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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Paul
Our Victorian house needs an exterior refresh, the parapets are painted with what appears to be a white gloss which I would like to match. I’ve seen Dulux Weathershield masonry gloss but it doesn’t have the colour I need. If we used a high-gloss from another brand, e.g. Truguard Flexible Exterior Gloss, what (if anything) should we paint underneath the gloss?
Can I paint a bathroom floor, it’s one put in by council for my elderly mother for her same level shower. It has mica type bits in. (Ten years ago, she has passed on eight years ago). It’s really hard to clean as it chews up most mops and only a scrubbing brush works. It is now dark water marked where the shower is although still a pretty pink the other half of the room. It will be really complicated and expensive to replace as it is bonded to the floor, goes up the sides like a skirting. But I need to make it look better! Are there any specialist paints that would do the job. It needs to withstand being in the shower itself. Thanks for any suggestions.
You could use a standard floor paint. Make sure that the floor is thoroughly cleaned before hand, rinsed of any detergent residue and completely dry.
I can’t guarantee how long this will last because I don’t know what state the floor is in now, how well you will prepare the surface or the quality of paint you’ll be using but it’s the easiest and cheapest solution to your problem.
Elaine
I have a very old lincrusta paper on my ceiling in a Victorian house. It has been painted many times , not by us over the years and the paint is now flaking off. Can you advise how to stabilise the flaking before we paint it again. Thanks.
You can’t really do much about the flaking paint other than try and remove as much as you can before painting over it. The reason for this is because the paint loses its contact with the surface over time and any extra load of more paint will make the matter worse.
John
Hi, I wonder if you could help me with the below query? I have a rendered breeze block wall which has been painted on the front side with 1 coat of thinned down white masonry paint and 2 coats of Valspar masonry paint.
Unfortunately there has been significant flaking. We did believe this may be down to the builder not putting any damp course when constructing the wall. However, I have noticed that the exposed wall seems very sandy when you rub it, so I was thinking the not enough cement was used in the render.
Anyway, I need help in rectifying the issue, I presume we can rub down any excess flaking. But I was wondering what should be use as a primer before trying to paint the wall again? Note the wall is breeze block with sand/cement render the front side. The rear is bare breeze block with chippings as a barrier between the hedge/bank. I look forward to hearing from you from you soon. Regards
External rendering can be quite powdery after drying out and it’s best to leave it a while to weather before painting. In other words, let rain wash away the powdery residue over time. You don’t say how new this render is but this was my first thought.
As for adding not enough cement to the render, I think this unlikely since builders tend to go to the other extreme and add too much. In any case, I doubt this would be the answer to your problem?
I would remove as much flaking paint as possible and leave it for a year or, at least, until the ‘sandiness’ is less obvious. Ensure any further coats are thinned sufficiently to soak into the surface. This may also have been a cause of the initial problem.
Jan
Hi I asked previously if i could hang paste the wall paper over lining, can you give me tips on how to do this? Does the lining paper not bubble up when pasted and do i still use the paste the wall paste for this? Thank you
If you are worried about it then paste the paper as normal.
Dave
I have an old terraced property built around 1910. I would like to paint the brick wall in my back yard. The previous owner painted it – probably many, many years ago. The existing white paint is still on much of the wall, although much of it is now flaking off. I was planning to scrape off the loose, flaking paint, clean it and then paint it with Dulux Trade Weathershield Exterior Masonry Paint in brilliant white. However, the on-line data sheet says the paint is not suitable for ‘common brick’. Do you think my 1910 old yard wall is likely to be common brick? I don’t really know what that is. If so, is there a paint for common brick? I thought this would be a fairly straightforward task to spruce up the yard, especially as it had previously been painted, but now I’m worried I am doing this wrong. Thank you very much.
Common Brick is term used to describe high-density bricks which are typically used at DPC level because they are resistant to the absorption of moisture. It is not usual for commons to be used for yard walls or large areas of brickwork elsewhere.
It is unfortunate that the word ‘common’ is used out of context in this case since these kind of bricks are anything but.
Sally
I have oak windows and they have a uv lacquer ‘coating’ and where this has broken down we have applied UV Osmo oil. The finish is patchy and we have decided to resand and paint them black instead. Which is better to adhere to the lightly sanded treated wood – Oil or Water-based and also, some of the windows are south facing and so whatever we use needs to be stable in the sun… hope all this makes sense, any advice welcome !! Thanks
You will need to ensure that the oil already applied has totally dried and soaked below the surface of the wood.
