Patchy Finish on Newly Emulsioned Wall

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Hello all,

Firstly, it's great to find such a pleasant, vibrant and helpful on-line community. I hope this will be the first of many forays here ...

Anyway, I am looking for some advice. We have just finished painting the walls of our nursery. It is a new house and was decorated with "breathable emulsion" about nine months ago and this is the first piece of decorating we have done. We have painted walls with B&Q Once Matt emulsion in Pale Yellos and it all looks very nice - except one wall.

The wall in question is the last one we did and is at right angles to the only window in the room. When the light is coming in and you look along the length of this wall it looks really patchy - some areas seem smooth and some rough - it is not good.

I am not unhappy with the rough finish in itself as it was fairly thick emulsion and a reasonably rough wall to start with, but it is the patchiness that is dissapointing - when you see the variable finish in the sunlight it is quite noticeable (to me). We painted with a roller (finishing with up and down strokes) and the other walls are fine.

What advice could anyone offer me. I have had ideas of rubbing down with really fine sandpaper and seeing if that makes any difference before possibly re-rollering the single wall with watered down emulsion - but I am hopeful someone has a great idea for me.

Grateful for any advice.

Thanks,
D.

:?:
 
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Hi "dunder101" nice intro, hehe. However, i personally do not like One Coat Emulsions and i refuse to use them, due to being to thick etc. Though the problem wall u refer to could be caused by a number of reasons 1/ Sunlight showing up one wall more than the rest. 2/ Not properly finish plastered. 3/ Not properly ames taped. 4/ Not properly rubbed down prior to the first coat sealer. 5/ First coat of emulsion (Sealer) not being thinned down...........................Also, u would prob find if the sunlight got to the other walls as the same one u refer to then they also would prob be the same. When u refer to the wall being, "but it is the patchiness that is dissapointing " what do you mean ! Is it patchiness being caused be paint or plaster ? Also, if u can take a pic and put it on this thread, so that can have a look, cheers.
 
Firstly, it's great to find such a pleasant, vibrant and helpful on-line community.

You obviously aint been in 'General Discussion' yet then :mad:

I reckon whats happened is...you have used 'breathable' emulsion yeh..which to the rest of us is Dulux contract...the cheapest form of emulsion, but it serves a purpous for new walls..but being breathable it doesnt contain vinyl..so when you painted over the top with the one coat stuff, which is pretty thick and has a low water content...it would have been drawn in to the breathable paint very quickly..leaving brush/roller marks called flashing or shearing..did it feel like it was pulling a bit when you was putting it on?...dragging maybe?

Try painting the wall again..but thin the stuff out a little next time and open the windows doing it on a cold day gives you more working time on the edges

Thats my guess...but as Turdeye ;) says there are many other factors..
 
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Thanks guys - this is all really useful.

Yes - it certainly did feel like it was pulling / dragging ... and more so on the offending wall than any of the others (which was, of course, right in the sun ... doh.)

I have some left so will repaint - any guidance on thinning? Also, should I sand the wall beforehand?

Thanks, D.
 
Yes...give the wall a light flick over first..it wont hurt..thinning..hard to say...add a bit of water at a time till it feels right.
 
Hi guys - here is a picture of the wall BEFORE I follow your good advice and give it another go tomorrow evening ...

Room.jpg


Watch this space! Thanks for all your help so far!
 
Looks like flashing or uneven plastering..if there are rougher areas on the plaster then they will reflect the light differently from the smooth areas..which also causes a 'patchy' effect

Give it a good rub-a-dub first with 100 grade paper..the green/yellow stuff..oh and rub in a circualar motion not back and forsth or up and down (ooer mrs!)

Flashing looks a little more like shinier brighter areas on the wall..

If another coat dont work you may want to think about putting nets up at the window, this can difuse the light a little and soften the effect

Or you may have to paper the wall with lining paper, and start again
 
Wow, what a mess ! Maybe the best thing to do is 1/Rub down one wall 2/Buy Polysmooth Easyskim & fill wall (scrape on) with a Hawk & Trowel or a artex caulk 3/Rub down till smooth fininsh 4/Buy 2.5L of Dulux Trade Vinyl Matt and thin down by 25% (water) and apply on filler (once filler has dried) 5/Now (once "4" dried) apply a secong coat of Dulux Trade Vinyl Matt of thinned down by 10% this time 6/Now (once "5" dried) apply your One Coat Emulsion, quickly as you can.
 
Hi guys,

Well - have done a light sand and repaint and the result is that the wall is greatly improved.

However, a combination of running out of emulsion and the fact that some areas are much rougher than others means it is not to my satisfation.

So, I intend to do a more comprehensive sanding to get it totally smooth and the then re-emulsion the whole shebang.

I really do appreciate the advice - and definately will not be indulging in one coat emulsion in our new house again!
 
One Coat Emulsion is a disaster mate. It eventualy blisters abive radiators, as to thick etc..........................
 
Third_Eye said:
One Coat Emulsion is a disaster mate. It eventualy blisters abive radiators, as to thick etc..........................

Too true..I once used it on a plastic downpipe on an outside job in the middle of winter...didnt last long there either..
 
Yep, and it is embarresing when it goes wrong, when even it aint your fault :oops:
 
Hi guys,

Yes indeed. We shall not be using One Coat again in our house. Did have good experiences with it before though in al older house (and clearly on top of previous coats).

I'm always happy to learn "by experience" (even if I was cursing the wall earlier this week). It is fortunate that (a) it is the smallest bedroom in the house, (b) only one wall was affected and (c) it is the nursery for our first kid due August - I guess it'll have to be painted again in pink fairytale castles or red football colours within the year! Ho-ho.

As an obvious amateur - would a nice powered orbital sander be appropriate for removing the dodgy finish properly before repainting the wall?

D.
 

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