he claimed that "Paint is Paint is Paint"....!!!!! Nothing could be farther from the truth. Having been in the paint business for forty years, I have done a lot of studying on the subject. If you could ever get into a paint factory.......and see the differences between the way the top quality paints are made, compared to the cheap stuff.........you would be amazed. The trouble is, that even the cheap stuff does not have a cheap price tag on it anymore. I remember days where some paints sold for $1.99 per gallon, and now........you can't even buy an empty gallon paint can for that. Also, years ago, the manufaturers had to post the ingredients on the lable....but they are no longer required to do that. That was a sad day.