Normally I would say a water-based primer and finish is best on new wood but the presence of oil residue would make this unadvisable. A regular oil-base wood primer, undercoat and gloss would be best.
As for using black paint, please bear in mind that dark colours absorb UV light much more readily than light colours so this may not be a great idea in this particular instance?
Jan
Hi can you tell me if I can hang paste the wall paper on top of lining paper? Also in the kitchen I have stripped the walls completely, I am just hanging lining paper to paint over, do I have to size the walls? Thank you.
Yes you can. And, it depends how absorbent the walls are but there is no harm in doing it anyway.
Dominic
Hi there I previously asked about painting a sapele door which had been factory primed by the joiner. I have now identified the primer used, it is Remmers Induline ZW-425. This claims to offer excellent protection against discoloration from substances contained within the wood. Please could you advise how is best to proceed? Aluminium primer? Water based stain blocking primer like Sikkens Cetol BL? Ultimately I want to put a water based F&B undercoat and top coat on, just not sure what if anything to put underneath that to give the best adhesion and protection against resin from the sapele. Thanks for your help!
You said previously that your joiner had applied a primer by spray and I replied that it didn’t matter what you do after this since whatever you apply now is only as good as this spray applied coating. For the avoidance of further doubt, applying a primer by spray to external timber is about the dumbest thing that can be done.
Consult your joiner.
Steve
I’ve recently wallpapered a ceiling. There was a water leak in the ceiling years ago. The source of the water leak has been fixed, but there is some yellow staining visible on the surface of the wallpaper caused by the leak. I’m not sure if the staining would be considered as a heavy stain or not, but it is clearly visible in the day during sunlight. To cover the staining effectively, would it be best to use an oil based sealer or a stain block spray? And would it be possible just to cover the stained area of the ceiling wallpaper or will the entire ceiling need painting after applying stain block on the stained area? Thanks for your advice.
An oil or spirit based stain blocker will usually be effective for a water-based stain. The aerosol-types tend to be spirit based so that may be your best bet.
You only need to go slightly over the edge of the stain, not the whole ceiling. Whether the entire ceiling needs repainting will depend on the colour and finish. A white matt finish, for example, can usually be touched-up quite effectively whilst some colours will be difficult to match exactly and painting a small area may stand out too much, necessitating a full repaint.
Brenda
I live in an old house and need to repaint the outside. Dune walls are pebble dashed and others rendered. The on the rendered gable wall in particular, when I remove a little loose paint I end up taking of huge areas in sheets. What should I do?
You will need to remove any loose material before painting again otherwise you’ll be wasting your time and money.
Emma
Hello, the walls in my house have old plaster on them. They have been sanded down but are uneven and patchy. I am wanting all the walls painted. Can you please advise on what’s best to do to make them look nice and smooth when painting and which best roller to use. Thank you
It depends how bad the walls are but the usual solution is to use a heavy grade lining paper and then paint over it. Any medium pile roller will do the job. Also, use a matt finish as this doesn’t show up the bumps as much.
David
Could you recommend a suitable Primer for a garden table light grey brital metal. My first thoughts were Calcium Plumbate?
Not sure what you mean by ‘grey brital metal’ but outdoor tables are often made from cast iron or cast aluminium. In both cases a general-purpose oil-based metal primer will suffice.
Janice
Can you advise on zinc downpipes? My builder says he will have a primer for zinc which is great and asked us to get paint specially formulated for zinc for the topcoat. However at the paint shop they said they said there wasn’t such a paint and that normal metal paint would be fine if it had a zinc primer underneath. Do you have any advice or guidance to assist? Thanks for your help.
Zinc is naturally resistant to oxidization and, therefore, does not require a specialist primer. What it does need though is to be properly degreased prior to painting and it may also need an etching-primer in order for any coating to stick to the surface. (Etching primer is, basically, an acid-based solution which takes away the shiny finish from surfaces such as zinc and galvanised steel).
The alternative is to leave the surface untreated for a year in order for it to ‘weather’. In other words, the natural process of being rained on repeatedly will denature the finish to such a degree that no further preparation is needed.
