Decorating after artex...

[meg_mog]

Decorating after artex...

What can I say, the previous owners in the 70's decided that artex was the way to go. Consequently, every wall and ceiling in our house is covered with the stuff in weird and wonderful patterns and usually a hideous colour too! As this is an old house and an old artex job there is the additional risk of asbestos which makes me very wary about tacking it.

We're not in the position to plaster over not being good enough to do it ourselves or the money to hire someone. To minimise its awfulness I want to re-paint in neutral colours.

My question is mostly about prepping the wall to give the best adhesion.

The wall I'm painting:

- is painted with a deep mid blue silk paint which is pretty glossy

- has low-mid peaks and troughs in the artex

- has been damaged at various points so is spotted with filler

I've sugar soaped so its clean but I am cautious about attempting to sand it to give it a key because of the potential asbestos and because I would only be able to sand the 'peaks'.

- Should I sand anyway?

- If I don't sand, is there any other way to provide a good key for the paint? What about an undercoat of emulsion mixed with pva...? Any other suggestions...?

- Should I use primer or undercoat as there are lots of filled holes and I need a better level of adhesion? Which?

I'm sorry if these seem basic questions, I have tried looking for advice but as always the specifics of each case seems different so your advice and experience would be most welcome.

Thanks,

Fay

[Staffbull]

Hi - if the plaster under its failry sound it comes off with a steamer ( needs to be a decent one though - the =A320 argos things wont touch it and a good stiff quality scraper. and just forms clumps - no dust so you can scrape the bugger off into a bag and get rid. If you dont want to do that a dilute mix of UPVA ( unibond) makes a decent base for just about anything to adhere to i've found :-) If theres layers of paint on it score it with a stanley blade first to allow the steam into the artex through the paint Id wear a decent mask anyhoo - but a decent cannister filter mask can be had for a tenner

[Skipweasel]

I've got a =A320 Argos one and it takes Artex off a treat - slower than=20 wallpaper, but just take it steadily and it worked fine for me.

You're right about the dust - the steamer just makes big soggy snots of=20 the stuff which you can bag.

--=20 Skipweasel - never knowingly understood.

[Mike P the 1st]

On Sun, 27 Feb 2011 10:15:53 -0800 (PST), harry gently dipped his quill in the best Quink that money could buy:

I think it is only because it has wrapped, and this breaks the link

Mike P the 1st

[Tim Streater]

Mmmph - worked fine for me - I'm using MT-NewsWatcher.

[jgharston]

Chisle back to brickwork, get a platerer in.

JGH

[geoff]

Can't do that ... You'll die of asbestosis before the second swing of the hammer

[meg_mog]

Thanks for the suggestions and I'll remember that breathing isn't the problem, only inhaling...

With regards to artex removal, I've considered getting rid of it BUT;

-its an old house and the artex covers ancient crumbly plaster and it would ALL need removing and re-doing and the artex is through out the WHOLE house including ceilings. Firstly we couldn't remotely afford to have it done professionally, secondly I have 4 small kids so do not get the time to do huge projects myself and it would cause massive disruption. So the removing and/or replacing is a no no for now.

This is why i had decided to paint as a temporary measure. As I mentioned in my original post, my question is mostly about prepping the wall to give the best adhesion. The wall I'm painting:

- is painted with a deep mid blue silk paint which is pretty glossy

- has low-mid peaks and troughs in the artex

- has been damaged at various points so is spotted with filler I've sugar soaped so its clean but I am cautious about attempting to sand it to give it a key because of the potential asbestos and because I would only be able to sand the 'peaks'.

- Should I sand anyway?

- If I don't sand, is there any other way to provide a good key for the paint? What about an undercoat of emulsion mixed with pva...? Any other suggestions...?

- Should I use primer or undercoat as there are lots of filled holes

I will if pushed use the expensive polycell stuff as a basecoat but its all dreadfully pricey which is why if PVA would work I'd definitely prefer to use that as we have a lot of wall area to cover!

Has anyone else tried doing anything similar.

BTW, does anyone know of reputable asbestos testing kits and where to get them please?

Thanks

[Nick Odell]

In my (limited) experience 'asbestos testing kits' stand about 1.8m high, wear white overalls, stare knowingly at some bland, innocuous wall, mutter, "That'll all have to come out for a start," then submit a bill for about £20,000.

It was quite a big building, mind.

Nick

[meg_mog]

Thanks for the link Harry, it was that page that made me realise that if I at least *knew* whether it did or didn't have asbestos in it, it would be a lot more straight forward. Previously I thought you had to get someone out and that seemed overkill....

Anyways, whilst they have info about the test they don't have info on who produces reputable testing kits. Since this is quite important I didn't want to just order a kit of the internet and send it back to some random lab.bv

[stuart noble]

IME you don't need to worry about a key. For all its faults painted Artex is actually a very good base for further paint providing you apply the first coat very sparingly. This creates the bond, and you can then tosh the rest on in the normal way. I've done this many times without problems, in most cases without any prep at all. Those peaks can be seriously sharp IME and the benefits of preparation are minimal. The first coat binds up the grime anyway.

[meg_mog]

Jim - ?where did you say that?

I refer you to my previous post. You've even quoted it in your post! It's all there! :)

Stuart - thanks so much for getting back to the original question. That's really good to know. I don't have the money or time to waste getting it wrong and ending up with a flaky job;)

[Tabby]

From reading the thread it sounds like you're making a mountain out of a molehill. Get your emoulsion paint and paint it, simple as that. Nothing else needs doing.

No need for undercoats, primers etc. If youre painting onto gloss you'll find that coats go on very patchy at first, just persist and they'll end up perfect.

Asbestos testing looks pointless, since a) youre painting over it, so its harmless b) if you get the time or money one day you'll get rid of it anyway c) artex used to contain asbestos, so you know what you've got anyway

NT

[stuart noble]

If the current paint isn't flaking, there's no reason why the new lot should but, if it isn't adhering for some reason, you should sense it as you're putting it on. The first coat I would "scrub" on with a 120mm emulsion brush (don't be tempted to thin the paint), the idea being to be mean with the paint and aggressive with the scrubbing so that you get a very thin layer in every nook and cranny, but no coating as such. IME a thick coat on a sealed surface tends to sag under its own weight, which makes that initial bond weaker.

Good luck with it. At least a trial run on one wall won't set you back much in terms of time or money.

[The Natural Philosopher]

Not sure that is even true. used to contain bloody sharp sand anyway.

There are probably only two places where asbestos has really been a health hazard, one is where its being worked with, in factories and mines. The other is where its being worn out and the dust is coming off it. Viz absestos brake linings.

In short its not a hazard unless you inhale a lot of dust over a long period.

[Mike Tomlinson]

In article , meg_mog writes

I live in a Victorian flat which similarly must have been covered in the stuff. Fortunately it has been skimmed over at some time in the past, but the original Artex swirls are still faintly visible in certain lights.

I had the heating replaced and couple of rads moved, and those revealed the original Artex in all its snot-green painted glory. Had to have those skimmed, then repainted myself.

Fortunately, the ceilings escaped the swirly patterns, they're just stippled, and look ok.

I don't think it would cost too much to have a plasterer skim over it, particularly if you do it on a room-by-room basis as you redecorate.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember harry saying something like:

url:

you'll need to cut & paste the link, it hasn't gone in properly

Look.

[Andy Dingley]

Can there be such poverty?

[jgharston]

Would that be a workable option? Instead of removing the artex, plaster over it to get a nice flat surface.

JGH

[The Natural Philosopher]

Very much the way to do if you want to get rid of the texture.