How am I so bad at painting?!?!

[ilovefood643]

Could cry I’m so frustrated.

Newly plasterer wall. Did three coats of bare plaster white paint. Had considered leaving it just white hence the three coats, but decided it looked a bit too bare. Have done two coats of Dulux “once” in denim drift. Coverage is great if you look face on but look at an angle with light on it looks awful!

What am I doing wrong? Wish I had the money for a decorator as I’ve got a few rooms left to do still!

How long did you leave the plaster to dry before painting? It does need a while to go off

When was it plastered?

I got banned from painting our house as I made such a pigs ear of it. It was the same a few years later when we were painting DH's work premises.

I am terrible at art and not remotely practical or creative so perhaps that's why!

Likely due to it being newly plastered

Plaster was left 4 weeks, completely dry

Most of the skill in painting comes down to the prep work.
how long beteeen fresh plaster and painting? It can take several weeks to truly dry out, otherwise it’s just a sponge soaking up whatever you lay in it.

By 'bare plaster white paint' do you mean a mist coat?

Bare plaster paint like this Paint
great reviews so don’t think I can blame that unfortunately!

How long was it between the white coats and the coloured paint? I find modern emulsions say you can add 2nd coats a bit too soon, so the first layer hasn’t fully dried.

also, if left for more than a week, then perhaps they needed a sugar soap wash in between to have a good dust free surface layer.

Did you put a coat of pva & water on to seal the plaster before painting?

New plaster is really absorbent & that just looks like the first coats have absorbed unevenly into the plaster when you painted them on?

No, I didn’t need do the PVA coat. Didn’t think I needed to because of the special paint I used!

So, how would you recommend fixing it? I don’t think another coat would help because it didn’t look any different from 1 coat to 2

It is a while since I last painted walls, but Dulux Once emulsion seems to get a lot of bad reviews, with comments that it is hard to apply and gives such a patchy finish that two coats are almost always needed. So I suspect you can blame the paint - possibly as well as the thirsty plaster!

It will be the Once, my uncle is a decorator and told us not to get it. Dulux Matt Emulsion is what you should use.

I can’t paint , in fact my painting was so bad that I was even banned from painting the interiors of our stables , fortunately I have a husband who not only is an excellent painter but is also a perfectionist who would rather be left to do all the DIY .

Once is rubbish.

It's the dulux once it's a rubbish paint

Agree with previous posters - dulux Once is rubbish in my experience.

My adult dd has just had this problem and she has decorated rooms before. She followed the plasterers advice and paint instructions. I wonder if it is new paint composition with them trying to make it more eco friendly. She really worked hard on it and is so furious that all her effort looks so poor.

It's the Once.

The clue is in the name - you buy it Once, but head back to B&Q a few days later to buy something else to paint over it.🤦‍♀️

The finish is awful - it's not your fault - but the colour looks good!

It's the dulux once, it never ever needs only once to paint it.
Try something else in the paint department.
FWIW I'm even banned from painting anything outside like the shed, garage, fence. I mean how much damage can I do outside? Apparently too much damage to the grass or something.

I have a different take on this for you OP. I had similar issues. On doing more research I learnt that dark colour paint pigment is suspended in a clear base, whereas pastel pigments are suspended in a pastel base. It's much harder to get a good finish with darker colours. You need to continually keep stirring the paint and constantly keep a wet leading-edge as you roller it on. Also, the light source can make a difference. F&B gave me a full refund as they said it wasn't possible to get a good finish in one of my rooms due to the orientation of the window & wall. You don't hear them say that often.

Also your coverage looks like you might have over-loaded the brush/roller

Any one coat paint is dreadful....thin it down and do it again....sorry !!

Can I ask what colour F&B you were using? I am considering painting a room with a darkish F&B...

Can I ask who plastered it?
And echo everyone else re Dulux Once, run a mile.