Lining paper corner gaps and caulk

[AnimalGlu]

Hi all,

I have just completed my first lining paper job in my hall, with a plan to paint it with matt emulsion.

After reading some other similar topics in this forum it appears like my paper hanging skills are lacking as I would say about 30% of all seams have 1mm gaps and one internal corner has a poor join (specifically where I cut too much paper).

My plan is now is to:

• Fill the internal corner with caulk
  Paint a mist coat on all walls
  Fill paper gaps with either some left over easi fill (or order some red devil)
  Sand filler
  Paint with two coats of final colour

I have a few related questions:

Have I chosen to apply the caulk at the right time or should I wait until after the mist coat?

How can I reduce the gaps that appear. I'm guessing that maybe I'm not using enough pressure to the brush when smoothing down the paper, or I'm using too much paste ?

Thanks in advance.

 

[vibrobullit407]

The gaps can appear for many different reasons . Did you fallow the instruction label? Did the paper have adequate drying conditions? Did you leave the paper to soak for to long?

You don't have to give a mist coat. Your best bet is to apply a normal coat of emulsion and see how much of the join the paint will fill. There's nothing wrong with applying caulk in the corners and I would do this before coating up. If you do have to fill the gaps make sure you give where you are going to fill a couple of coats as you do not want to be sanding through the paint when sanding the filler down.

Personally though if it was me and I had bad joins I would be thinking of relining over the existing lining paper!

 

[TheDec]

One thing to bear in mind here, if you decide to use caulk some can often cause a waterbased paint system to Ciss/Separate. So you would be wise to first apply a thinned oil based undercoat over the caulk prior to the application of a waterbased system.

Dec

 

[AnimalGlu]

The gaps can appear for many different reasons . Did you fallow the instruction label? Did the paper have adequate drying conditions? Did you leave the paper to soak for to long?

You don't have to give a mist coat. Your best bet is to apply a normal coat of emulsion and see how much of the join the paint will fill. There's nothing wrong with applying caulk in the corners and I would do this before coating up. If you do have to fill the gaps make sure you give where you are going to fill a couple of coats as you do not want to be sanding through the paint when sanding the filler down.

Personally though if it was me and I had bad joins I would be thinking of relining over the existing lining paper!

Followed all the instructions, although I probably hung too soon towards the end of the job as first few drops seemed too long as the paste was starting to dry off and wouldn't stick the paper to the wall.
The strange thing is that I can't understand why all joins are different. Oh well!

Regarding the gap filling I had read that using a mist coat before filling allowed it to be smoothed out easily during application and is was then easier to sand the filler once dry?

Obviously then if I am applying filler I'll need to mist coat that as it will be thirsty, right?

 

[vibrobullit407]

You should always apply a mist to filler.

 

[TheDec]

Perhaps a little tip for the future, when hanging any type of wallpaper/covering it should be well pasted paying particular attention to the seams and then allowed to soak untill it becomes supple. If these two factors are not undertaken there will be a tendency for the paper to retract whilst drying and leave both gaps and open seams.

Dec

 

[AnimalGlu]

One thing to bear in mind here, if you decide to use caulk some can often cause a waterbased paint system to Ciss/Separate. So you would be wise to first apply a thinned oil based undercoat over the caulk prior to the application of a waterbased system.

Dec

Ah interesting. I hadn't thought this would be a problem as I have used this caulk and the Crown Matt Emulsion paints before. At the join of a painted plastered wall and Satinwood painted skirting board.

Is the reaction different when the caulk is applied on the paper, or is it just more likely that in the skirting board application, very little water based paint actually went on the caulk? I'll have to take a closer look at my previous work.

I have some Dulux High Gloss solvent based paint that I can use with some white spirit. Is the reason for the thinning to ease application in the corner? What ratio of paint to white spirit should I use?

Thanks.

 

[TheDec]

Firstly dont use gloss paint, it is borne only as a topcoat and not a prepartory system, the reaction with regard to the paint cissing has no bearing on what it is applied over.

You will need only to apply a slightly thinned oil based undercoat, around 5% spirit would be all you need, your only objective is to ease the application.

Dec

 

[AnimalGlu]

Firstly dont use gloss paint, it is borne only as a topcoat and not a prepartory system, the reaction with regard to the paint cissing has no bearing on what it is applied over.

You will need only to apply a slightly thinned oil based undercoat, around 5% spirit would be all you need, your only objective is to ease the application.

Dec

Ah sorry, I missed that you mentioned undercoat. I'll have to pick something up to do that then.

So I need to do the following:

• Fill the internal corner with caulk
  Add thinned undercoat to cover caulk
  Paint a coat on all walls
  Fill paper gaps with red devil (just ordered some)
  Sand filler (where needed)
  Mist coat the filled areas
  Roll with two coats of final colour

I'm guess that I'll possibly need an extra coat of emulsion over caulk/undercoat areas as I guess this undercoat will stand-out if too little paint is used?

 

[TheDec]

Well I think you are on the right track here, and no, there should not be a need to apply an extra coat of emulsion over the undercoated areas. just paint out the edges of your undercoat until your brush is almost void of paint, my advice would be to take it one step at a time and if you run into difficulty please dont hesitate to ask for more advice.

Dec

 

[AnimalGlu]

Excellent I'll get on this tonight as I found I did have some Dulux Trade Undercoat.

Many thanks.