Painting interior brickwork

midlifecrisis

decided to do something with an integral garage. first thing, thought id paint the brickwork, being pretty rubbish at things DIY what better place to ask than on a guitar forum, whats the best paint to paint the walls of the garage (internal only) is there any special technique or is it just a case of washing down then slapping it on. ?

ESBlonde

Are they standard red brick or breeze block. You may need to seal them if they are really porous to prevent a shit-tonne of paint being absorbed. I think a weak PVA wash (once the dust is all removed) might help, but others more experienced might beg to differ.

midlifecrisis

they are standard red bricks, yes, was wondering if i need to seal or would 3 coats of white paint do the job?

Jalapeno

ESBlonde said:

Are they standard red brick or breeze block. You may need to seal them if they are really porous to prevent a shit-tonne of paint being absorbed. I think a weak PVA wash (once the dust is all removed) might help, but others more experienced might beg to differ.

This (or a watery emulsion base coat) - it's called sizing, an undercoat if you will.

midlifecrisis

thanks

BigMonka

There's a specific type of paint called "masonry paint" which would be worth using, although the colours aren't normally as nice as normal paint.

midlifecrisis

i think most of the undercoat paints say they can be used on wood or masonry so il give that a try, Man-cave here we come

Snap

do the sizing with PVA - about a 1:5 part mix with water (1 being the PVA, 5 being the water). Dead quick to do, but will make the painting so much easier and cheaper. Also, just check you have no damp patches in your current garage walls - they will be around the bottom half of the wall if at all. IF you do have them, use some Damp Seal paint, stops them seeping through.

If its a modern house, you shouldn't have any issues with damp patches though.

midlifecrisis

Snap said:

do the sizing with PVA - about a 1:5 part mix with water (1 being the PVA, 5 being the water). Dead quick to do, but will make the painting so much easier and cheaper. Also, just check you have no damp patches in your current garage walls - they will be around the bottom half of the wall if at all. IF you do have them, use some Damp Seal paint, stops them seeping through.

If its a modern house, you shouldn't have any issues with damp patches though.

dont think theres any damp, its terraced to next doors garage and has a bedroom above so only exteriors are front and back, job for tommorow. so do you just buy a btin of pva and add it to water, (excuse my ignorance)

midlifecrisis

is it Glue?

strumjoughlamps

did our outer wall for the conservatory with Sandtex.. only did one coat, came out much better than expected.

Nitefly

midlifecrisis said:

is it Glue?

Yep, it's this stuff (other brands are available!) 

http://www.diy.com/departments/bq-white-pva-1l/196638_BQ.prd

WezV

BigMonka said:

There's a specific type of paint called "masonry paint" which would be worth using, although the colours aren't normally as nice as normal paint.

strumjoughlamps said:

did our outer wall for the conservatory with Sandtex.. only did one coat, came out much better than expected.

I did an exterior wall with valspar masonry paint from B&Q last year.  One coat on fresh brickwork looked really good, i did two to be thorough.  I chose it because they will mix it to any colour you want, but the coverage was much better than expected and it seems to be holding up really well

anyway, i would also say to use masonry paint on bare brickwork.

Dominic

must seal with PVA must use masonry paint
the pva will save you a lot of paint (it soaks into brick ) and seals the dustiness of the brick surface

octatonic

I would use a primer, Earthborn's silicate primer is excellent.
PVA can seal just fine- use 1:5 PVA to water but I'd only do that if I wasn't painting over.

57Deluxe

Masonry paint is textured... So, just Seal with PVA but SPRAY it on with a garden/shrub applicator - PVA it is water soluble anyway so won't clog and will be easily cleaned after. (This is the modern equivalent to using Isinglass -  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isinglass!)

THEN you can paint in another finish but don't use emulsion or gloss! A non domestic Acrylic would be an option.

If leaving natural on brick, then the strength of PVA will determine a sheen left on the bricks, so too much makes them look a little like rubber bricks!

midlifecrisis

57Deluxe said:

Masonry paint is textured... So, just Seal with PVA but SPRAY it on with a garden/shrub applicator - PVA it is water soluble anyway so won't clog and will be easily cleaned after. (This is the modern equivalent to using Isinglass -  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isinglass!)

THEN you can paint in another finish but don't use emulsion or gloss! A non domestic Acrylic would be an option.

If leaving natural on brick, then the strength of PVA will determine a sheen left on the bricks, so too much makes them look a little like rubber bricks!

im not bothered by the texture either way, if i seal with pva can i use emulsion then?