So, you’re painting new plaster and want to achieve a professional finish. At this point, you must be wondering how and when to apply mist coat paint. Perhaps you’re looking for the best paint for new plaster?
Painting new plaster is a tough challenge that many homeowners face when a new wall has been built or a room has been re-plastered. When painting new plaster, it’s important to remember that you’re not painting an ordinary wall. The task requires more preparation and patience, and there are extra steps you need to take.
Find out everything you need to know about painting a freshly plastered wall in this post.
Materials You’ll Need
You can’t start painting a newly plastered wall right away. You have to take some steps to seal the plaster to get a colourful finish. Before you get to the task, you have to prepare the following materials first:
Decorator's tape or masking tape
Dust sheets
Emulsion for the mist coat
Paintbrush or roller
Topcoat paint
Water
Easy Steps to Follow
Now that you know what materials to prepare, let’s get to the actual painting process. Below are easy steps you can follow to paint your freshly plastered wall.
1. Leave the new plaster to dry
After gathering the materials, you have to leave the new plaster to dry. Give it a week to completely dry out. That should be enough time for all damp patches to disappear.
For the plaster to dry quicker, open a window or use a heater. Once completely dry, the plaster should be light with no dark spots. It should also have a consistent colour and appearance throughout.
The reason that you don’t apply paint to wet plaster is to avoid adhesion problems. Applying emulsion to wet plaster can be tricky as the emulsion may not bond properly and peel off your wall. On the other hand, the paint dries very fast when you apply it on dried plaster.
You will get irregular brush strokes and an uneven finish when painting on dried plaster, which is something you want to avoid. That is why you need to apply a mist coat. This step can be very messy, so put down dust sheets and use tape to protect any fixtures and fittings.
2. Mix the mist coat paint or watered-down emulsion
A mist coat acts as a primer. This coat is made by mixing three parts emulsion with one part water. Note that ratios can vary, so check the paint tin for the manufacturer’s instructions. When the water is not settling on the surface of the emulsion, the mist coat will be completely mixed together.
The topcoat should stick as the extra moisture from the mist coat gives the wall something to absorb. To save you from the mess of making a mist coat, you can opt to use a water-based primer instead. This will help you get an even and colourful finish.
You can use a different paint from what you’ve chosen for the final topcoat. But if you want an even finish, you should use a similar paint colour.
3. Apply the mist coat paint and let it dry
You can apply the mist coat in two different ways. You can use a roller as this will cover the wall much quicker. However, it will be very messy because the rollers can splatter the mist coat very easily.
You can opt to use a paintbrush. The downside to this method is that it will take much longer. But then, you won’t have as many drips to deal with as when you’re using a roller, so it’s a better option if you want to avoid a huge mess.
When using a paintbrush, work in smooth upward motions until the entire wall is covered. As the mist coat is very runny, you want to paint over any spot drips or streaks you see. This will prevent them from drying and ruining your perfect finish.
Leave the mist coat to dry for 24 hours. You can then apply the topcoat.
4. Paint your wall with the topcoat
So, your mist coat has dried. This means that you can now decorate normally. As you’ve already done all the prep, you don’t need to sand down the wall. This is why we didn’t include sandpaper in the above list of materials to prepare.
You can go ahead and apply the topcoat. Make sure to apply it in a V motion for even coverage. You may need to apply more than one coat to get your desired results.
Want to Get a Professional Finish?
If you would rather let professional plasterers handle the messy job of painting your newly plastered walls, turn to Paul Atkins Plastering. Paul has over 20 years of experience, plastering & Skimming walls in Watford & Rickmansworth. Paul can get any plastering job done in no time.
Contact Paul today for Plasterers in Watford, Plasterers in Rickmansworth, Skimming in Watford, Skimming in Rickmansworth, Pebble dashing in Watford, Pebble dashing in Rickmansworth or Coving in Watford and Coving in Rickmansworth