Real Estate Investor · Cabot, AR · Member since 2014 · 70 posts · 38 votes
I spent many years as an industrial/architectural paint sales rep. I feel like I could answer and have probably dealt with most issues you encounter so please feel free to shoot me a message if I can ever help you out!
@Tyler Hubarth Generally speaking.....if I spray it, I back roll it. There are a few situations that could change that....new sheet rock, textured or not textured, etc. I am a bit of a perfectionist and I've come across some painters that refuse to back roll primer but what if you have a spray tip that is leaving lines? What if the drywall had poor prep and finishing?
Thanks for the time you take answering the questions everyone has for you...
I have one for you.... My contractor is hanging all new sheet rock in a home I just purchased... Walls and ceilings.... The Sheet rock is to be completely paint ready.......
I am going to do all the painting myself to save some $....
@Tonya Booher...Sorry for the late response! So when you say ready for paint does that mean the sheetrock finishers are going to prime the walls and have them ready for the top coat? If not....I would definitely advise or at minimum look into what it would cost to have the sheetrock finishers put a primer coat on everything for you. The reason is because primer is $8 or less per gallon and is extremely easy to apply. I have seen many...many....many times where a sheetrock professional will do everything and then let the homeowner handle the primer and painting, generally the sheetrockers will do a sub-par job and leave you with some rough spots and a piss poor sanding job. I would check into it. Otherwise, yes you will definitely need to apply primer to everything. It is cheap and will seal the walls while also offering a nice foundations to apply your top coat. I am a huge fan of tinting primer, it doesn't cost any more to do it and any paint store can tint a primer to 50% of your top coat. It will make your finished product look much better and seems to make the job a bit easier.
Hello Dan. Thanks for all this info. I have a question for you. If a weathered exterior has a lot of old paint- probably including oil based from the 1950's or earlier, and it's been scraped... Does one have to use an oil based primer and paint or can one use some other primer in order to then paint latex over it.
@Lynn Harrison Definitely no need to stick to oil based paints on the exterior. This was very common during that era because the oil based exterior paints were much better than any other option available. I would recommend using a good quality latex primer and a great quality top coat. You can generally negotiate a special rate for purchasing all of the paint for your home. For example, I have seen people get Manor Hall (PPG) or Aura (ben Moore) for like $28-$32 per gallon which is a heck of a deal because it also comes with a warranty for a number of years. I hope this helps!
I painted a house with Behr Elastomeric paint. No loved it! Filled in all the cracks in the stucco. It's in Arizona. How does elastomeric paint hold up over the years? What are your thoughts on it? Thanks.
@Daniel Lee I love elastomeric paints.....I've actually never painted an entire house with elastomeric mostly because it's not very common in the Delta region. Oddly enough anyone that has used Restore X or any other deck coating, has also used elastomeric paints. The are super heavy duty, nearly last a lifetime, but they can be a paint in the butt to paint with if your not familiar with using them. You definitely won't have many issues with your paint job, it's mildew resistant.....releases moisture...can withstand high heat and uv protection. Great choice! If you don't mind me asking, what did it run you per gallon? Just curious of the pricing for it in Arizona.
Thanks for answering all these questions! What do you like to use in a bathroom? I live in Houston, and it's already very humid, and I find renters aren't great about using exhaust fans during their hot showers, so sometimes the paint is nearly peeling from the wall. And, can I just lightly sand the walls, prime and repaint, or do I need to do something special?
Im going to list a few options for you just baised off your discription....all will work well though. No matter the option you will need to get all of the loose paint off the wall...clean it with a little mildew killer (not totally necessary but I would)...then use a nice latex primer to seal the walls before you apply the top coat.
Option #1) use an eggshell single state interior epoxy. This is a new water based....super strong....hybrid paint. I have seen it used a lot in locker rooms, kitchens, and bathrooms. It will got you a little more per gallon but definitely some awesome stuff.
Option #2) Use a high quality latex paint with mildew blocker. Manor Hall (Ppg)...Emerald (sherwin Williams)...Aura (Ben Moore)...all of these higher quality paint have more titanium dioxide for a stronger coat and mildew blocking additive.
I hope this information helps you out! It does cost a little more in the bathrooms to get a lasting finish but I promise you it's worth it. I've seen so many bathrooms with cheap quality eggshell that was used in the entire house, it offer no scrubbing exposure and will peel at the drop of a hat.