Once prepared (or weathered), I would use a general all-purpose solvent based metal primer and two coats of solvent based undercoat, finished with one or two coats of solvent based gloss. (*solvent based = oil-based).
If you are paying someone to do this for you then ensure you receive a written specification before any work is carried out.
Tom
Hi this is a great site very useful. My house is an old Victorian terrace (1888) on the seafront. It is rendered and painted regularly with Sandtex STHC smooth. Long shot I know but is there a better product to withstand the elements and do you have any advice on any specialist gloss paint for the window woodwork. As you might expect the repainting seems to be every 5 years rather than 10. Just wondered if there was a better product or whether more coats would be a good idea.
Dulux Trade Maximum Exposure Masonry Paint [link] is formulated for coastal environments and is claimed to perform better than the regular alternative. Whether it would be worth the added expense is hard to say though since you’ll be painting over an existing coating and, as always, any paint is only as good as the surface it is applied to.
In theory, you may get a bit more time between recoats but it can’t be guaranteed so that’s a risk you’ll have to judge for yourself.
As for the woodwork, Dulux Trade Weathershield exterior undercoat and gloss will perform as well as anything and much better than most standard finishes. In your case, over existing woodwork that is in good condition, the oil-based option will be the better choice.
Re applying extra coats, with previously-painted woodwork, absolutely yes. Two coats of gloss are better than one and three coats better than two.
And for masonry paint, not so much, since you want any internal moisture to be able to escape and multiple coats will have a detrimental effect on this process.
Choy
I posed a question about nicotine stain on the wall/ceiling using an air purifier, however another suggestion was ‘The only thing that ‘covers’ nicotine stains on walls/ceilings is stabiliser solution before painting.’ I am wondering how that would work.
I am thinking of doing something different in my hall, landing, stairs. I have embossed paper at the moment. I like the look of suede effect paint. Can it be used in this area? Is it difficult to apply?
Paul
Our Victorian house needs an exterior refresh, the parapets are painted with what appears to be a white gloss which I would like to match. I’ve seen Dulux Weathershield masonry gloss but it doesn’t have the colour I need. If we used a high-gloss from another brand, e.g. Truguard Flexible Exterior Gloss, what (if anything) should we paint underneath the gloss?
Decorator
Truguard Flexible Exterior Undercoat, maybe?
Biddy
Can I paint a bathroom floor, it’s one put in by council for my elderly mother for her same level shower. It has mica type bits in. (Ten years ago, she has passed on eight years ago). It’s really hard to clean as it chews up most mops and only a scrubbing brush works. It is now dark water marked where the shower is although still a pretty pink the other half of the room. It will be really complicated and expensive to replace as it is bonded to the floor, goes up the sides like a skirting. But I need to make it look better! Are there any specialist paints that would do the job. It needs to withstand being in the shower itself. Thanks for any suggestions.
Decorator
You could use a standard floor paint. Make sure that the floor is thoroughly cleaned before hand, rinsed of any detergent residue and completely dry.
I can’t guarantee how long this will last because I don’t know what state the floor is in now, how well you will prepare the surface or the quality of paint you’ll be using but it’s the easiest and cheapest solution to your problem.
Elaine
I have a very old lincrusta paper on my ceiling in a Victorian house. It has been painted many times , not by us over the years and the paint is now flaking off. Can you advise how to stabilise the flaking before we paint it again. Thanks.
Decorator
You can’t really do much about the flaking paint other than try and remove as much as you can before painting over it. The reason for this is because the paint loses its contact with the surface over time and any extra load of more paint will make the matter worse.
John
Hi, I wonder if you could help me with the below query? I have a rendered breeze block wall which has been painted on the front side with 1 coat of thinned down white masonry paint and 2 coats of Valspar masonry paint.
Unfortunately there has been significant flaking. We did believe this may be down to the builder not putting any damp course when constructing the wall. However, I have noticed that the exposed wall seems very sandy when you rub it, so I was thinking the not enough cement was used in the render.
Anyway, I need help in rectifying the issue, I presume we can rub down any excess flaking. But I was wondering what should be use as a primer before trying to paint the wall again? Note the wall is breeze block with sand/cement render the front side. The rear is bare breeze block with chippings as a barrier between the hedge/bank. I look forward to hearing from you from you soon. Regards
Decorator
External rendering can be quite powdery after drying out and it’s best to leave it a while to weather before painting. In other words, let rain wash away the powdery residue over time. You don’t say how new this render is but this was my first thought.
