After roller painting some plastered walls in a hallway / stairwell,
I've noticed that when looking across them as opposed to at them that
there are light and dark patches. Windows perpendicular casting light
across them may make the effect more noticable. Suspecting human error
at first I assumed that this was simply uneven painting but it doesn't
appear to be. Now I think that it may be due to the finish of the
plaster / paint being slightly different in some places and scattering
the light differently, but I've no idea what to do about it. We tried
lightly sanding a test patch to see if this made any difference, and it
may slightly, but sanding the walls, which are 3 or 4 meters high in
some places seems like a bad idea and likely to create more unevenness
that moves the patches elsewhere or even makes it worse; sanded walls
do have a much nicer finish than roller painted though.

So I'm wondering how to get a better or different finish that looks
even from any angle, and any suggestions much appreciated! The paint is
Super Leytex high opacity matt emulsion, and rollers the usual default
roller that comes with painting trays. It's frustrating as the walls
look fine when viewed more directly, but looking across them cannot be
avoided from some parts of the hallway and so the patches are generally
noticable.

Nick wrote:
After roller painting some plastered walls in a hallway / stairwell,
I've noticed that when looking across them as opposed to at them that
there are light and dark patches. Windows perpendicular casting light
across them may make the effect more noticable. Suspecting human error
at first I assumed that this was simply uneven painting but it doesn't
appear to be. Now I think that it may be due to the finish of the
plaster / paint being slightly different in some places and scattering
the light differently, but I've no idea what to do about it. We tried
lightly sanding a test patch to see if this made any difference, and it
may slightly, but sanding the walls, which are 3 or 4 meters high in
some places seems like a bad idea and likely to create more unevenness
that moves the patches elsewhere or even makes it worse; sanded walls
do have a much nicer finish than roller painted though.

So I'm wondering how to get a better or different finish that looks
even from any angle, and any suggestions much appreciated! The paint is
Super Leytex high opacity matt emulsion, and rollers the usual default
roller that comes with painting trays. It's frustrating as the walls
look fine when viewed more directly, but looking across them cannot be
avoided from some parts of the hallway and so the patches are generally
noticable.


That's what lining paper is for :-)
The matt finish won't help either. A silk finish would be more forgiving

On 12 Jul 2006 01:17:59 -0700, "Nick" wrote:

The paint is
Super Leytex high opacity matt emulsion,

The paint is intended for use on fresh plaster, is that the case here?

Nick wrote:
After roller painting some plastered walls in a hallway / stairwell,
I've noticed that when looking across them as opposed to at them that
there are light and dark patches. Windows perpendicular casting light
across them may make the effect more noticable. Suspecting human error
at first I assumed that this was simply uneven painting but it doesn't
appear to be. Now I think that it may be due to the finish of the
plaster / paint being slightly different in some places and scattering
the light differently, but I've no idea what to do about it. We tried
lightly sanding a test patch to see if this made any difference, and it
may slightly, but sanding the walls, which are 3 or 4 meters high in
some places seems like a bad idea and likely to create more unevenness
that moves the patches elsewhere or even makes it worse; sanded walls
do have a much nicer finish than roller painted though.

So I'm wondering how to get a better or different finish that looks
even from any angle, and any suggestions much appreciated! The paint is
Super Leytex high opacity matt emulsion, and rollers the usual default
roller that comes with painting trays. It's frustrating as the walls
look fine when viewed more directly, but looking across them cannot be
avoided from some parts of the hallway and so the patches are generally
noticable.

How many coats did you apply ?
Simon.

Thanks for the replies.

"That's what lining paper is for :-) The matt finish won't help either.
A silk finish would be more forgiving "

I'm considering the paper option now. Are there any tips for avoiding
gaps when hanging paper other than don't make any? Having any
visible artifact from the paper joins would be unacceptable.

We've used silk as a temporary finish in the bathroom before tiling and
it looks ok, so we can try that. The matt was preferred but the silk is
worth a shot and worth experimenting with.

"The paint is intended for use on fresh plaster, is that the case
here?"

It was once. The whole property has been brought back to plaster or
brick and replastered or skimmed wherever it needed it, which was on
quite a few walls. The same paint was used at the right time after
replastering, but this was a while ago now. Now we're aiming for the
final finish and used the same paint as before but hit this issue.

"How many coats did you apply"

I'm not sure now in total, but several. We're a far cry from adding the
depth of paint that was on there previously and dating back 130 or so
years, but can too much be a problem? The issue is certainly not from
there being too little.

"Nick" wrote in message
ups.com...
After roller painting some plastered walls in a hallway / stairwell,
I've noticed that when looking across them as opposed to at them that
there are light and dark patches. Windows perpendicular casting light
across them may make the effect more noticable. Suspecting human error
at first I assumed that this was simply uneven painting but it doesn't
appear to be. Now I think that it may be due to the finish of the
plaster / paint being slightly different in some places and scattering
the light differently, but I've no idea what to do about it. We tried
lightly sanding a test patch to see if this made any difference, and it
may slightly, but sanding the walls, which are 3 or 4 meters high in
some places seems like a bad idea and likely to create more unevenness
that moves the patches elsewhere or even makes it worse; sanded walls
do have a much nicer finish than roller painted though.

So I'm wondering how to get a better or different finish that looks
even from any angle, and any suggestions much appreciated! The paint is
Super Leytex high opacity matt emulsion, and rollers the usual default
roller that comes with painting trays. It's frustrating as the walls
look fine when viewed more directly, but looking across them cannot be
avoided from some parts of the hallway and so the patches are generally
noticable.
Often caused by shinier areas in the top coat of plaster. I have had issues
with this on skimmed walls, some areas polish up nicer than others. I
basically sealed with proper plaster sealer, this appears to do a better job
than thinned emulsion, apply one slightly watered layer of Dulux Trade
emulsion (a thicker white emulsion) as a base followed two coats of top
coloured emulsion and obtained uniform finish.

On 12 Jul 2006 11:23:42 -0700, "Nick" wrote:



"The paint is intended for use on fresh plaster, is that the case
here?"

It was once.


High opacity is what decorators of new-build houses usually use, it's
designed to let any damp remaining in the structure escape whilst
sealing the plaster, it should also cover in one coat. There's also an
assumption that the house purchaser will redecorate before too long so
it doesn't have to last too long. It's also cheaper than 'ordinary'
vinyl matt, which has a harder finish, because of the vinyl. Had you
used vinyl matt, or silk, you might have got a finish that was
acceptable to you.