If you need advice about a painting or decorating problem not covered elsewhere on the site please leave a comment below.
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Comments
Steve
Great resource, NEW unpainted door frames, where the walls will be plastered after the new door frames installed… I had used water based primers, but, the frames swell, and distort when the plaster is applied… Would oil based primers stop/significantly reduce this issue. Thanks in advance
Yes, an oil based primer will mitigate the problem. Two coats are better than one also, especially the end grains which are very absorbent.
Graham
I have just had my house coated with a pliolote based paint and the finish has crazed all over, very fine cracks are visible and the contractor has said this was not an issue, another contractor has said that it hadn’t been given enough time between coats to cure and I would be grateful for some advice?
Darren
It does sound like the crazing is due to a second coat being applied before the first coat has dried. Pliolite paint is formulated to set quickly to mitigate the risk of being washed off during a sudden rain downfall, it doesn’t mean it has dried in depth though.
Not sure why you opted to use Pliolite in the first instance, if it was recommended by your painter then he is not only liable for the inferior standard of work but also for using the wrong product in the first place.
Bob
Recently repainted our lath and plaster ceiling dating from 1865 with F&B estate emulsion over the same paint previously applied with no problem 8 years ago and very soon after painting the paint started lifting in scales in patches. The surface revealed beneath the paint is chalky and dusty (distemper?). What should I do?
Darren
Please and thank you usually works for me.
Ruth
Hi, Our recently painted chimney shows up with streaks after using the log burner. Any advice/recommendations on how to solve this? Many thanks
Darren
As you describe it, the obvious answer is smoke contamination from the burning logs. Not sure how that could be solved to be honest?
Patrick
Are Berger paints good quality. The white top coat for woodwork we have seems very thin?
Darren
Berger was a decent brand of paint in the old days but now it is just a brand. Made in the UK by Crown and by other companies elsewhere in the world.
In theory, the quality should be at least reasonable but I wouldn’t recommend it. Not for any specific reason other than it isn’t commonly used in the trade these days.
Angela
I’ve put two white coats onto a wall to hide yellow and a coat of gray which is colour I want but the paint has literally ran off the wall six inch from bottom in a line back to the yellow??? What would cause this to happen?
Darren
Did you wash down the wall before painting? It sounds like the surface has been contaminated with something that has prevented the paint from drying. Any traces of oil or grease will do this.
Max
Hi We burnt off the old paint on the window sills back to the stone. We used dulux stabiliser then painted with Sandtex masonry. After a week it blistered and yellow stains came through. This didn’t happen on the door way areas, lintels or mullions. So we rubbed it down and tried again. The yellow stains are worse now. What have we done wrong? We would appreciate any advice on how to fix this. Thanks in advance!
Darren
The sills will have absorbed moisture over the years and this is likely the source of the problem. Even though they were painted before, water will have penetrated via hairline cracks and around the margins. Capillary action does the rest, drawing moisture deep below the surface.
The fact the paint is literally bubbling off so soon suggests a high degree of moisture that needs to escape naturally and this isn’t exactly the best time of year for that to happen either.
I would leave the sills for now and, in the Spring, scrape off as much paint as you can and then leave through the summer for the sills to have a chance to dry out. If they can be covered in some way to protect from further rainfall, all the better.
Pete
We have an issue with staining on a ceiling from tar from an old leaky chimney. The chimney is now sealed off but we think the old plasterboard is leaching through the tar. Will a stain block work and which one? Thanks
Darren
With tar/bitumen stains a water-based primer such as Zinsser 123 will be effective. A couple of coats, covering at least twice the area affected should do the trick.
Cora
We have new timber shed and applied clear knotting to all the knots before applying Cuprinol external timber preservative in dark brown. Unfortunately the knotting is now grinning through very badly. The preservative is water repellent- what, if anything, can we do to hide the knotting stains? We are thinking the only solution would be to repaint the whole thing with something with more coverage. What would you recommend?
Darren
Firstly, if the treatment you used was water based this could have an adverse reaction to the knotting. However, if the surface remains sound (other than the knotting showing through) you should be OK. It is more likely that the preservative has been absorbed into the wood, as it should, but not where you’ve applied the knotting.
As you suggest, the only way to cover up this error is with an opaque finish. There are various products on the market and I suggest you try a few tester pots rather than recommending a particular option which (because I am not armed with all the facts) may not work.
One tip I can give you is that if you get some of the previous colour staining through you’ll need to switch from a water to a solvent-based finish, or visa versa.
Sasha
I had my kitchen re plastered then a storm took the roof off! A lot of water came through staining the new plaster. Whats the best stain blocker to use? Also would i put the stain blocker directly on the plaster or mist coat it first the block? Thanks!
Darren
Firstly, ensure the plaster has had ample time to dry out before you do anything. Depending on the type of wall and finish this could take several weeks so the longer you leave it the better.
I would recommend you apply a mist coat as normal to seal the surface and this will show where the staining is likely to occur. For small patches an aerosol type stain blocker will be easier and most effective.
