Painting newly plastered room

[FatimaLovesBread]

We've had our bedroom replastered over the last couple of days. Some areas of patching back to the brick and the ceiling and rest of the walls skimmed.

How long ideally do we need to leave the walls and ceiling before painting?

We've got a big 10l tub of Dulux Matt Pure Brilliant White as it was on offer and we thought we could re-do all the ceiling in the house at some point. Will this be ok to water down to put a couple of coats on as a mist coat and then the dulux colour on top?
Or do we need to take it back and get something more appropriate and then a separate white for the ceiling?

We do have some left over wickes white emulsion in the cellar I think.

Thanks for any help

Mist with a big brush and white matt as it is cheaper, and roll on at least one unthinned white coat to equalise the colour and texture. The white will also highlight to your eye any defects that you should fix before progressing.

Wait until all chocolate plaster has gone pale pink. Brush and sponge off any dust.

On a newly built wall that may be damp, use Dulux Trade Supermatt which is non-vinyl and porous so allows the wall to dry out without bubbling the paint, and wait a couple of months before using vinyl. If it is an old wall and skim it will dry in a couple of weeks if you open the windows.

Ceilings dry very fast.

We had our whole house skimmed and I just used the Supermatt PJ talks about everywhere diluted the first coat with 50% water and then carried on with normal strength supermatt, no issues anywhere at all. Our plasterer gave that advice too and he is nearing retirement so has done it before I presume .

We've bought this white Matt....
www.diy.com/departments/dulux-pure-brilliant-white-matt-emulsion-paint-10l/125844_BQ.prd
Will that be ok for a thinned down mist coat and then a normal coat before the coloured paint? Or should I take that back and buy the supermatt which is a bit more expensive?

The ceiling was skimmed and wall patch work were done Friday then the walls were skimmed yesterday. You can see the ceiling drying already.
Plasterer said the ceiling might only need 4 days but the walls would need at least a week I think.
We're currently sleeping in the living room with a toddler so a bit stressed and wanting it finished ASAP

Your first coat should be diluted white paint.

Unless stated otherwise, assume that ordinary emulsions will have vinyl (or if some fashionable brand, other resins or binders) so are not as suitable for new plaster that may still be drying out.

Supermatt is especially suitable for new damp plaster because it is porous. It is not so hard wearing, but it looks decent for a while and is a good surface to paint over with something else after the wall is fully dry.

I'm sure you're other tub of matt white will come in handy for ceilings. It is also useful as a mist or initial coat on dry surfaces. Matt is useful on imperfect surfaces because it does not show up the surface.

Because matt white is less expensive than colours, it is useful as mist and "undercoat" on walls as it equalises colour and absorbency before you use your final paint, which may be quite expensive, and may save you putting on extra coats for an even appearance.

that's not my apostrophe.

your ffs autocorrect

You surprise me PigletJohn, being a big fan of Screwfix I would assume you would promote Leyland Super Laytex paint

We used this, no watering down, first coat gives incredible coverage, second looks amazing. Specially formulated for newly plastered walls and ceilings.

The only negative was it comes in a 15 litre tub so I had to have some kind person carry it to my car and it smells weird when you open the tub. Apart from that, amazing.

linky here

I would leave it for a few weeks. ( to my cost). Plaster can take longer than you think to dry out and settle in. Drying out can leave imperfections and cracks which may need touching up before you paint.
Better to find those things before you paint.

Thank you all for your help so far. I've looked at so many paints I'm getting myself all confused and last night dreamt about matt and vinyl paint

I've looked on the B&Q listing for the paint we have and it does say matt rather than vinyl matt but who knows. After reading the reviews it looks like it has poor coverage and isn't especially brilliant white so I'm now contemplating returning it in favour of something else.

So, Pigletjohn and others, rather than me umming and ahhing over lots of options; which specific paint would you recommend for a. the mist coat for the whole room, b. the ceiling's final coats or c. something that will work for both.
This is the only room in the house where we'll be painting bare plaster so ideally I wouldn't want to spend a large amount on a big tub specifically for plaster that is going to sit in the cellar and not get used elsewhere.

