Uneven paint after 2 coats

[Eddman]

Hi, i am renovating a 1900's terraced house, many original features and finishes etc. we have stripped the woodchip off the walls in one of the bedrooms, revealed the original (i beleive) plaster underneath. in our haste for getting done we decided to paint straight onto it - probably the first mistake! now, after 2 coats of using a brush along the picture rail and skirting with roller in the large middle parts, we still have uneven coverage! this is soo annoying. Is it likely that the walls have dried the paint at different rates or is it just that we are bad at painting!!! Is it worth us doing another coat with the roller and leave off the edge bits?

Thanks
Eddy

 

[Robbie uk]

The old plaster is very thirsty. You ideally needed a mist coat first ie. a thinned coat of matt emulsion. Give the walls a rub down to get any nibs off, check any filling and apply a coat of thinned matt emulsion over what you have already done. Then apply full coats to finish.

 

[Eddman]

Thanks Robbie uk. At the risk of sounding like a skint-flint, will another coat just go the same way? Down one side of the door (where there wasn't enough room for the roller) i did it all with a brush and this bit seems ok and even.

I am torn whether to do the whole walls again or just try and add to the faint/thin areas?...

Eddy

 

[Robbie uk]

Depends how much paint you have. Thinning it will make it go further anyway. Because you have already painted the walls, the plaster wont be as thirsty. thicker paint will dry thick and stodgy. Thinning it will help to even up the surface.

 

[emilybronte]

... now, after 2 coats of using a brush along the picture rail and skirting with roller in the large middle parts, we still have uneven coverage!

Please don't tell me you used the same paint for picture rail, skirting board and walls....

 

[Eddman]

@Robbie uk - so you think that i should thin down my paint and go over the whole area again, excluding the edges? - by thinning do you mean with water?

@emilybronte - no, i didn't do the skirting/woodwork with the same paint as the walls! i meant along the edge of the walls with a brush to be neat.

 

[Robbie uk]

Thin with water, but ideally you need to paint all of the wall as you may get a slightly different shade where you stop rolling and where you have cut in before

 

[Eddman]

Thanks @Robbie uk - i we did another coat of the paint and although still a tiny bit patchy - i think due to our painting skills, it looks passable. In the future we will be either; mist coat of thinned white emulsion. whole new skim or lining paper before we paint - and we may even invest in better quality paint too!!!

 

[Robbie uk]

Everything helps to get a better finish, better quality roller sleeve, better brush, decent paint etc