When a new wall is built or a room is replastered, it can be hard for a homeowner to paint the new plaster. It’s important to remember that you’re not painting a normal wall when you paint new plaster. There are more steps to take and more things you need to do to get ready for the task.
This post will tell you everything you need to know about painting a newly plastered wall.
Materials You’ll Need
You can’t paint a wall that has just been plastered right away. To get a coloured finish on plaster, you have to take some steps to seal it. Before you start the job, you need to get ready with the following:
- Tape for decorating or tape for covering up
- Dust sheets
- The mist coat’s emulsion
- Use a brush or roller to apply topcoat paint.
- Water
Simple Steps to Take
Now that you know what materials you need, let’s talk about how to paint. Here are some easy steps you can take to paint a wall that has just been plastered.
1. Let the new plaster dry for a while.
After getting the materials, the new plaster needs to dry. Give it a week to dry out fully. That should be long enough for all the damp spots to go away.
You can open a window or use a heater to help the plaster dry faster. When the plaster is dry, it should be light and have no dark spots. It should also look and be the same colour all the way through.
You shouldn’t put paint on wet plaster because it might not stick well. Putting emulsion on wet plaster can be hard because the emulsion might not stick well and make your wall peel off. On the other hand, when you put paint on dry plaster, it dries very quickly.
If you paint on dried plaster, you’ll get sloppy brush strokes and an uneven finish, which is something you want to avoid. So, you have to put on a mist coat. This step can get very messy, so put down dust sheets and wrap any fixtures and fittings in tape to protect them.
2. Mix the mist coat paint or emulsion that has been watered down.
A mist coat is used as a base coat. When you mix three parts emulsion with one part water, you get this coat. Note that the ratios can be different, so check the paint can for the instructions from the manufacturer. When the water doesn’t settle on the surface of the emulsion, the mist coat is completely mixed.
The mist coat gives the wall something to soak up, so the topcoat should stick to it. You can use a water-based primer instead of making a mist coat to avoid the mess. This will help you get a nice, even finish with lots of colours.
You can use a different paint for the final topcoat than the one you’ve chosen. But if you want a smooth finish, you should use a paint colour that is similar to the original.
3. Paint the mist coat on and wait for it to dry.
There are two ways to put on the mist coat. You can use a roller, which is much faster and will cover the wall better. But it will be a big mess because the rollers make it easy for the mist coat to get everywhere.
You can use a paintbrush instead. The problem with this method is that it takes a lot longer. But then you won’t have to deal with as many drips as when you use a roller, so it’s a better choice if you don’t want to make a huge mess.
Work in smooth, upward strokes with a paintbrush until the whole wall is covered. Since the mist coat is very thin, you should paint over any drips or streaks you see. This will keep them from drying out and ruining the finish you’ve worked so hard on.
Let the mist coat dry for a full day. The topcoat can then be put on.
4. Paint the top coat on your wall.
Your mist coat is now dry. This means you can now decorate like you normally would. You don’t need to sand down the wall because you’ve already done all the prep work. We didn’t put sandpaper on the list of things to get ready because of this.
Go ahead and put on the final coat. Make sure to use a V-shaped motion to get an even coat. You might need more than one coat to get the results you want.
Want to Finish Like a Professional?
MTB Plastering in Shrewsbury is the place to go if you’d rather not mess up your freshly plastered walls by painting them yourself. We’ve been plastering for a long time, so we can do any job quickly. Don’t wait to get in touch with us today.