Also, while I've got you here PigletJohn, do you have any recommendations for painting radiators? Should I go with a specific radiator paint by say Hammerite or would an oil-based metal primer followed by Dulux Satinwood work ok?

Thanks for bearing with me and my novice-ness

I would use Dulux Trade Supermatt for the new plaster. A 5 litre tub will do an average room. No doubt there are some other brands that are also good, but most other emulsions are not suitable for new damp plaster.

Hammerite is horrible. Satinwood is IMO best for radiators. They are steel and can rust so I prefer to give a coat of oil-based metal preservative primer first (if they are new, they come with a thin coat of white primer). If they are old, rub down, if necessary, with wire wool rather than sandpaper. It is much easier to clean, prepare and paint radiators if you take them off the wall first. Start with the back, then the edges. If you are going to take radiators off, you may as well give the system a chemical clean, drain down and take them all off, and fit new TRVs and lockshields while you're about it. If you are not fond of DIY plumbing a plumber will be useful (does not need to be a heating engineer as you do not need to touch the boiler) and do it in summer when heating is not needed.

If any of the radiator pipes come up through a concrete floor and are fixed in position it can be very difficult to change the valve to one that is not identical.

p.s.

Supermatt is OK for ceilings too. Its weakness is that it is not very durable, but I doubt you will often be scrubbing your ceiling or knocking furniture against it.

I used this which has great reviews. It's awful. It is so thick it's like painting with chalk. Massive brush marks everywhere and what feels like a sprained wrist after half an hour using it. The paint dries as you brush it on so you don't get more than 10 seconds to brush it out.

Only bonus is it doesn't splatter. I have done only half the room so far, maybe it works better with a roller.

I'd try whisking in some water. Try it in a mixing jug. Start with 5% or 10%.

If you are painting on new plaster, it sucks the moisture out of your brush, so apply a water-thinned mist coat or two first. The mist coat should disappear as it soaks in. you will know you have applied enough to kill the suction when it no longer sucks your brush dry.

It's supposed to be formulated to go straight onto the plaster though, which is what is confusing me...I thought it would be as you say, thinned down, but it is much thicker than ordinary paint.

Bizarre and a waste of money as well! It's in a huge tub so I don't think I can do the whole adding water thing tbh, it will take a huge amount of mixing and will probably go everywhere.

yes, so ladle some into a kitchen jug or an ice-cream tub to mix it.

Even an old paint tub, if you have one (I keep the 5-litre pails as they make useful buckets)

Thank you, I may give it a try.

"Hammerite is horrible"

Just jumping on to second this. Currently painting a bunch of metal with the white Hammerite rust paint (not the red special metals primer, which is a delight) and want to drive out to the Hammerite factory and blow it up.

long ago I read an AA report on Hammerite paint for rusty metal.

The rust continued to grow and spread under the horrible paint.

It is hard and glossy, and very difficult to remove or to paint over.

I'll be doing this when the plasterer finally starts the job. Most people have told me to water down cheap emulsion .

What exactly do you mea by mist. Thanks

a mist coat is a thin coat of watered-down emulsion paint, which soaks into the plaster instead of lying on the surface.

I will guess the name is because you can see through it and it just leaves a misty trace on the wall. It does not look like a coat of paint.

Thanks. Can i ask, when you apply the mist coat do you need to apply it with precision, ie cutting in etc like whe you are painting the final coat?

you have to cover the entire surface. It does not matter if some parts are misted twice.

You use a large brush, not a roller and yes, you must go right up to edges. Wipe off any that gets on woodwork before it dries.

Thanks piglet.

Thanks for all the advice. I have made the trip to B&Q and returned the 10l tub of rubbish dulux paint today, with the help of a trolley as I'm not the strongest

I have now purchased a 10litre tub of the DuluxTrade Super Matt, it was only £2 more than the 5l tin ready for misting.

The lovely weather has meant that the plaster is drying nicely. The majority of the room is now a light pink shade apart from the edges and the bottoms where old skirting meant it was plastered back to brick.