Painting an interior feature wall

[Shannon]

Good afternoon to you all,

I assume most people here would have some experience with painting the interior of their house, so hopefully I might be able to get some good ideas.

I am about to undertake the painting of an interior wall in a contrasting colour to the rest of the house to turn it into a feature. I need some advice on how to get a good finish on the wall.
We painted the house about 5 years ago in Magnolia (off white to you and me :) ) but the end result was - by my standards today - quite average. Where we used the roller it has left a sort of bubbled effect. Not really that noticable, but annoying. It has come from the rollers which were not the dearest in the store.

I guess my question after the long prelim is: has anyone used a roller that gives a nice finish, and secondly does anyone have any tips for technique to give a better finish.

Just thought of another. I know that preparation will be a big part of the finish. Can I used my ROS to give a smooth finish? Or should I hand sand?

Thanks in advance.

[Sir Stinkalot]

I think you will find that sanding with the ROS on platerboard is a no no .... there was some discussion on this a while ago and I think it turned out that it weakens the plasterboard.

[leeton]

i have done plenty of painting with cheap rollers and on the last job decided to get a fair dinkum roller, one of those pure wool and plenty of nap, cleans up well and they hold heaps of paint which gives good coverage, so my first suggestion is get a good roller. :)

[seriph1]

my recommendation would be to seek out someone at Porter's Paints in Sydney to take you though the correct prep and painting style for your feature wall - these are the folks who designed and produced the first (and best in my opinion) Aussie "special" finishes that the others are copying. They formulate their own paints and are fully experienced in how to get the best results. They have everything from metallics to suedes - sandstones and fully textured finishes.

http://www.porterspaints.com.au/

have fun

[JamesD]

I assume most people here would have some experience with painting the interior of their house, so hopefully I might be able to get some good ideas.

I am about to undertake the painting of an interior wall in a contrasting colour to the rest of the house to turn it into a feature. I need some advice on how to get a good finish on the wall.
We painted the house about 5 years ago in Magnolia (off white to you and me :) ) but the end result was - by my standards today - quite average. Where we used the roller it has left a sort of bubbled effect. Not really that noticable, but annoying. It has come from the rollers which were not the dearest in the store.

I guess my question after the long prelim is: has anyone used a roller that gives a nice finish, and secondly does anyone have any tips for technique to give a better finish. ((med nap c.10mm))
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I'm not a professional but I have done quite a few house interiors and have seemed to achieve a good result with a good finish.

As a general rule, the smoother the wall - the shorter the nap. Shorter naps give a smoother finish usually. With the shorter nap though, it holds less paint and therefore you need to visit the paint tray more often which can lead to overloading the roller with paint and making your visits to the wall feel more patchy. As you mentioned using a sander, I am guessing that your walls will be nice and smooth.

I personally like using a medium nap roller 8-10mm and find that this usually gives a good finish. I have yet to buy a top of the range roller but I am sure that they reflect a better all over job. On that note, I recommend you get yourself a top of the range brush with crushed/feathered tips. They cost about $25 which is a lot for a brush, but assuming you clean it well after every use it will last you a lifetime. ... and with no bristle loss every 20cm on the painted wall. (Nothing better than a big finger snail trail over the wall trying to get rid of a bristle!)

Don't wet the roller before you use it, don't overfill the paint tray. I usually put it on in a sort of 'W' or 'M' shape over about a square metre or so and then pull the roller straight through and in one direction. (Different directions can leave different ripples, etc.

Do all your edges and corners first (boring!!!) and then go as close as you can with the roller.

Oh yea, roller quality, I usually buy medium range rollers. I think the main issue with them is that they don't last for as long as the goodies, but assuming that you don't paint all the time, I reckon they will be ok. When they start to lose their body and go a bit matty, just whack on a newy.

