Zinsser BIN stain blocker

[Kjh2023]

Had plastering done in 2021. Only got round to getting it repainted this week by a decorator on Monday.
He advised me to use zinsser bin stain blocker on 2 areas. I did this a couple of months ago.
One of the areas has covered and the other hasn’t.
I’ve spoken to zinsser this morning and they said I needed to cover the whole area with it. Not just spots ‍ I clearly didn’t read the tin and then repaint over the top. (Decorator left me a tin of my leftovers)
I’ve contacted the decorator and asked him if going over the whole area with the left over dulux (Matt) will cover it and he said it “should do”… I’m doubtful.

Any other advice?
Maybe I put too many layers of the shellac on. If I cover the whole wall with it again with zinsser, is the whole wall going to have a grey tint to it??

 

[opps]

You can't put "too many" coats of the BIN on.

I cannot be sure but it looks like you simply need more coats of emulsion. It looks like the BIN is "grinning" through the emulsion.

As a decorator, I often use BIN to cover historical water stains. I don't quite understand how your decorator determined that you needed BIN in the first place. I cannot look at raw plaster and tell which areas will have water stains that will leak through.

Nor do I understand why he asked you to BIN the area. You can emulsion over it after about half an hour. I for one, would not want a customer touching the walls after I have quoted.

A downside to products like BIN is that the emulsion applied over it will take longer to dry because the water can only evaporate outwards, none will soak in to the plaster. It may, or may not be the case that your decorator didn't leave sufficient time between the coats. I do not want to malign the guy, but.... why didn't he use any filler on the edges of the angle beads and in the other spots that required it?

 

[Kjh2023]

You can't put "too many" coats of the BIN on.

I cannot be sure but it looks like you simply need more coats of emulsion. It looks like the BIN is "grinning" through the emulsion.

As a decorator, I often use BIN to cover historical water stains. I don't quite understand how your decorator determined that you needed BIN in the first place. I cannot look at raw plaster and tell which areas will have water stains that will leak through.

Nor do I understand why he asked you to BIN the area. You can emulsion over it after about half an hour. I for one, would not want a customer touching the walls after I have quoted.

A downside to products like BIN is that the emulsion applied over it will take longer to dry because the water can only evaporate outwards, none will soak in to the plaster. It may, or may not be the case that your decorator didn't leave sufficient time between the coats. I do not want to malign the guy, but.... why didn't he use any filler on the edges of the angle beads and in the other spots that required it?

Thank you for replying before I took it upon myself to try and fix without any advice! @opps

Tbh, I was surprised he asked me to apply the product myself and I was a bit wary (first time home owner with very little diy experience) I don’t know why he didn’t want to do it himself.

When i spoke to zinsser, they asked me how many coats I put on. I may have got carried away and put a few layers on. They told me I only needed 2.

Can I paint over just shadow or do I need to do the whole wall? And how long do I leave in between coats?

Thank you

 

[opps]

Paint over the shadow to begin with and see how you get on. Dulux recommend 2-4 hours recoat over plaster. In your case, assuming that the house is warm and well ventilated, go for 4+ hours before recoating. Most, but not all, emulsions will let you spot paint. Darker colours (eg deep purple) are less forgiving, you end up seeing a halo effect around the edge of the newly applied paint.

You didn't apply too many coats of BIN, you applied more than you needed to. I normally only apply one coat over old water stains.

For future prosperity, when using BIN, buy a bottle of household ammonia (a common cleaning product). Decant some into a jar with a screw lid. When you finish using the brush, dip it into the ammonia, agitating the bristles as you do so. Then rinse the brush in water. No residue will be left in the basin/sink. Put the screw lid back on.

Before learning the ammonia tip, I used to use cheap throw away brushes. I now happily use expensive brushes with BIN.

 

[Kjh2023]

Paint over the shadow to begin with and see how you get on. Dulux recommend 2-4 hours recoat over plaster. In your case, assuming that the house is warm and well ventilated, go for 4+ hours before recoating. Most, but not all, emulsions will let you spot paint. Darker colours (eg deep purple) are less forgiving, you end up seeing a halo effect around the edge of the newly applied paint.

You didn't apply too many coats of BIN, you applied more than you needed to. I normally only apply one coat over old water stains.

For future prosperity, when using BIN, buy a bottle of household ammonia (a common cleaning product). Decant some into a jar with a screw lid. When you finish using the brush, dip it into the ammonia, agitating the bristles as you do so. Then rinse the brush in water. No residue will be left in the basin/sink. Put the screw lid back on.

Before learning the ammonia tip, I used to use cheap throw away brushes. I now happily use expensive brushes with BIN.

Great. Thank you so much @opps . I’ll have a bash today as there are some areas I need to touch up that I have noticed . Some of the painting looks a bit slap dash- however, it’s probably still a better job than what I would have done.

I don’t want to be pessimistic, but if painting over the area doesn’t work, when I was googling how to correct my f*ck up, there was suggestion to use dulux trade (I’m assuming over the whole area and not just the shadow) does this work?

 

[opps]

Great. Thank you so much @opps . I’ll have a bash today as there are some areas I need to touch up that I have noticed . Some of the painting looks a bit slap dash- however, it’s probably still a better job than what I would have done.

I don’t want to be pessimistic, but if painting over the area doesn’t work, when I was googling how to correct my f*ck up, there was suggestion to use dulux trade (I’m assuming over the whole area and not just the shadow) does this work?

