Brendan Hughes

[Please can I have 24hrs in NSR before moving to DIY?]

Got to paint my garage wall before Saturday evening (party), but I'm working all week - only a couple of hours a day max for work. It's rendered with cement/concrete. I say garage, it should be "house" as it's double height (built on a hill) - maybe 14ft high, and garage length (20ft?) with four big windows.

Started to jetwash the old paint at the weekend and it starts coming off in big flakes. So I stripped the lot (jetwash at barely 2 inch range, set on "wide"). But it wasn't the lot - the rendering has many little cracks, dividing the wall up into patches maybe a foot wide. The paint along those cracks doesn't want to come off, even on full power. Now it looks like a giraffe skin or a crazy paving map.

It'll be hell to strip the remainder with the jetwash (2/3 of it has to be done balancing on a ladder) and take HOURS, which I just don't have. But if I paint it (pure white), I think the lines will show through and it'll look ridiculous.

Anyone got any quick solutions? I daren't even prime it yet in case someone advises me how to easily strip the remaining paint.

I've got very thin paint (shows everything) or very thick paint (looks like 50% paint, 50% sand in the pot - or maybe 30-70). I'm considering mixing the two, to get a consistency thick enough to hide but thin enough to spread ( = trial and error, aargh!). But that means priming first, so if it goes wrong....

Help!

mj

you need to get the paint off first, you wont have enough time to repair the cracks in the render at 2hrs a day, and then repair/repaint it properly.

on the bits that still have paint- get some nitromoors or similar paint stripper, from your part of the world (channel 9 )it'll probly be called " Mr Strippy" or something...

make sure the brickwork around the paint is well damped (ETS with water, the paintstipper dries out quicksharp!, but not dripping, then slap the paintstipper on, after a few minutes give the offending area a blast with a hand wire brush and and slap on some more nitromoors/Mr strippy.

Make sure whatever you buy has at least a "skull and crossbones" health hazard sticker on it for best results.

Give the second coat another seeing to with the wire brush, then use the jetwash. leave about 20 minutes between the first coat and the jetwash.

GET SOME DECENT GOGGLES & GLOVES, not a job for shorts & T-shirt .


when you have done that I'll tell you how to repair the render, in the meantime , you need to look up on FEB Epoxy products.




DISCLAIMER: if you beleive this, you'll believe ******* anything

Brendan Hughes

Thanks mj. Cracks in the render are a millimetre or less, I'm not worried about them. The bigger ones I've already filled yesterday, and the smaller ones will be coated with paint. My problem is that they are effectively magnified to about an inch wide by the tough paint that borders them, THAT'S what I want to get rid of.

Hand wire brush - bugger, I was hoping no-one would mention that

Brendan Hughes

OK panic over, many thanks

Just went outside, dug out the half tin of paintstripper that the previous owners left here. Apply, wait 5 mins, scrub with wire brush, jetwash - comes clean off.

Then; apply, wait 5 mins, jetwash - comes clean off

It'll be a faff to do the lot, but looks feasible. On with the rubber gloves at 7pm tomorrow!

Cheers

Brendan

r32

Good luck mate, looks like you got some top advice there.
Let us know how you get on..............

mgg

Ive just painetd a wall in my garden, i used Wickes own Masonary Paint ( textured ) but they also do smooth finish aswell.

It looks the business, not to smooth and it doesnt look to thick, it impressed me. For £10.99 a tub you cant go wrong, they do a load of colours aswell. I strongly recommend you consider using this paint.

I gave it 2 coats, its dries in no time, easy to apply, great finish. ( i also covered and filled some small cracks with it ) cant see them now its dried!

Marc.

philc

have you thought about using something like Artex, which covers a multitude of sins and gives a nice stucco effect; apply generously

very Mediterranean