As for adding not enough cement to the render, I think this unlikely since builders tend to go to the other extreme and add too much. In any case, I doubt this would be the answer to your problem?
I would remove as much flaking paint as possible and leave it for a year or, at least, until the ‘sandiness’ is less obvious. Ensure any further coats are thinned sufficiently to soak into the surface. This may also have been a cause of the initial problem.
Jan
Hi I asked previously if i could hang paste the wall paper over lining, can you give me tips on how to do this? Does the lining paper not bubble up when pasted and do i still use the paste the wall paste for this? Thank you
Decorator
If you are worried about it then paste the paper as normal.
Dave
I have an old terraced property built around 1910. I would like to paint the brick wall in my back yard. The previous owner painted it – probably many, many years ago. The existing white paint is still on much of the wall, although much of it is now flaking off. I was planning to scrape off the loose, flaking paint, clean it and then paint it with Dulux Trade Weathershield Exterior Masonry Paint in brilliant white. However, the on-line data sheet says the paint is not suitable for ‘common brick’. Do you think my 1910 old yard wall is likely to be common brick? I don’t really know what that is. If so, is there a paint for common brick? I thought this would be a fairly straightforward task to spruce up the yard, especially as it had previously been painted, but now I’m worried I am doing this wrong. Thank you very much.
Decorator
Common Brick is term used to describe high-density bricks which are typically used at DPC level because they are resistant to the absorption of moisture. It is not usual for commons to be used for yard walls or large areas of brickwork elsewhere.
It is unfortunate that the word ‘common’ is used out of context in this case since these kind of bricks are anything but.
Sally
I have oak windows and they have a uv lacquer ‘coating’ and where this has broken down we have applied UV Osmo oil. The finish is patchy and we have decided to resand and paint them black instead. Which is better to adhere to the lightly sanded treated wood – Oil or Water-based and also, some of the windows are south facing and so whatever we use needs to be stable in the sun… hope all this makes sense, any advice welcome !! Thanks
Decorator
You will need to ensure that the oil already applied has totally dried and soaked below the surface of the wood.
Normally I would say a water-based primer and finish is best on new wood but the presence of oil residue would make this unadvisable. A regular oil-base wood primer, undercoat and gloss would be best.
As for using black paint, please bear in mind that dark colours absorb UV light much more readily than light colours so this may not be a great idea in this particular instance?
Jan
Hi can you tell me if I can hang paste the wall paper on top of lining paper? Also in the kitchen I have stripped the walls completely, I am just hanging lining paper to paint over, do I have to size the walls? Thank you.
Decorator
Yes you can. And, it depends how absorbent the walls are but there is no harm in doing it anyway.
Dominic
Hi there I previously asked about painting a sapele door which had been factory primed by the joiner. I have now identified the primer used, it is Remmers Induline ZW-425. This claims to offer excellent protection against discoloration from substances contained within the wood. Please could you advise how is best to proceed? Aluminium primer? Water based stain blocking primer like Sikkens Cetol BL? Ultimately I want to put a water based F&B undercoat and top coat on, just not sure what if anything to put underneath that to give the best adhesion and protection against resin from the sapele. Thanks for your help!
Decorator
You said previously that your joiner had applied a primer by spray and I replied that it didn’t matter what you do after this since whatever you apply now is only as good as this spray applied coating. For the avoidance of further doubt, applying a primer by spray to external timber is about the dumbest thing that can be done.
Consult your joiner.
Steve
I’ve recently wallpapered a ceiling. There was a water leak in the ceiling years ago. The source of the water leak has been fixed, but there is some yellow staining visible on the surface of the wallpaper caused by the leak. I’m not sure if the staining would be considered as a heavy stain or not, but it is clearly visible in the day during sunlight. To cover the staining effectively, would it be best to use an oil based sealer or a stain block spray? And would it be possible just to cover the stained area of the ceiling wallpaper or will the entire ceiling need painting after applying stain block on the stained area? Thanks for your advice.
Decorator
An oil or spirit based stain blocker will usually be effective for a water-based stain. The aerosol-types tend to be spirit based so that may be your best bet.
