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Water-based finishes tend to be more flexible but, as always, your top coat is only as good as what is underneath it. Based on what you say, I’m not sure it’s going to make much difference either way?

Solve the condensation problem, which I know is easier said than done, or accept that regular maintenance is the only way you’re going to keep on top of this problem.

There are so many variables that is impossible to offer a definitive solution. Much depends on the state and type of timber affected and what works perfectly in one situation may fail hopelessly in another.

2-part fillers do cure very hard though and offer little resistance to natural expansion and shrinkage. Single part, ready-mixed fillers such as Dulux Weathershield do not fully cure and, consequently, remain flexible for much longer.

You may get slightly better adhesion if you use a primer or sealer beforehand and allow a couple of days for it to fully cure before filling.

I would apply the stain blocker first and again when the filling is done. For a water-based stain you should use a solvent-based sealer such as Zinsser B-i-n Primer & Sealer (amazon link). Once this has dried you can use a water based finish over the top.

Should be OK, I would wash down the walls first with a sugar soap solution and then rinse with clean warm water to remove any contamination – which is normal in bathrooms.

You may need to thin the first coat of your chosen finish with water because the previous coating will be slightly absorbent and this will help seal the surface.

What I think you mean is that you used a ‘trade matt’, the type of paint you’d use on new plaster?

In which case, this is quite normal because there is no vinyl component that is usually added to regular wall paints in order to make them washable.

The mould is likely caused by condensation, warm air coming into contact with a cold wall. It’s unlikely the stairwell is heated and poorly ventilated, which is why it will keep recurring unless the underlying problems are addressed.

At the very least, I would expect the affected areas to be treated with a fungicidal wash and re-painted on regular basis with mould-inhibiting emulsion such as Dulux Trade Sterishield.

It may help your case if you take photos before any work is done, immediately afterwards and again in 6 months time. If the mould is just as bad within this timescale then you would be right to argue that the agents are indeed wasting money. I would also ask the agents for the specification of works carried out as further evidence.

Darren – the process for painting a stained handrail is quite labour intensive since they are often varnished and need thorough cleaning before any paint is applied. Preparation is, therefore, essential – otherwise you are best not bothering since the paint will scratch and peel-off over time.

• Ideally, remove the varnish coating with a chemical paint stripper, wash down and rub-down to bare smooth wood. Then prime and paint as normal.
• Not ideally, wash down the surface with a sugar soap solution, rinse off and sand down the surface so most of the shine is removed.
• Apply one or two coats of adhesive/stain blocking primer such as Zinsser Bulls-Eye 123.
• Most stains are spirit based and this will stop the colour bleeding through but some times a water-based stain is used and you may still see a bit of discolouration. In which case an oil-based undercoat will stop this.
• Paint as normal with undercoat and gloss or at least two coats of your chosen alternative.
• If you use a water-based finish it can take weeks for the surface to fully harden – so you should avoid any abrasion for as long as possible.

Darren – According to Tikkurila, the product can be thinned up to 20%

https://www.tikkurila.co.uk/amfile/file/download/file/7954/product/2371/

Darren – Yes Mike, lightly sand down the surface and use an adhesive primer such water-based (labelled as quick-drying) acrylic prime/undercoat. A specialist primer such as Zinsser Bulls Eye 123 would be ideal but may be costly if it’s a big area?

Darren – Just be aware that if you use a solvent based (oil-based) paint on the stairs it will take a while to fully harden so you’ll need to avoid walking on the stairs for a couple of weeks to avoid spoiling the finish. You’ll also need to take this into account when applying a protective coating and, also, the potential that it may not be compatible with the paint you’ve chosen. In which case, you are advised to do a small test area first just in case there is a problem.

Obviously, it may not be practical to avoid using the stairs at all for such a length of time but the more you can plan around this issue the better.

Darren – The most important thing is that you allow the cavities to dry out properly before even thinking of decoration. This is going to take a very long time but it is essential since any trapped moisture is going to cause no end of problems with interstitial condensation.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interstitial_condensation

Once the walls have dried out you should remove any loose paint and redecorate with a breathable finish such as Dulux Trade Supermatt.

Darren – Sounds like your plaster is still drying out, best leave it for now. The drying process will have been limited by the paint and could take several weeks/months. You may find some paint blisters off, or maybe not? Wait and see.

Darren – Not necessarily, paint can take a few weeks to fully harden. Manufacturers should make this more clear, I will concede.

Darren – With a traditional oil/solvent-based gloss, yes, because there is very little pigment and you’ll find it difficult to cover and to get a decent finish.

With water-based (quick-drying) paints there is generally a higher pigment content and you may be able to get a decent result. You may have to give it two coats though but you’re not risking anything by trying. Obviously, if you’re changing colours, you’ll always need an undercoat regardless.

My question is I want to emulsions wallpaper again with a vinyl Matt emulsion how can I stop previous colour from bleeding through? Previous colour is Red & new colour is pale grey. I would be grateful for your advice please.

Darren – A coat of universal primer sealer such as Zinsser Bulls Eye 123 [amazon link] should do the trick.

We feel they do not offer enough protection against the elements and can have a detrimental effect on the way the doors are constructed. They can cause de-lamination and therefore we will not offer any guarantee if they have been finished in this way.

If not oil based or water based, then what? I’ve looked at solvent based, but that term seems to be interchangeable with oil based. From reviews I’ve seen they have rejected claims where Dulux Weathershield was used.

Darren – It looks like they are using this as a general get-out for any subsequent claims for damage rather than as any sort of useful advise or guidance.

Using a water-based primer on a bare wood door can sometimes cause problems such as swelling/warping and (for non-solid wood doors) delamination but not so with solvent/oil-based finishes.

You don’t say if the door is already treated or primed, and the material composition – this would have a bearing on any furtheradvice I could give you.

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.

Darren – 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.

Darren – 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.

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

Darren – 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.

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.

Darren – 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.

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

Darren – 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?

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!

Darren – 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.

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.

Darren – 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.

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.

Darren – 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.

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.

Darren – 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.