@Raissa Evans It sounds to me like you have more of a ventilation issue than a paint issue. You might think about having the fan wired to the same switch as the light. Tenants might not turn on the fan during showers, but I doubt they are showering in the dark! Another option is to install a humidity switch on the fan, like this http://brightcove.vo.llnwd.net/e1/uds/pd/183461380....
Very good point @David Handel. Much easier to replace fans and such than to pull Sheetrock off the walls because of mold damage or at minimum have to deal with paint issues in the future.
@Jack Johnson Great to hear from a fellow Arkansan! I do have a good amount of experience with Graco sprayers and have used a good majority of the models available. I'm not a huge fan of the "Magnum" series the Lowes offers....its really just a Wagner power painter and seem cheaply made. Generally you can get a better price from Sherwin Williams or Pittsburgh Paints on a spray rig because they deal directly with the Graco representative. So....if you are planning to do the all of the painting, I would say that you could easily justify purchasing a Graco 390 model, They say its the "light duty" but I promise ya it will last a good amount of time if you keep it clean! Since you're in Arkansas I might be able to have the PPG rep that I'm good pals with get you a price on 390 model...if ya would like for me to just shoot me a private message.
As far as the smoke stains..,the TSP should get the job done. I have also used a strong mix of vinegar and water to get rid of smoke stains in the past. Are you planning to use Kiltz primer on the walls/ceiling that had bad smoke stains? I would to avoid any future headaches.
We have an old house (1914) with cedar siding and were having delamination problems. For the last paint job last summer we tried covering the whole side with Sherwin Williams Peel-Bonding primer or Zinsser Peel-Stop primer. So far it's looking great- a year later! Previously when we used other primers, we'd have delamination starting already within a year. Do you have experience with these products on old peeling houses?
@Dan Ward what is the best paint to use for Hardi plank siding? I have a house with siding repairs, so it's about 50/50 old Masonite and Hardi. The Hardi plank is the primed yellow stuff and the manufacturer says to use 100% acrylic paint. I assume a latex-based paint with 100% acrylic additives is what they mean... like a Valspar Storm Coat product? Just thought I'd run it by an expert rather than buy the wrong stuff.
@Tanya F. Sorry for the late response! I didn't notice a notification for the post. I have seen a few situations in the past where Zinsser Peel-Stop was used and it was in extremely rough bad surface situations so I'd say you should be fine. It really comes down to the preparation before it was applied....was the cedar prepped, excess paint removed, etc. If you did a great prep job and a great primer job, the finished product should last for years to come. If you could turn back time on the cedar, it would have been best to use a solid color stain on the cedar trim due to the natural tendency for bleeds and tannins with the cedar wood. But either way! I'd say you should be safe :)
@Chris Martin I would recommend possibly priming the "factory" primed hardieplanks. Not sure how much you have to do but in my past work, the factory primered planks absorbed a ton of paint! You could apply a construction quality latex primer then two top coats of a high quality exterior latex (Duration, Manor Hall, Sun Proof) and it will look great! I have never used Valspar Storm coat nor many other Valspar products so I can't give a good input on that product. I have never found a Valspar product that was better than something Sherwim Williams or PPG offered at a much better price it seemed but the spec sheets look good on the Storm Coat. Hope this helps!
I got a question. Why is Benjamin Moore, standard white not the same as Behr ? I just painted my wall with some older Benjamin Moore white with some new Behr and its a BIG difference. Its not as flat looking as the Benjamin Moore and its a lot whiter. I painted other walls with what I had left of the BM and its the same color still, so is not like the walls are dirty or got darker... Sucks that I would have to go over the entire wall instead of just half...
@Jack Johnson I've gotten really good at removing the popcorn with zero damage while doing so. I generally try to take it off, prime then paint. Mostly because if you spray you'll need to back roll with a thick nap to even it out....and depending on the age and/or condition you stand a good chance for a chunk of the popcorn to fall off. Then after a few hours and cans of popcorn ceiling patch....you'll wish you just removed it haha!
@Martin S. You could get Promar 400 base white from Sherwin Williams and then Promar 200 base white and they will more than likely be a little different also. It generally has to do with the amount of titanium dioxide, how well it was mixed, the amount of colorant each can hold, etc. You will definitely have to have the final topcoat on the entire wall be from just one brand/product line.