Last little tip that you may know and assuming that you will be painting over a few days. Instead of washing the roller out in water at the end of each session/day, just wrap/roll it up in cling wrap and seal up the ends with some masking tape (kinda like a pressie). Assuming that it is air tight it the paint will stay wet on the roller just about indefinitely. I've got some sitting in the garage from about 8weeks ago still waiting to go again. (The less said about procrastination the better)

Anyhow, happy painting and also remember to keep the same pressure on the roller else it may cause bubbles!!

Cheers

[wombat47]

I used a roller once but I couldn't cope with the spattering (my obsessive-compulsive trait took over) so I stuck to brushes.

But "age does not weary them" does not apply to me. I tried a lambswool paint pad on a ceiling and now I'm hooked. Excellent finish, easy to use, takes no time to apply the paint, and cleans up quickly. And no spattering!!
Walls done with low sheen paint are as smooth as.

Anyway, it's becoming impossible to buy a decent paint brush. Even Oldfields ain't what they used to be.

[Trav]

you will always get a bubble effect using rollers - just like you will get stroke marks using a brush. As someone said, the shorter the nap the smoother the finish.

Unless you are using a very shiny or glossy paint, I don't think that the little bubbles are an issue at all. Most people paint walls with a standard matt paint I think, so you'd hardly notice it on a whole wall (unless you press your nose against it). If you go to gloss paints, you will notice all sorts of imperfections - every bump and divot. Stick with the matt paints and you can hide almost anything on the wall.

I used rota cota rollers when I did a feature wall - they last heaps longer and give a much better finish without the roller padding coming off and making unsightly lumps on the wall.

To get a really good finish you need two people - one to cut in around the edges with a brush and while it is still wet (which is why you need two people) roll over it to blend the two together. You should avoid the situation of painting over a dry edge as it will leave marks on the wall they you will be able to see in some light.

Trav

[Stylesy]

Am painting my house at the moment, and gained a lot of info from professional mates along the way. Good equipment seems to be the key (as with all things).

I've bought spirit brushes (Rota-Cota brand) which are worth their weight in gold. Clean-up is easy, no bristle loss yet after about 5 rooms worth of cutting in, and they keep their shape (not ending up with an afro on the end of the handle). :D

Agree with the short nap rollers for walls, but if you do clean-up at the end of the day, grab one of those roller-cleaners that hook onto your hose. They save so much time - of course, if you use oil-based paint this idea flies out the window and be prepared for many fun hours of rinsing and scrubbing with turps. :(

Try to get your roller as close to the edges as possible - this helps to eliminate "picture-framing", as does doing the job area by area to maintain a wet edge (blends the whole lot together). If you do see that orange peel look, it means your roller's loaded too much.

Always good to stand back at the end of the day and admire a freshly painted room - normally right before I swing the ladder the wrong way and smudge it :eek: Good luck with it.

Craig.

[wombat47]

JamesD ... if you store your gift-wrapped brushes and rollers in the freezer, you can procrastinate for months. Defrost in the sun while still wrapped.

[wombat47]

And if you have chosen a dark colour for your wall, undercoat with medium to darkish grey.

[Shannon]

Thanks for your insightful replies as always.

They have helped me to form a little bit of a plan. One more query though - What is nap?? It sounds like it is the length or density of the roller? Am I correct in my assumption or off the mark here?

I had already decided on a low sheen paint over gloss as it hides the imperfections in a wall - both natural and man made :D.
I think that my prep is going to be the key here, making sure all of those little dents etc are filled and sanded correctly, but I will definately take on board what you guys have said and look into a higher end brush/roller for the job. Nothing worse then spending hours and hours on prep for a job only to be let down in the final stages.

If it gets done soon and turns out OK, I will post it to show you what you helped create.

Cheers.

[scooter]

Yeah Shannon, the nap is what you might call "pile" on carpet, longer nap for low sheen paint to short nap for gloss.

Look after your paint stuff and it will last you years...........cheers........Sean, paint the town red