Questions & Answers – Page 2 – The Practical House Painting Guide

Finishing door

March 8, 2021

Can I use Man o War marine clear coat over Behr Ultra paint on exterior fiberglass doors?

Why are all paint layers falling off dry interior wall, 1935 property?

February 20, 2021

Hello, This is in a kitchen with bathroom wall behind. Both are dry to the touch. There was a leak through roof 1.5 years ago- very sudden due to a central heating install overflow. It started from 40cm up from the floor. Today I went to scrape a bit

Painted grapes and leaves on sheetrock

February 9, 2021

About 20 years ago, I had a lady come and paint Purple grapes and green leaves on vines in my kitchen. The walls are sheetrock. I want to update and paint over the grapes and leaves. She painted with flat acrylic paint. Please tell me what to do to cover

Exterior block prep and painting

February 7, 2021

I have started preparing my 70 year old block wall home and as I’m pressure washing, I am finding that the block under the paint seems rather damaged and most is white when the paint comes off. Is that the efforvesences you wrote about? I believe what may have happened,

Pressure washing interior basement walls and ceilings?

December 13, 2020

I am buying an old hospital, built in 1920s. The basement has concrete over the brick structural walls that is crumbling, and brick walls and ceilings with old peeling and chipping paint. I need to clean and prep before I paint. Can I pressure wash the interior? If so, is

Can I use an oil based primer over latex primer?

November 15, 2020

I know that generally speaking, you’re not supposed to paint oil paint over latex paint. But what if you’re talking primer? I tried covering sharpie marker stains on a door with latex kilz and three coats later its still showing through. I’d like to try covering with some tougher oil

Exterior stucco painting

October 18, 2020

1923 stucco home in South Florida. We have gotten several bids and the process and products are all different as well as a huge difference in price, ($6900- $33,000)- 3200 sq ft house with detached garage)… from spraying SW Duration, to applying a sealer/ spraying and back rolling one coat

Painting guttering

September 10, 2020

Hello, I have a small-ish section of guttering at the back of my house which, for some reason, is bare metal (probably tin or maybe galvanised steel?). I have an external acrylic paint which I want to use on it, but I’m not sure if I need to use a

New paint bleed through.

September 10, 2020

I used two coats of Valspar Season Flex Ultra white semi-gloss exterior to paint the interior of a new trailer I just recently purchased. The material that was painted over was new OSB. There are spots that bled through. Do you have a recommendation on the white semi-gloss paint I

Contractor forgot to prime metal railing before painting it

September 10, 2020

I hired a contractor to repaint my exterior metal railing, which had some peeling paint and some rust. The contractor sanded it but forgot to use primer even though I had specifically said to use primer. Instead, he just applied an exterior latex paint on the railing with no primer