For large areas you have an added problem that some brush/roller applied stain blockers these days are water-based and not always 100% effective. You will never really know until after the fact though so it can be an expensive endeavour. For this reason I would suggest a solvent based option such as Zinsser Cover Stain
Steve
Great resource, NEW unpainted door frames, where the walls will be plastered after the new door frames installed… I had used water based primers, but, the frames swell, and distort when the plaster is applied… Would oil based primers stop/significantly reduce this issue. Thanks in advance
Darren
Yes, an oil based primer will mitigate the problem. Two coats are better than one also, especially the end grains which are very absorbent.
Graham
I have just had my house coated with a pliolote based paint and the finish has crazed all over, very fine cracks are visible and the contractor has said this was not an issue, another contractor has said that it hadn’t been given enough time between coats to cure and I would be grateful for some advice?
Darren
It does sound like the crazing is due to a second coat being applied before the first coat has dried. Pliolite paint is formulated to set quickly to mitigate the risk of being washed off during a sudden rain downfall, it doesn’t mean it has dried in depth though.
Not sure why you opted to use Pliolite in the first instance, if it was recommended by your painter then he is not only liable for the inferior standard of work but also for using the wrong product in the first place.
Bob
Recently repainted our lath and plaster ceiling dating from 1865 with F&B estate emulsion over the same paint previously applied with no problem 8 years ago and very soon after painting the paint started lifting in scales in patches. The surface revealed beneath the paint is chalky and dusty (distemper?). What should I do?
Darren
Please and thank you usually works for me.
Ruth
Hi, Our recently painted chimney shows up with streaks after using the log burner. Any advice/recommendations on how to solve this? Many thanks
Darren
As you describe it, the obvious answer is smoke contamination from the burning logs. Not sure how that could be solved to be honest?
Patrick
Are Berger paints good quality. The white top coat for woodwork we have seems very thin?
Darren
Berger was a decent brand of paint in the old days but now it is just a brand. Made in the UK by Crown and by other companies elsewhere in the world.
In theory, the quality should be at least reasonable but I wouldn’t recommend it. Not for any specific reason other than it isn’t commonly used in the trade these days.
Angela
I’ve put two white coats onto a wall to hide yellow and a coat of gray which is colour I want but the paint has literally ran off the wall six inch from bottom in a line back to the yellow??? What would cause this to happen?
Darren
Did you wash down the wall before painting? It sounds like the surface has been contaminated with something that has prevented the paint from drying. Any traces of oil or grease will do this.
Max
Hi We burnt off the old paint on the window sills back to the stone. We used dulux stabiliser then painted with Sandtex masonry. After a week it blistered and yellow stains came through. This didn’t happen on the door way areas, lintels or mullions. So we rubbed it down and tried again. The yellow stains are worse now. What have we done wrong? We would appreciate any advice on how to fix this. Thanks in advance!
Darren
The sills will have absorbed moisture over the years and this is likely the source of the problem. Even though they were painted before, water will have penetrated via hairline cracks and around the margins. Capillary action does the rest, drawing moisture deep below the surface.
The fact the paint is literally bubbling off so soon suggests a high degree of moisture that needs to escape naturally and this isn’t exactly the best time of year for that to happen either.
I would leave the sills for now and, in the Spring, scrape off as much paint as you can and then leave through the summer for the sills to have a chance to dry out. If they can be covered in some way to protect from further rainfall, all the better.
Pete
We have an issue with staining on a ceiling from tar from an old leaky chimney. The chimney is now sealed off but we think the old plasterboard is leaching through the tar. Will a stain block work and which one? Thanks
Darren
With tar/bitumen stains a water-based primer such as Zinsser 123 will be effective. A couple of coats, covering at least twice the area affected should do the trick.
Cora
We have new timber shed and applied clear knotting to all the knots before applying Cuprinol external timber preservative in dark brown. Unfortunately the knotting is now grinning through very badly. The preservative is water repellent- what, if anything, can we do to hide the knotting stains? We are thinking the only solution would be to repaint the whole thing with something with more coverage. What would you recommend?
Darren
Firstly, if the treatment you used was water based this could have an adverse reaction to the knotting. However, if the surface remains sound (other than the knotting showing through) you should be OK. It is more likely that the preservative has been absorbed into the wood, as it should, but not where you’ve applied the knotting.
As you suggest, the only way to cover up this error is with an opaque finish. There are various products on the market and I suggest you try a few tester pots rather than recommending a particular option which (because I am not armed with all the facts) may not work.
One tip I can give you is that if you get some of the previous colour staining through you’ll need to switch from a water to a solvent-based finish, or visa versa.
Sasha
I had my kitchen re plastered then a storm took the roof off! A lot of water came through staining the new plaster. Whats the best stain blocker to use? Also would i put the stain blocker directly on the plaster or mist coat it first the block? Thanks!
Darren
Firstly, ensure the plaster has had ample time to dry out before you do anything. Depending on the type of wall and finish this could take several weeks so the longer you leave it the better.
I would recommend you apply a mist coat as normal to seal the surface and this will show where the staining is likely to occur. For small patches an aerosol type stain blocker will be easier and most effective.
For large areas you have an added problem that some brush/roller applied stain blockers these days are water-based and not always 100% effective. You will never really know until after the fact though so it can be an expensive endeavour. For this reason I would suggest a solvent based option such as Zinsser Cover Stain
Darren
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