Blending undercoat with eggshell

[TheDec]

Chickpea71

I think you need to post a couple of pics so that the Decs on here can offer you the advice you need, always remember that paint is only a coating and all can be put right if we know exactly what we are dealing with. So lets see those pics and then be prepared to answer a few questions.

Dec

 

[ChickPea71]

I will take some photos this week. Just in shock and am exhausted from all this.

This guy managed to over stain the parquet floor, and splattered the walls at the same time, and now with top later of pale gray eggshell starting to chip off already after 3 days to expose the white coat underneath, I decided to ask him to leave.

Can you tell me, if I give it another layer of eggshell, undiluted, will it be stronger?

He had left some paints behind, and I have noticed also that he appeared to dilute the eggshell till it was very liquid, mixed with white spirit I presume. I can understand that it may need diluting but it was now very runny (literally like milk). He also had been leaving the paint pot lids off with the small roller in the liquid left in the corner of the room, with no covering.

All seams pretty shoddy to me. And he tells me he hasn't had complaints before. Although the fact that he was so defensive to start with kind of suggests that he has had compaints!!!

 

[dcdec]

If the top layer is chipping already its too brittle i bet he put driers in. You cant overpaint that because the adhesion is too poor and subsequent paints will be governed by the weakest link in the chain, you'll have to rub it down hard or scrape off if its really brittle.
He's thinned the paint right down probably to make it go further (typical polish attitude) instead of explaining to the client it would be better to buy more paint. The paint does lose some of its body but i've applied very thin paint before and its fine because the solvent/thinner evapourates. You could try leaving the lid off to allow evapouration before use, not sure it'll do alot though.

No tradesman is ever going to admit to ever having had a complaint. There is a massive fundamental difference between east europeans and west europeans and its the culture. Raised in the poverty of the soviet block these guys just dont understand the value of things, they've bodged all their lives out of necessity and its to ingrained in their way of life to think any differently, yep they work hard, so well suited to digging holes but any technical or knowledge based applications forget them. Its not their fault either, we're forced to open up our borders to the uneducated and unskilled so of course they'll come, i would do the same and i'd blag it if i thought my life would change in such a massive way

 

[joe-90]

But he's not a tradesman - he's a chancer looking for a quick quid. It beats me why people even consider using these chancers when a good Brit tradesman is often cheaper.