Best mist/1st coat over poor skimming job

[nixbarchetta]

We had a bedroom skimmed recently and the finish is really poor, have spent about a week filling & sanding and generally trying to improve the finish I am now ready to start painting and am wondering what is the best thing to go straight on top of the new plaster? It is pretty flat/smooth now although there are a few rough areas and it's not very uniform. Do I bite the bullet and use the Polycell Basecoat or will a mist coat and a couple of coats of emulsion provide a good enough finish? If I go down the mist coat route which is best? a cheap emulsion or Dulux Supermatt? Also I am confused by dilution rates, some peeps say 50/50 others 20/80, am I correct in assuming that the dearer the paint the more water it needs?

 

[Pigeon85]

I would always say about 30% water so there's another opinion lol. In all honesty you need to water it down a bit then do a test to see if the plaster is absorbing it, if not then add more water. It does depend on the paint used and what condition the plaster is in so don't worry to much about the instructions.

I'm always happy using the cheap and cheerful stuff.

 

[nixbarchetta]

Thanks for that Pigeon85, I went with Dulux brilliant white emulsion in the end as it was on offer in Homebase diluted about 30% as per your suggestion, jobs a good un! Well it was........

With the recent storms it seems some water has come through the wall somehow

Resulting in 3 damp patches View media item 64170
the worse partly on the newly painted ceiling View media item 64169
Have had a guy round today to look at the guttering and pointing on the wall outside and he said everything looks sound. He thought it might be the fresh paint drawing moisture out of the plaster but the skimming was done 4 weeks ago and was totally dry. He has suggested painting over it with gloss then re-emulsioning it but i'm worried that when we get another downpour it will happen again wrecking the fresh decor. Is this the best course of action? decorating job now on hold

 

[kbdiy]

Blocking out the stain is all well and good but it won't stop the water getting in from the outside, if that's what is happening. You need to investigate outside. Is it poor pointing, cracked render, broken/blocked gutter/downpipe etc etc?

 

[nixbarchetta]

My thoughts exactly, but we had someone round yesterday who investigated and said that the guttering and pointing was fine, but it must be getting in somehow The only thing he could see wrong was a small area of felting underneath the guttering was missing but said that wouldn't have caused the problem. There was some cable attached to the outside of the wall in this area and I thought that the cable clips might have compromised the pointing but he said not. Maybe we should get a second opinion.

 

[nixbarchetta]

I've just been studying where the patches are in relation to the cable on the outside wall and I don't think they're in quite the same area, so probably not that.

I suppose it's possible that some of the bricks have become porous although none look to be blown. This product looks interesting, could possibly solve the problem http://www.promain.co.uk/product/Liquid_Plastics_K501_id3202

 

[Pigeon85]

Have you checked up in the loft? And for blocking the stain its oil based undercoat you want and not the suggested gloss.

 

[nixbarchetta]

Have you checked up in the loft? And for blocking the stain its oil based undercoat you want and not the suggested gloss.

No, not checked the loft, as it was coming in in various area including the bottom of the wall, but worth a look I guess. Got a chap coming round tomorrow to put some water seal on the outside bricks so will ask him to have a nosy.

I did find a can of this http://www.desolvitshop.co.uk/products/decorating-diy/desolvit®-block-that-stain/87/ hoping that might work?

 

[Pigeon85]

Never used that product but it should do the trick, maybe give the stains a couple of thin coats just to be sure.

 

[nixbarchetta]

Never used that product but it should do the trick, maybe give the stains a couple of thin coats just to be sure.

I ended up getting s tin of Polycell Damp Seal today just to be on the safe side incase the damp came back through.... am now wondering if that will block the stain though Am a bit wary of using both incase they react with each other

 

[nixbarchetta]

Does anyone know if the Polycell Damp Seal needs a mist coat? we've got a bad leak around the new window and i've had to take all the new paint back to bare plaster. Once I know the leak is fixed i'm going to do the whole wall with the damp seal, should I re do the mist coat on the patches of bare plaster or just put the damp seal straight on?