Not sure if this is the right place to post, can't see anywhere more likely so it will hafty do! Need to paint my girl-cave (oh er). Its a bit of a mish mash of brick and block, but mostly its just dark and a bit grim and I think painting it white or similar would be a good start. Anyone done similar? Suppose I need proper masonry paint? Or not, because it's indoors? Not bothered with plaster or anything as its likely a bit damp. Cheap is preferable as its only rented. Needed to do it for a while but the mancave thread has got me inspired Any tips appreciated before I go gung ho. I live with 3 blokes but I will undoubtedly be taking this on myself. Then again I sponged the whole garage for myself so best suck it up and get on with it :biggrin:
Yes, when we moved into Farnborough I probably spent longer painting the garage interior walls than the rest of the house put together. The walls were grey breezeblock and I painted them white - no plaster or anything first. Can't remember exactly what paint I used but I suspect that it specifically said it was suitable for use on breezeblock and probably came from B&Q. It took at least 2 coats with a roller as the holes in the breezeblock mean it's hard to get it even. It really did help brighten the place up.
My Garage has a mix of breeze block, concrete block and brick walls. i painted it with white masonry paint from B&Q, took around 3 coats to cover everything (some of the wall was previously painted with black bitumen) but it turned out good.
might be worth using something on the brick wall first to seal it before you paint white, should get it from b&Q or stomp your feet and get the blokes to do it
Dulux do a masonry paint, http://www.dulux.co.uk/products/info/weathershield_smooth_masonry_paint.jsp Just a quick reference
it takes forever and you need loads got my paint from InXcess - about £12.00 for 5 litres masonry suffok pink (hence the cheap price) they also do floor paint International quick drying floor paint - 2.5L RRP £24.99 In-Excess Price £12.99 Colours available: Jet Black, Sandstone, Terracotta, Granite Grey & Pebblestone
Cheers folks! Will have a look at In Excess and see what I can get. The blokes? Bah, I wouldn't trust them to do it anyway.
Ps. Dukedesmo did you do any sealing first? Looks like its decent masonry work to begin with anyway. Mine looks like they laid the mortar with marshallows it's a bloody mess. Won't ever look as plush as that but something to aspire to eh!
just consulted other half as he is an ICI paint specifier (dulux for instance). Any masonry paint will cover, probably two coats, three if cheap and if it is a little damp masonry paint has a fungicidal property to supress mould. Thin down the first coat by about 10% to initially penetrate the blocks. Spraying the paint will cover best. Took a while but I'm glad we did it. Good luck
Don't ask Andy about garage floors! Shortly after we moved in there was a weekend from hell of concrete dust as he tried to sand down the floor to remove the loose surface to ensure the paint stuck. Wrote off a Dyson hoovering up the dust. 2 coats of floor sealer and 2 coats of International floor paint and several days drying later, we were seriously dischuffed to discover that what floor paint sticks to better than anything is car tyres, as the bare patches rapidly appeared.
My floor was done with waterproof PVA in three coats.... a thinned one to soak in, a second coat not quite so thinned, and then a slightly thinned coat.......all dried out............months later it still comes off, bringing the top surface with it. Concrete isn't as good as it was years ago, now that they use PFA in it; but it should still stand up to some rough treatment, so I reckon the sand, aggregate and ballast, which has been sea dredged has a lot to do with it. AL
Painting is about preparation. Use a primer / sealer and paint that is appropriate to surface and conditions. Damp doesn't sound good though. I prepped a concrete floor using International products and it has stood up OK (10 years plus) but like others the weak areas are where the car wheels sit, which now could do with some attention. If is not too big an area have you considered tiles ??
Painting used to be my game, it's a piece of piss if you know what you're doing. Firstly, forget Dulux (not easy to use for amateurs, it covers well but is harder to apply) or any diy brands (they're shite). Johnstones is probably the best compromise, the paint goes on easy and covers well, and is considerably cheaper than Dulux. Get it from your local decorators merchants. For walls, use their 15-year masonry paint. Thin the first coat (maybe half a cup of water per 2.5 litre paint, stir well) and use the shaggiest roller you can find - if it feels like hard work to apply, add a bit more water - then one or two coats of neat paint on top. Once you've got the first coat on you won't need to thin the paint on subsequent coats cos it'll go on easy. You'll need plenty of paint too, cos all the holes increase the surface area of the walls considerably - you'll need at least 10 litres for a single garage. For the floors, unless you use an epoxy paint it's gonna lift after a while, but epoxy paint is expensive, toxic, and takes forever to dry; cheaper paints don't last as long but are far easier to apply, dry quicker and are easy to re-coat, and for my money Johnstones floor paint is the best for general-purpose use. Don't piss about with sealers, all they do is put a barrier between the paint and the floor. Wash off any oil stains as much as you can with white spirit and a broom, and sweep the floor as best you can (if it's bare concrete it'll keep producing dust, just try to get rid of the worst of it). Thin down the floor paint quite a bit with white spirit for the first coat, so that it soaks into the concrete (again, about half a cup of spirit per 2.5 litres) and apply with a roller. Let it dry, then just apply another coat of neat floor paint (or two if you're posh) and that's it. It'll be dry enough to walk on next day, but don't park anything on it for 2 days.
No sealing done but the first 4-5 feet from the floor up was originally painted with black bitumen paint as it was originally two stables that I knocked down the dividing wall to make a bigger room from. Not sure if this was a good thing though because it took 3 coats to cover but I suppose it made a stronger base on the lower walls - the part that's most likely to get knocked.