As a professional, I opt for Dulux Trade. Primarily because if I need to apply a third coat, saving a tenner on the paint is outweighed by my labour costs. There have been a couple of occasions when I used the retail version, and to be fair, it was OK.

With respect, I do think that you are being overly pessimistic. With such a small area, I would be tempted to use a "rad roller" but I am aware that they do not "deliver" as much paint (to the surface) as a 9" roller would- increasing the likelihood of needing an additional coat. That is a clumsy way of saying that a full sized roller will provide a more even coverage. The downside being the increased cleaning time of the roller.

 

[Kjh2023]

As a professional, I opt for Dulux Trade. Primarily because if I need to apply a third coat, saving a tenner on the paint is outweighed by my labour costs. There have been a couple of occasions when I used the retail version, and to be fair, it was OK.

With respect, I do think that you are being overly pessimistic. With such a small area, I would be tempted to use a "rad roller" but I am aware that they do not "deliver" as much paint (to the surface) as a 9" roller would- increasing the likelihood of needing an additional coat. That is a clumsy way of saying that a full sized roller will provide a more even coverage. The downside being the increased cleaning time of the roller.

Well it worked. I painted over the top and it’s gone! Thank you!!

While I’m here, @opps I want to have a go at doing the spare room myself. It’s only 9’ x 10’ but I have no idea where to start. I’ve got a few questions. I could google these, but I get too overwhelmed! I’ve noticed while I’ve been at home over Xmas that the decorator hasn’t done a brilliant job of the ceiling, so I might as well have a go myself.

1) Do I need to clean the walls and ceiling beforehand? If so, what with? Sugar soap?
I’ve noticed soot from candles that I assume will need cleaning and I’ll brush away the cobwebs. I also have cracks where the paint has peeled off. It was decorated about 8 years ago by previous owners. Do I need to do anything to these? My decorator painted over the ones in my living room


2) what do I use to fill these holes with? I have a tub of to seal smooth finish filler but it’s probably dried out.
Then I’ll need to make sure it’s smooth enough to paint over - do I just sand it?


3) do I need to sand down with a fine grade the skirting boards before painting them? There’s only 1 coat of paint on them.
There’s also inbuilt cupboards- do I sand those or anything before painting them?


I want to change the handles on the cupboards, do I follow the same rule as filling in the holes in the walls? I would like smaller knobs, so will need to fill in the holes.

4) my windows are timber but have a sheen to them. They need cleaning as they’re filthy. These were new and haven’t been touched since i moved in. Do I need to sand them before painting? Is there a painting window panes???!


5) this might be an obvious question - but I don’t know! ‍ If I want to paint my ceiling the same colour as the windows and skirting, do I/can I use the same paint? Any advice of painting a ceiling?
if I want to paint the inbuilt cupboards the same colour as the wall, can I use the same paint for that?

6) recommendations for good, but not ridiculously expensive brushes and rollers and how to maintain them.

I think that’s everything!
Thank you

 

[opps]

1) Do I need to clean the walls and ceiling beforehand? If so, what with? Sugar soap?
I’ve noticed soot from candles that I assume will need cleaning and I’ll brush away the cobwebs. I also have cracks where the paint has peeled off. It was decorated about 8 years ago by previous owners. Do I need to do anything to these? My decorator painted over the ones in my living room

You can purchase liquid "sugar soap". You spray it on and wipe off the excess. To be honest, I think that regular household items will be ok though.

If the cracks have not come back, then you are probably ok.

 

[opps]

2) what do I use to fill these holes with? I have a tub of to seal smooth finish filler but it’s probably dried out.
Then I’ll need to make sure it’s smooth enough to paint over - do I just sand it?

You can use whichever filler you want. If you don't want statically charged dust that clings to everything, I would recommend Red Devil OneTime or Toupret RedLite. Both fillers dry slowly though. On the balance of probability you will need to apply two coats and sand with 120/180 grit sandpaper.

 

[opps]

want to change the handles on the cupboards, do I follow the same rule as filling in the holes in the walls? I would like smaller knobs, so will need to fill in the holes.

New knobs- the existing holes should be OK

 

[opps]

) my windows are timber but have a sheen to them. They need cleaning as they’re filthy. These were new and haven’t been touched since i moved in. Do I need to sand them before painting? Is there a painting window panes???!

Yes, sand them to provide a "key". I do not understand the latter part of your question.

 

[opps]

5) this might be an obvious question - but I don’t know! ‍ If I want to paint my ceiling the same colour as the windows and skirting, do I/can I use the same paint? Any advice of painting a ceiling?
if I want to paint the inbuilt cupboards the same colour as the wall, can I use the same paint for that?

I would recommend emulsion for walls and ceiling, and then eggshell for the woodwork. Emulsion is not very durable .

 

[opps]

6) recommendations for good, but not ridiculously expensive brushes and rollers and how to maintain them.

I use Purdy, but they are not cheap. I do not want to recommend alternatives. Rollers can be be wrapped in bin bags overnight, as can brushes- brushes however, if used in water based paints, I wash them out each day.

 

[opps]

Any further questions, please ask.

 

[Kjh2023]

Yes, sand them to provide a "key". I do not understand the latter part of your question.

Sorry, I meant to say “is there a technique to painting window panes”
Better to mask off each square or just paint and scrape off excess on the glass?