Latex Paint over Primed Drywall


  #1  
Old 03-13-13, 06:44 PM
F
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: USA
Posts: 4
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Latex Paint over Primed Drywall

Helping my daughter get her house ready to sell.

The previous owner had THREE layers of wallpaper in master bath. Big mildew problem so I removed all three layers. This caused some minor damage to drywall in a few places so I patched with mud and smoothed the places and washed down twice with TSP. Then, applied a coat of good drywall primer.

Was going to have the wall papered again but worried about return of mildew. So, am thinking about painting the part of the bath with the shower, etc., with a good satin latex.

My problem is I understand that imperfections in the walls may or will show thru the paint. I have the walls good and smooth but there is mud under the primer in some places where I did the repairs. If I paint with the latex and the imperfections show through, would a second coat of latex help cover them up? If not, then I'm faced with applying wallpaper over latex paint which I understand is a bad idea.

Any experience with this?
 
  #2  
Old 03-13-13, 07:05 PM
czizzi's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: USA
Posts: 6,541
Received 15 Upvotes on 13 Posts
The imperfections will show with any paint that has a sheen to it - be it egg shell, satin or semi-gloss. If your mud job is smooth, it will not be a factor in the painting if you properly primed the repaired portions of the wall.

Take a utility light and hold it against the wall so that the light shines across your repairs. This will tell you where you need to do additional smoothing to your finished wall. Drywall repair is an art that is learned with experience. The first time can be challenging and the only advice I can give is, don't lay it on so thick that you have to sand for hours just to make it look bad.... Thin coats are best and work your way up to the finished level and then give it a light sand to smooth.
 
  #3  
Old 03-13-13, 07:29 PM
F
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: USA
Posts: 4
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
Thanks for the Response

Most of the damage to the drywall was where the paper thin top layer of the drywall peeled off in some places with the wallpaper. I applied two coats of mud and sanded down smoothly. Washed it down with the TSP and then primed.

I'm mostly worried that the mud will absorb the latex paint even though I used a primer over it. Will follow your advice about the light. If I can find no more imperfections with the light, would it help to apply a second coat of primer in those places where I know I had to use mud?

Many thanks again for your response.

Ferd
 
  #4  
Old 03-13-13, 07:43 PM
czizzi's Avatar
Member
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: USA
Posts: 6,541
Received 15 Upvotes on 13 Posts
If you are pleased with the smoothness of your repair and you have already applied a primer, you are good to go with your finish coats of paint. One coat of primer will suffice. If you make additional repairs after this, apply primer just to the new areas, it is not necessary to re-prime the entire bathroom.
 
  #5  
Old 03-14-13, 04:44 AM
M
Forum Topic Moderator
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: USA - N.E.Tn
Posts: 45,659
Received 835 Upvotes on 732 Posts
I'm a little concerned about the TSP. It needs to be rinsed off well or can cause adhesion issues. I normally only use it on the exterior.

Is there any texture or roller stipple on the wall? If the repairs are done right, texture is the main reason repairs are noticeable. Satin/eggshell enamels are more forgiving than semi-gloss. You should never use flat latex in a bath rm that has a shower. If there are any ventilation or mold/mildew issues - a bath enamel is recommended.

btw - welcome to the forums!
 
  #6  
Old 03-14-13, 05:28 AM
F
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: USA
Posts: 4
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
About the TSP

Used a very small amount of TSP with water to remove paste residue left over from the wall paper. Wall looks and feels extremely smooth. No noticeable roller marks or other flaws.

Think I'll go ahead with the bath enamel. Had already painted the ceiling with flat primer but think I'll do the ceiling again with a glossier finish. That bath had lots of mildew problems and I want to avoid those for the next owner.

Thanks for the welcome.
 
  #7  
Old 03-14-13, 05:31 AM
S
Group Moderator
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: WI/MN
Posts: 19,125
Received 1,263 Upvotes on 1,204 Posts
I want to avoid those for the next owner.
Great thought process - we sometimes see people looking to cover things as cheaply as possible just to hide them for a sale; it's refreshing to see someone with a completely different attitude about this
 
  #8  
Old 03-16-13, 07:56 AM
F
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: USA
Posts: 4
Upvotes: 0
Received 0 Upvotes on 0 Posts
On to the Painting Today

Thanks again for all the advice. Will move on to the painting today.

One more note on making things easy for “next owners”. In both upstairs baths, I noted that that point was chipping off the door trim and cabinetry in places. Found that the previous owners had applied latex paint over oil based paint on door trim and latex over stain on cabinets. This required scraping the door trim down to the oil base and then sanding. Had to scrape the latex off the cabinets and then sand the doors down to bare wood. For someone who can only work on the project part time, this literally took WEEKS.

Primed the door trim and cabinets with two coats and then applied two coats of quality latex wood and trim paint. The wood looks nice now and the paint won’t scratch off with your thumbnail like it once did.

Can’t tell you how much I hope others learn from what I went thru. Don’t trust the inspectors to find things like this before closing on a home purchase. Do some of your own tests- see if paint sticks to surfaces the way it should.


Wish I’d known this before. I’ll never look at a resale home the same way again.

Good luck to all of you. I’ll drop by from time to time as I need more advice and I’ll offer some where I can. Hope this little bit from me will help someone.

Ferd
 
  #9  
Old 03-16-13, 10:27 AM
M
Forum Topic Moderator
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: USA - N.E.Tn
Posts: 45,659
Received 835 Upvotes on 732 Posts
Thanks for the update

Found that the previous owners had applied latex paint over oil based paint on door trim and latex over stain on cabinets. This required scraping the door trim down to the oil base and then sanding. Had to scrape the latex off the cabinets and then sand the doors down to bare wood. For someone who can only work on the project part time, this literally took WEEKS
This happens quite often It doesn't take a lot more effort or expense to do it right the first time. Unfortunately many either don't know or don't care which makes for a lot more work sometime down the road.
 
 

Thread Tools
Search this Thread
 
Ask a Question
Question Title:
Description:
Your question will be posted in: