Giving your house a makeover is always important for creating your ideal home. You decide to strip the old, dated walls and get a fresh coat of plaster in all your rooms! However, the next job is getting some colour on the walls; painting new plaster is something that seems simple enough but there is a right and wrong way of doing it.
That’s why in today’s post we’re going to show you how to get professional results in your newly refurbished house. There really isn’t much to it. You just need to follow a simple formula and you’ll have a lovely, fresh looking home.
Painting new plaster does take time and effort to get right but it is definitely worth the labour. Some people get it so wrong! They have paint drips, patches and even holes due to a lack of patience and direction.
Let’s make sure you do it right. This first step is essential to the quest of a freshly painted home and essential in painting new plaster
Before You Start Painting New Plaster
Here are a few things you need to think about before you start painting:
– Plug/ electrical sockets: I would unscrew all electrical fittings to prevent getting paint on or around your electricals
– Choosing the right paint: spend time looking at the different types of emulsion and make sure you buy from a decent company. Cheap paint is obviously cheap but could mean you have to paint a 1000 coats. (OK, slight exaggeration)! Buy a premium product for better results with less hassle
– Cover and protect your surfaces: it is going to get messy so make sure you cover your floor and worktops. I’d even put your plug and light switches in sandwich bags to avoid paint getting on then
– Different types of paint: look at the different types of paint and see what will work. There is Matt, there is Satin, there is durable paint. Do a little research and see what will work.
These are the main things you need to consider when painting new plaster. Don’t just dive into these things! Do your research and spend quality time doing it.
If you’re concerned about the plaster drying time you can follow this article. You don’t want to be doing a job twice because you neglected the finer details! When you have that sorted you can start getting to the good bits! let’s get you painting!
Step 1 – Mist Coat
I bet you’re thinking what the hell is a mist coat? This is a painters term which basically means painting fresh plaster with watered down emulsion. There a 2 main reasons for this.
Fresh plaster is extremely porous! Any moisture or liquid exposed to the plaster is sucked from the wall at a rapid rate. This is why you need to water down your first layer of paint because it stops the paint from drying at an accelerated rate. This gives you more time to work with it.
Painting onto plaster with standard emulsion literally sets in seconds leaving blobs and drips. Not the best start. A mist coat prevents these issues.
The second reason a mist coat is so beneficial is that it seals the plastered walls. This means any future coats of emulsion will have a reduced rate of suction making it easier to paint and perfect. This is crucial for the later stages
Mixing And Using A Mist Coat
So you now know what a mist coat is – the second point is knowing how to mix and use it. I find the best formula for a mist coat is 70% paint to 30% water. I would only use Matt emulsion since it is the easiest type of paint to layer. You can but paint specifically designed for plaster but I think it’s a rip-off, to be honest.
Watered down emulsion works fine. You might as well save your money!
The other thing to know is that a mist coat is always used with brilliant white paint. There is a reason for this which I will reveal a little later on. Oh, the suspense!
Simply add water to your desired amount of white paint and mix until it is an even colour a consistency. This coat doesn’t need to be perfect, that’s not the aim of a mist coat. However, you should take your time and always avoid drips or blobs.
The main problem to look out for with a mist coat is that it is significantly runnier which can make it messy. Watered down paint can be trouble! For this reason, make sure any flooring is covered and clear from paint and keep all your surfaces clear.
The other thing is that the mist coat might look patchy. This is completely natural! It will have lighter, dryer patches as you go.
This will be covered and corrected in the following steps. Just take your time and try to avoid getting that wet paint everywhere!
Stage 2 – Fill And Prep
Another function of a mist coat is that you can see any imperfections or scratches that have been missed during the plastering process. Not all plasterers can be perfect like us, so there will be a little bit of work needed to the finished product. That is where this section comes in – we need to patch up.
The reason I use brilliant white paint is that painting new plaster can be hard since you may struggle to find the troubled areas. White paint almost highlights these sections making it easy to find the spots that need to be filled and sanded.
The first thing is to address the sections that need filling by using a pre-mixed filler. I recommend using Red Devil One Time Filler. Its lightweight, sands down and it’s generally really easy to use!
It doesn’t matter how perfect you fill it because it’s going to be sanded anyway.
Let the filler dry ready for the next stage which is sanding.
I recommend using a 150-grade sandpaper wrapped around a block of wood. This gives you a flat edge to work with making the sanding process more precise.Gently sand you’ve filled areas until flat and then I’d give the whole wall a quick sand down. This helps remove any blobs or protruding plaster whilst giving a mechanical key for the next coat of paint.
If your filled area is still affected then I would simply add a bit more and sand when it’s dried. You should now be ready for the fun bit
Stage 3 – Two Coat Painting
You are now ready to start painting your walls. Painting new plaster always requires a bit of prep work but this is where the results start to show.
All you have to do now is start painting. You have to apply 2 coats of your chosen paint, one after each other. However, don’t dilute your emulsion – you only water down your mist coat!
Tips On Painting Your Room
The best results always come from the professionals which is why we’re going to follow from the best! Every painter I know follows this simple plan which always gives solid results. The first thing is to get the cutting in right!
Cutting in is where you use a paintbrush to paint all the edges of your room. This creates a border which makes the rolling process a lot easier
I would purchase a decent painters brush. Companies like Fat Hog or even Harris make great paint brushes which is essential when cutting in.
Crap brushes = crap results!
That is the honest truth!
If you want real results you need to invest in a decent paint brush! Cutting in can be extremely hard, especially if you have different coloured walls or ceilings, so take your time and get it right.
You should also cut in around your plug sockets and light switches. It just makes it easy to roll around the electrical whilst prevent paint getting onto your fittings.
When the cutting in is done all you have to do it roll the paint on using a roller. The art in rolling is to make sure you leave no streaks or runs with your paint. Roll in vertical lines starting from the top and make sure you use enough paint.
Don’t be stingy with it. Get a section painted, top up and start the next patch. Don’t drag the paint out! It leaves patches, makes it harder to work with and creates a bad finish!
Make sure you roll over your painted sections to take out any excess paint that could leave visible streaks. It all takes time but this is where results really show. As long as you pay attention to the results you should be fine!
There are videos on YouTube showing how the professionals work. It’s always good to see how it’s done since I’m a firm believer in a picture being worth a 1000 words.
Finishing Your Painted Wall
So you have one coat painted. I would wait for it to dry. Give a quick sand down with some fine grade sandpaper (maybe 180) and give it a final coat of paint. Follow the exact same process as the previous coat and you should be fine.
– cut in the edges
– Cut in around the electrical points
– Roll the paint on the rest of your walls.
That is it! You should be left with patch free, professional looking wall! See, it isn’t that hard, is it! Just follow this simple guide and there is no way you can go wrong! Hope you found this article useful and feel free to take a look at the rest of the site.
Good luck and we’d love to be you hear how you got on. Leave a comment below and let us know what you think!