diluting emulsion

I have a chimney brest where the old fireplace has been ripped out and the wall re-plastered. Its been at least 4 months since the work was done so i gather that this is sufficient drying time for it. (if not please let me know!)

According to the instructions on the emulsion paint i have bought it says dilute to 1 part water to 4 parts emulsion to seal absorbant surfaces. The area to be sealed is 5ft 1 by 3ft 11ins.

The tin of emulsion is 5l and says a max coverage of 60m2. I have 2 questions.

1. What is the best way to go about diluting the emulsion as the only paint mixing i've ever done was at school! Is there any quick maths calculation i can do to work out how much emulsion i need for the above area to be covered?

2. Also i'm concerned that i'll end up with too much diluted emulsion and have no clue how i'd go about disposing of it as you obviously can't just pour it down the sink!

Any ideas please? Thanks.

why not pour half the tin into another tin?

that will leave you 2.5 L

at 4:1 yu should then add 625 ml of water.

that way you can give it 2 coats, and still have half a tin left

breezer said:

why not pour half the tin into another tin?


that will leave you 2.5 L

at 4:1 yu should then add 625 ml of water.

that way you can give it 2 coats, and still have half a tin left

Click to expand...

i don't have an empty tin to pour it into

when you mean give it two coats do you mean the area to be sealed or the whole room? As i'm not sure 2.5l will adequately cover the rest of the room.

Thanks.

no, only the area to be covered in the first place

but if you want to paint the whole room you could untill the tin is half empty

or you could put half the tin contents ito 2 and a 1/2 1 litre soft drink bottles, but drink the soft drink first

ok thanks for the help breezer, no excuse not to start painting anymore!

or you could put half the tin contents ito 2 and a 1/2 1 litre soft drink bottles, but drink the soft drink first

Click to expand...

But most important make sure you dont drink the soft drink after