My landlord’s ‘handy’ man has put so much water in the paint he used for the hallway and landing that if you try and wipe it down, the ‘paint’ comes off on the cloth.

I tried painting over it but stupidly followed the instructions on the tin which said don’t dilute, which means you can clearly see where I’ve painted over – there’s an awful lot more paint on those bits.

So I’ve got the brushes and the roller and will buy some paint this weekend so I can redo the whole job myself. What I lack is any idea of what I’m doing…

So any good online sources I can go to for advice? Or any wise words from STW?

e.g. do I just pour paint into the roller tray and get on with it, using brushes for the edges, do I need dust sheets, do I need masking tape around the edges etc etc,

Id stick to riding bikes 🙂

You sound like your out of your depth with paint and rollers.

Painting and decorating virgin

first find a virgin?

There’s a good B&Q book that gives a guide to DIY but this wil tell you about everything, not just painting.

There’s plenty of online stuff if you google something like “How to repaint a room”

Theoretically yes, you pour paint into the tray and get painting. That’s about it.
I use a roller with a brush to do the edges and I do the edges first and then fill in with the roller. A couple of thinner coats is better than putting on one blobby thick coat.

You can get pads instead of rollers that my Wife prefers to use, but I find they don’t give as even a finish as a decent roller.

Do you need dust sheets…..what are the floors like? Presumably not bare floorboards you are putting a new carpet on? So, I would get some dust sheets or cheaper plastic sheeting from B&Q or somewhere. Easier to prevent getting paint everywhere than clean it off carpet!

Do you need to masking tape the edges? Depends. It is harder than it looks to get a nice even edge, but if you are just painting white against white then it might not matter. Do you have a steady hand and be able to take your time or are you trying to get it done quick. Masking tape is an easy way to get a neat edge, but you still need to be careful as it can pull off the paint underneath. Frog tape works very well, but then cheap masking tape is also pretty good. Avoid the blue Diall stuff from B&Q. It is far too sticky.

How fresh is the paint on the walls? If it’s been on there a while, you should probably wash the walls first with a sugar soap solution, but from the sounds of it, this will take all the existing paint off. But, it will remove any dirt/grease and help the new paint stick to the surface better.

Buy paint from a trade supplier, it’ll be about the same price as the DIY places, but miles better in terms of coverage. I use leyland trade counter down the road, and cos they know me now, I get trade price too.

http://www.dulux.co.uk/help-advice/

There are some good videos on there.

My landlord’s ‘handy’ man has put so much water in the paint he used for the hallway and landing that if you try and wipe it down, the ‘paint’ comes off on the cloth.

Don’t understand this. The water evapourates, is the paint actually dry? Cheap paint will come off if you do this. If you want paint you can wipe down then you need to get better paint. Dulux Endurance/Diamond is very good – we have it everywhere* but it has been useful in the hall and kitchen.

If you buy quality paint from the likes of Crown/Leyland/Dulux etc. then you will get good results. If you buy the cheapest you can find from a DIY shed, you will get less good results. Some own brand stuff is ok from what I hear.

*work for the parent company that owns the dulux brand so get a massive discount and would never have reason to use anything else. Other paints are available that are probably “nearly” as good 😉

Don’t understand this. The water evapourates, is the paint actually dry? Cheap paint will come off if you do this. If you want paint you can wipe down then you need to get better paint.

Being a painting virgin, I’m not sure what he’s done exactly. It’s Dulux paint – and if you wipe it with a damp cloth it just comes off on the cloth and you take paint off the wall. When I painted over the marks with undiluted paint (with a brush rather than a roller) there was way more paint on those areas than over the rest of the wall. So it seems that somehow he’s spread it much more thinly. Maybe it was just a single coat rather than several.
It basically means I’m destined to have to repaint – the smallest contact with the wall seems to leave a mark, which then can’t be wiped clean

[video]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7w-hcOd6GA[/video]

chances are what was on the wall previously was a contract matt which will wash off. What you need is a vinyl matt of decent quality. Dont buy dulux vinyl matt because thats shit now and expensive (however i see they have changed it recently) dulux endurance is silly expensive but good.
As said above ^^ go to your local jonstones/leyland store and buy leyland vinyl matt at a reasonable price and use that

edit: dulux diamond is better than endurance but again overpriced

I have always used dulux soft sheen (you can now only get it mixed). Better than the endurance Matt I used in our bedroom a few years back. I have managed to touch up the soft sheen paint years later and it would always dry up the same colour and finish (and we use deep colours). I wasn’t so lucky with the endurance Matt, dries up slightly shiny when touching up bits later, so you can see it. Planning to repaint the bedroom in soft sheen when I get a chance….

Don’t use masking tape, not worth the hassle. Steady hand and nice round paintbrush for cutting in (trade centre do good ones). Decent short pile roller if you have flat walls, and use the roller SLOWLY.

You may need quite a few coats depending on the colour. Once changed the colour of the lounge from red to a slightly darker red and it needed 4 coats!! But then I am fussy.

Painting virgin, like this?