Welcome to the third edition of ask a decorator. As our blog is growing in members every day, we’re getting plenty of questions from curious professionals and DIYers alike. This is the place where we take your questions about painting and decorating and do our best to answer them. Apologies if we didn’t get around to answering your question this time, like out for Edition Four.
I’m looking for an extremely hard wearing masonry paint for a building on the south coast of Devon. The building is 80ft from the beach with no protection from the elements. What would you recommend?
Leyland Trugard is one of the best in the business when it comes to those sort of environments. You can go for budget options like Pliolite but when it comes to your specific location, my advice would be to go for the best.
I’ve got a newly plastered wall (pictured attached) and there’s what looks like stretch marks on the plaster. Will it be OK to paint next week?
From what I could see from the photo in your email it looks like the issue is to do with the PVA. The plasterer has probably used the same brush to finish as what they’ve used to PVA the wall. When it’s towelled up it slightly separates on the surface hence the stretch marks. Give it a good rub down and it should be fine to mist coat.
Do you have any experience with TouPret TX110 filler? It says it’ll be paintable in 3 hours. I’ve got a tiny patch in a ceiling I need to sort and want it done in the 1 day without 2 visits as its over an hour away from home.
That is all I use currently, it enables me to fill, smooth and prime in the same shift at the very least… brilliant gear! And it can dry faster than that in the right conditions, or slower in the wrong conditions. So always have a fan heater handy if you are working in cold conditions.
How durable is Tikkurilla AR2?
It’s not really comparable with something like Johnstone’s Perfect Matt so I wouldn’t bother using it on walls. It’s really great for ceilings though and it’s usually a decent price.
Is there a clear coat finish for radiators?
Smith and Rodger do a hard topcoat which takes to most paint.
What’s Albany’s Supercover like?
It’s not as good as MacPherson’s Eclipse but it does cover really well. I just find that it dries a little bit too quickly.
I’ve got a few patches of masonry paint that’s peeling off the front of my house. What prep work should I do before attempting to repaint it?
The best thing you can do is scrape as much of the peeling paint off as possible, use a power washer to clean the rest of the mess off, apply a stabilising primer and then finish with two coats of good quality masonry paint.
I’m painting skirting boards and need a good tape to hold down my new carpet. What would you suggest using?
Standard 2″ Pro Gold is good stuff. Just make sure to go along with your filling knife and press it right down between the skirts and carpet. If you need to double up to be sure then do so.
What’s the WRX Trade Spray Paint like?
I used the black matt on my van handles and bumpers. It dries super fast and in my opinion is better than Zinsser Allcoat which is what I used to use to hide any splashes etc.
What does flashing paint mean?
Basically, some paints have a bit of sheen to them and when light hits the paint at certain angles, you get ‘flashing’. Flashing is especially annoying if you’ve bought a flat paint as flat paints should (but not always) avoid flashing. In our experience you’ll sometimes get flashing from cheaper brands such as Wilko’s among others.
I’m looking for a spray gun for interior doors and trims – any recommendations?
If you need it for regular work like this, I’d go with a paint sprayer that is both durable and reliable such as the Graco GX21FF.
Is Bedec MSP any good please?
It’ll do a good job but if painting on wood I’d prime the wood first before applying the MSP. Oh, and get your brushes cleaned out ASAP after you’ve painted as Bedec MSP is known to be a bit of a nightmare to clean off.
What’s the best paint system for painting bare soffits and fascias?
Use a primer first, good undercoat and then 1 or 2 coats of exterior gloss. Simple as that!
What’s the best paint to use on a metal corrugated roof?
I’m a big fan of Rust-Oleum Peganox for metal corrugated roofs. I used loads of it on a commercial job a couple years ago – it still looks bang on. Nice to work with too and is competitively priced.