You only need to go slightly over the edge of the stain, not the whole ceiling. Whether the entire ceiling needs repainting will depend on the colour and finish. A white matt finish, for example, can usually be touched-up quite effectively whilst some colours will be difficult to match exactly and painting a small area may stand out too much, necessitating a full repaint.
Brenda
I live in an old house and need to repaint the outside. Dune walls are pebble dashed and others rendered. The on the rendered gable wall in particular, when I remove a little loose paint I end up taking of huge areas in sheets. What should I do?
Decorator
You will need to remove any loose material before painting again otherwise you’ll be wasting your time and money.
Emma
Hello, the walls in my house have old plaster on them. They have been sanded down but are uneven and patchy. I am wanting all the walls painted. Can you please advise on what’s best to do to make them look nice and smooth when painting and which best roller to use. Thank you
Decorator
It depends how bad the walls are but the usual solution is to use a heavy grade lining paper and then paint over it. Any medium pile roller will do the job. Also, use a matt finish as this doesn’t show up the bumps as much.
David
Could you recommend a suitable Primer for a garden table light grey brital metal. My first thoughts were Calcium Plumbate?
Decorator
Not sure what you mean by ‘grey brital metal’ but outdoor tables are often made from cast iron or cast aluminium. In both cases a general-purpose oil-based metal primer will suffice.
Janice
Can you advise on zinc downpipes? My builder says he will have a primer for zinc which is great and asked us to get paint specially formulated for zinc for the topcoat. However at the paint shop they said they said there wasn’t such a paint and that normal metal paint would be fine if it had a zinc primer underneath. Do you have any advice or guidance to assist? Thanks for your help.
Decorator
Zinc is naturally resistant to oxidization and, therefore, does not require a specialist primer. What it does need though is to be properly degreased prior to painting and it may also need an etching-primer in order for any coating to stick to the surface. (Etching primer is, basically, an acid-based solution which takes away the shiny finish from surfaces such as zinc and galvanised steel).
The alternative is to leave the surface untreated for a year in order for it to ‘weather’. In other words, the natural process of being rained on repeatedly will denature the finish to such a degree that no further preparation is needed.
Once prepared (or weathered), I would use a general all-purpose solvent based metal primer and two coats of solvent based undercoat, finished with one or two coats of solvent based gloss. (*solvent based = oil-based).
If you are paying someone to do this for you then ensure you receive a written specification before any work is carried out.
Tom
Hi this is a great site very useful. My house is an old Victorian terrace (1888) on the seafront. It is rendered and painted regularly with Sandtex STHC smooth. Long shot I know but is there a better product to withstand the elements and do you have any advice on any specialist gloss paint for the window woodwork. As you might expect the repainting seems to be every 5 years rather than 10. Just wondered if there was a better product or whether more coats would be a good idea.
Decorator
Dulux Trade Maximum Exposure Masonry Paint [link] is formulated for coastal environments and is claimed to perform better than the regular alternative. Whether it would be worth the added expense is hard to say though since you’ll be painting over an existing coating and, as always, any paint is only as good as the surface it is applied to.
In theory, you may get a bit more time between recoats but it can’t be guaranteed so that’s a risk you’ll have to judge for yourself.
As for the woodwork, Dulux Trade Weathershield exterior undercoat and gloss will perform as well as anything and much better than most standard finishes. In your case, over existing woodwork that is in good condition, the oil-based option will be the better choice.
Re applying extra coats, with previously-painted woodwork, absolutely yes. Two coats of gloss are better than one and three coats better than two.
And for masonry paint, not so much, since you want any internal moisture to be able to escape and multiple coats will have a detrimental effect on this process.
Choy
I posed a question about nicotine stain on the wall/ceiling using an air purifier, however another suggestion was ‘The only thing that ‘covers’ nicotine stains on walls/ceilings is stabiliser solution before painting.’ I am wondering how that would work.
Decorator
It wouldn’t.
Dawn
I am thinking of doing something different in my hall, landing, stairs. I have embossed paper at the moment. I like the look of suede effect paint. Can it be used in this area? Is it difficult to apply?
Decorator
No idea!
Miguel
Hi, I need to paint rusty metal beading in the exterior of my house. Is it worth treating them removing the rust or ask someone to replace them?
Decorator
Probably easier to replace them since they will have to removed anyway in order to remove the rust and to prepare adequately for re-painting.