Finally thinking about getting around to considering repainting my spare bedroom. It was sponge painted by the previous owner. Do I need to sand the whole thing or is trying rolling several extra coats of paint an option? Any other suggestions?
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Replies
First question is; if you take a bright light source and "glance" it across the wall, is the sponging raised a lot, or pretty flat?
If it's flat, a good hiding primer and then a couple coats ought to do it.
If it's raised by a lot, you need to flatten it. Sanding, skim coat it with compound, or maybe somebody else has another idea.
'course you could prime it, then do some kind of sponging, ragging, or something yourself in the colors you want. That might be the easiest and the added dimension would probably look good.
Steve
Run your hand across the walls. Do you feel the texture of the sponging more than the other walls which weren't sponged in the rest of the house?
Next, sand the walls with 80 grit paper. This will take down the high spots.
Prime with an alkyd (oil) based primer. I like Ben Mo's all purpose primer.
Now take a look at the walls. Do you see/ feel the sponging texture? If you do, you're ready to apply a light skim with joint compound. Think 2 coats. If you try to get away with 1 coat you will be applying too much and therefore need to sand lots off. First coat doesn't look pretty - actually it looks very disappointing, but the second coat will be sweet.
Sand and prime again (alkyd primer). Now you're ready for finish paint!
F
If the texture doesn't bother you, a long-napped roller cover will do the trick, particularly with latex paint. It'll give more texture to even out the sponge differences. And do a good job of hiding any other problems.
If you want smooth, it's either skim coat or sand.
fur ?
PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
greencu
If the paint is raised theres nothing you can do with any size roller to blend it flat...It'll only dbl the height of the texture.
Just recently in my circa 1680 house I needed to paint the living room and you might imagine how many coats of bad paint jobs I needed to go over.
Makes sponge painting look like stucco.
It really wasn't all that difficult.
I simply took my orbital sander with a cpl of different grits depending on how bad different sections were and sanded away.
I did go through lots of paper because the paper got gummed up but wasnt that bad really.
Thats the easiest and best way if you ask me short of 1/4" rock over the existing.
One other thought is using backing paper glued to the rock (after a skim of mud) thats made to paint over.
Be having too much fun : )
andy
It went pretty fast
The secret of Zen in two words is, "Not always so"!
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
If the paint is raised theres nothing you can do with any size roller to blend it flat...It'll only dbl the height of the texture.
If you're saying there will still be as much uneven texture, you should try it. Does not double the height of existing texture. I painted professionally for more than a few years. PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
If you're saying there will still be as much uneven texture, you should try it. Does not double the height of existing texture. I painted professionally for more than a few years. >>>
I have tried it more than once and sometimes it raised the existing mess higher and other times (depending on what I wanted to become a smooth job)it just looked like an unprofessional job.
I've done miles and miles of painting......in the last several years I've painted over 24000 sq ft three times over + so I do know that I dont consider myself a pro painter cause pro painters do that in one month or less....none the less, I haven't ever taken a muddy structure of a paint job and been able to smooth it out with a thick roller.
Probably cause I'm not a pro painter so......I'd be real interested in hearing the technique involved and where I screwed up (for a change...lol).
Be well
andy
The secret of Zen in two words is, "Not always so"!
http://CLIFFORDRENOVATIONS.COM
I have tried it more than once and sometimes it raised the existing mess higher and other times (depending on what I wanted to become a smooth job)it just looked like an unprofessional job.
For smooth, I pointed out alternatives, including your preferred. If you really want a roller lesson, come on down. Really not that difficult if you watch what you're doing. Greencu has shown remarkable abilities in that department. If yours came out "unprofessional", I'd suggest more practice.PAHS Designer/Builder- Bury it!
Is the texture so bad it bothers you? A little bit under a new coat of paint might look fine. It could add a very subtle bit of character to the walls. Any of the removal methods involves a fair bit of work.
Maybe a coat of USG "First Coat" would even things out a little.
my sil thined down some mud and rolled a light coat on her walls, then sanded them , i didn't think it would work, but it looks good and was less work than skim coating. larry
Once again, thanks to all. I had several ideas and you guys gave me a couple more things to try and confirmed my suspicions.
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I'm doing a remodel and have come across the same situation.
I sanded the ceiling with 80 grit screen on a pole sander and wiped with denatured alcohol.
I applied a thin coat of durabond 90, knocked off the ridges when it cured and final coated with lightweight compound. I found that with a spray bottle of H2O and an 8" knife I was able to get a smooth finish. I lightly sanded with a 120 screen and wiped it down with H20 on a grout sponge.
The HO is very pleased and I'm surprised how well it went.
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