Wall Prep Help

[stevedo]

Doing my hall, stairs and landing, a big job.

Stripped off paper, washed walls and scraped off glue. Filled any damage with Polyfilla and rubbed down with orbital sander. Repaired areas ranging from a small "ding" to longer hairline cracks that I assume have been there for a while. Applied white matt emulsion as a "base" coat to give me a consistent background colour and applied 2 coats of Dulux trade matt emulsion.Walls are plastered, not plasterboard.

Now the problem. When looking at the wall "head on" it looks great. Colour is even and any minor blemishes that I did not repair pretty much disappear. However, at some angles I can clearly see areas that have been filled and sanded, I also suspect that 100% of the old paste did not come off? The areas either appear to be slightly lighter or darker than the surrounding area depending upon the angle that the light falls on the defect. One wall which had no repairs looks great at all angles.

I have tried applying a 3rd coat of emulsion to cover this up with no success.

What can I do to obtain a consistent finish across the whole wall? I spent the best part of a weeks holiday doing the prep so am pretty disappointed right now and at a bit of a loss as to what to do.

Thanks
Steve

 

[TheDec]

Steve.

I am sorry to hear of your problem and can well understand how you are feeling. The ultimate cure here would to line the walls, yet I would doubt whether you'd agree.

Your problem here is often termed as flashing, the main cause of this is the difference in porosity regarding the filler and the existing surface.

Steve.

Lightly sand the walls to try and achieve a uniform finish and remove any raised areas of filler, then apply a coat of an oil based primer sealer, this will stop those areas flashing, You can then carry on with your emulsion. If the application of the sealer exposes any bad prep you should fill again and give those areas only another coat of sealer.

Try one wall at a time and let me know how you get on, best of luck

Dec.

 

[stevedo]

Hi Dec,

thanks for your response. The walls have been sanded where I've filled and I have a uniform finish with no raised edges so I suspect you are right that it's different levels of porosity that's causing the issue.

Fortunately at this point I have not applied the finish colour emulsion to all walls, just about a third of them, and stopped once I realised I was not happy (I suspect some people would be happy but I'm very fussy).

Is there a specific oil based sealer that you would recommend?

Again thanks for your help, much appreciated.

Steve

 

[Adaptor]

I would be tempted to try a 'basecoat' product formulated to give an even surface. But I'm not a professional.

If you do let me know how it works, as I am facing a similar prospect to yourself.

 

[stevedo]

Popped into Wickes on the way home tonight. The only thing that looked remotely like what Dec recommended was Wickes "basecoat". Not sure that would be any good (did'nt appear to be oil based for a start) the "assistants" couldn't so I left it on the shelf and await any recommendations from those more knowledgeable than myself

Steve

 

[stevedo]

OK, done a bit of research on the ol t'internet and discovered a product from Zinsser called Gardz. Looks to be exactly what I need. Given that I want to paint over it with Dulux Trade Emulsion would the Gardz be a sensible step forward?

Steve

 

[TheDec]

Steve.

I always use either Glidens or Dulux oil primer sealers, pop into your local Dec centre they will have it there.

Dec.

 

[stevedo]

OK, so over the weekend I tried 3 things on separate walls to help me gauge which would be the best solution. Fisrtly, Zinsser Gardz, secondly Dulux primer and lastly lining paper. Having waited to everything to dry out etc i have concluded that the best finish, and therefore the one I am most happy with, is the lining paper route.

This will cause more work but the long term results will be worth it, after all, we're not planning on moving any time soon. Only challenge now is I'm under pressure to get it all done before christmas

Thanks to Dec for his advice/guidance.

Steve

 

[AbnerWright]

I am with you; these flashes could be due improper applied emulsion. Previously, patches of emulsion were not prominent and hence resulted in color patch. Now just rub patch area and then again follow the process.