How to get the best finish on newly-skimmed walls

[glitch]

I'm currently in the process of having every wall and ceiling in my house skimmed and want to know how to get the best finish possible throughout. A lot of money is being thrown at this place and I do not want to scrimp on the bits you can actually see!

Having read a few threads on here, I am leaning towards using No Nonsense Bare Plaster Paint instead of a mist coat, as a few people have mentioned that for a little extra cost it can be a significant saving in terms of time and mess.

Any reason not to use that?

And regardless of what I use to go over the fresh plaster, what equipment do I need to do it? I have always borrowed whatever was in my old man's garage but it's high time I got new stuff.

Final question for now... I have discovered a previously hidden single socket in a wall that I could use (electric already running to it) but it is crazily deep in the wall... having pulled it out, I need to fill some of that hole in order to mount a backbox at a usable depth.

What should I use to fill said hole, that will allow me to screw a backbox into it? Something like this?

 

[glitch]

My understanding is the back box is sunk too deep in the wall, so he's looking to fill it out to make the backbox flush with wall.

So mortar is best here, and will give a good fixing point. I would put mortar in and use the backbox as a mould to ensure a flush fit, pushing it into the mortar and letting it dry.

Bang on.

Would this be sufficient? Saves me a drive to go to to B&Q for this.

Don't forget decorators caulk for the corners and edges. It takes a coat of paint so goes on before painting. You don't need any fancy applicator to smooth it down, I've found my thumb the perfect size to run along a corner to get it just right. Just buy one of these and a sealant gun

https://www.screwfix.com/c/sealants-adhesives/decorators-caulk/cat850098

Is that just used for filling gaps between sills, frames, etc? Wasn't sure what you meant by corners and edges.

 

[glitch]

Supermatt looks like it is a pretty decent option and a tad cheaper than the Bare Plaster stuff. At £38 for 10l that works out a little under £13 for 10l once thinned.

@paintguy - you did 3:1 on your walls and ceilings and then another 5:1 on the ceilings? When you say 'they're done' do you mean that is it, no more paint going on at all?

 

[glitch]

Use a heavy roller for the initial coat, use medium pile for 2nd/3rd coats. You could finish with a short pile, but I don't notice much different on white.

Buy a set of hamilton rollers from Screwfix.

Hamilton stuff seems a bugger to get hold of - anywhere I should be looking, outside of places like Screwfix, etc?

 

[glitch]

Jesus wept... my maths was not on point earlier!

 

[glitch]

After some deliberation, I've gone with Jonmat - was bloody hard to track down at a decent price, but spoken of highly by those places who used to sell it before Johnson's hiked the price up. Feels a good balance of price vs. performance.

Equipment is Hamilton medium roller sleeves, Wooster frame and pole, still deciding on a Hamilton or Purdy brushes and also looking for a small roller for the reveals and tricky places.

 

[glitch]

So... I'm having a few problems. I'm kind of in painting mode for a week or so, while I await other work to be done, but I am finding the caulk that I applied to the join between the ceilings and the walls to be a right bugger.

I did the thing, applied it sparingly, used a wet finger to smooth and allowed to dry. All looks rather nice... until I paint over it. I must be on my third coat of paint (the aforementioned Jonmat) and I can still see marks through the paint!

Have I done something wrong? Or is it the fact the paint is slightly thinner than normal emulsion?

Now, the fact I am in painting mode means I need, well, paint. Ceilings first - what would people recommend? I'm thinking Zinsser Perma White Matt in the kitchen/diner and bathrooms. What should I be using for the rest? Will multiple coats of Jonmat be sufficient (considering my caulk issue) or should I go over it once, with something else?

 

[glitch]

Why have you put caulk in the corners? (normally not paint able - depends on type)

You caulked the corner of the wall where it meets the ceiling?

Pretty sure that is NOT what you are meant to do. Caulk is for areas like door frames , sills and skirting.

As to why I did it, because a couple of people recommended doing and having looked into caulking, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

I have chaulk that is paintable. I’ve used it in the corner of the living room before - worked really well and no problem 5 years on.

Depends on the type if you can over paint but this you sure can.

I've used paintable decorators caulk all over the place. I can't see why it shouldn't be used in the corners, it certainly hasn't been an issue for me.

I do apply it really sparingly though, shaping it right into the corner so it almost looks like there's nothing there. I then wipe around with a damp microfibre cloth to remove the thin film that inevitable gets onto the surrounding surfaces. Maybe that's what you are seeing glitch.

It was paintable, decorators caulk and yes, that sort of film effect is a little like what I’m seeing. I thought I was very careful in both application and subsequent clean-up/removal of excess, but clearly not!

I’ll throw some pictures up in a bit, keep forgetting to host them somewhere.

 

[glitch]

Here's an example of what I'm talking about - just doesn't want to cover the bits where I must have smeared and not cleaned-up properly.

 

[glitch]

Just wandered into my local Johnstone's Trade - they didn’t have any Zinnser 123 in stock, but they did me a pot of Joncryl and chucked in some Zinnser Perma White, gratis.

Hopefully the Joncryl will do the job. Thanks for the idea about using a primer!