Paint finish question / wall problem?

After roller painting some plastered walls in a hallway / stairwell, I've noticed that when looking across them as opposed to at them that there are light and dark patches. Windows perpendicular casting light across them may make the effect more noticable. Suspecting human error at first I assumed that this was simply uneven painting but it doesn't appear to be. Now I think that it may be due to the finish of the plaster / paint being slightly different in some places and scattering the light differently, but I've no idea what to do about it. We tried lightly sanding a test patch to see if this made any difference, and it may slightly, but sanding the walls, which are 3 or 4 meters high in some places seems like a bad idea and likely to create more unevenness that moves the patches elsewhere or even makes it worse; sanded walls do have a much nicer finish than roller painted though.

So I'm wondering how to get a better or different finish that looks even from any angle, and any suggestions much appreciated! The paint is Super Leytex high opacity matt emulsion, and rollers the usual default roller that comes with painting trays. It's frustrating as the walls look fine when viewed more directly, but looking across them cannot be avoided from some parts of the hallway and so the patches are generally noticable.

Reply to
Nick
Loading thread data ...

That's what lining paper is for :-) The matt finish won't help either. A silk finish would be more forgiving

Reply to
Stuart Noble

The paint is intended for use on fresh plaster, is that the case here?

Reply to
Peter Johnson

How many coats did you apply ? Simon.

Reply to
sm_jamieson

Thanks for the replies.

"That's what lining paper is for :-) The matt finish won't help either. A silk finish would be more forgiving "

I'm considering the paper option now. Are there any tips for avoiding gaps when hanging paper other than don't make any? :) Having any visible artifact from the paper joins would be unacceptable.

We've used silk as a temporary finish in the bathroom before tiling and it looks ok, so we can try that. The matt was preferred but the silk is worth a shot and worth experimenting with.

"The paint is intended for use on fresh plaster, is that the case here?"

It was once. The whole property has been brought back to plaster or brick and replastered or skimmed wherever it needed it, which was on quite a few walls. The same paint was used at the right time after replastering, but this was a while ago now. Now we're aiming for the final finish and used the same paint as before but hit this issue.

"How many coats did you apply"

I'm not sure now in total, but several. We're a far cry from adding the depth of paint that was on there previously and dating back 130 or so years, but can too much be a problem? The issue is certainly not from there being too little.

Reply to
Nick

Often caused by shinier areas in the top coat of plaster. I have had issues with this on skimmed walls, some areas polish up nicer than others. I basically sealed with proper plaster sealer, this appears to do a better job than thinned emulsion, apply one slightly watered layer of Dulux Trade emulsion (a thicker white emulsion) as a base followed two coats of top coloured emulsion and obtained uniform finish.

Reply to
Ian_m

High opacity is what decorators of new-build houses usually use, it's designed to let any damp remaining in the structure escape whilst sealing the plaster, it should also cover in one coat. There's also an assumption that the house purchaser will redecorate before too long so it doesn't have to last too long. It's also cheaper than 'ordinary' vinyl matt, which has a harder finish, because of the vinyl. Had you used vinyl matt, or silk, you might have got a finish that was acceptable to you.

Reply to
Peter Johnson

HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.