I have a wall which is criss-crossed by hairline cracks - not deep
enough to fill. How should I prepare this wall for painting so that
the cracks don't show through afterwards?

thanks in advance for any suggestions.

Hi Hooch,

I don't know what other on the group feel but I've always found Polycell
BaseCoat to be good for this. I've used it a number of times in a
friends house where this was a problem and the cracks have never come
back .... well not yet anyway :-) I know the other school of thought is
to widen then crack so you can use filler and then smooth it off.

So far I've used both methods and both seem to do the job properly.

Hope this helps
Ryan

On Wed, 11 Apr 2007 09:58:38 +0100, Ryan wrote:

Hi Hooch,

I don't know what other on the group feel but I've always found Polycell
BaseCoat to be good for this. I've used it a number of times in a
friends house where this was a problem and the cracks have never come
back .... well not yet anyway :-) I know the other school of thought is
to widen then crack so you can use filler and then smooth it off.

So far I've used both methods and both seem to do the job properly.

Hope this helps
Ryan

Thanks for all the replies. I've bought some Polycell Basecoat
(expensive!) and I'll give it a go.

Hooch wrote:
I have a wall which is criss-crossed by hairline cracks - not deep
enough to fill. How should I prepare this wall for painting so that
the cracks don't show through afterwards?

thanks in advance for any suggestions.

To do a good job you need to open up the cracks and make them V shaped.

I use an old 1" wood chisel which does the job quickly and neatly.

Steve

"Hooch" wrote in message
...
I have a wall which is criss-crossed by hairline cracks - not deep
enough to fill. How should I prepare this wall for painting so that
the cracks don't show through afterwards?

thanks in advance for any suggestions.

I recently painted a ceiling which is covered in cracks. I masked them by
putting a bare run of acrylic sealant from a gun along the cracks then
rubbing gently with a wet finger along the crack to smooth it off. It took
some time but the effect was great. The first thing designer son did when he
went into the room was look up to criticise my attempt but even he had to
admit that he couldn't see a trace of any crack. That was some praise!

Mary

In message , Hooch
writes
I have a wall which is criss-crossed by hairline cracks - not deep
enough to fill. How should I prepare this wall for painting so that
the cracks don't show through afterwards?


I use fine surface filler - comes ready mixed in tubs or tubes. As
suggested by the name it is fine textured and will fill fine hairline
cracks without the need to make extra work for yourself widening them
out.

Wipe a thin layer into the crack with a flexible filling knife, it
dries pretty quickly as such a thin layer, then just sand lightly with
fine paper.
--
Chris French

"Hooch" wrote in message
...
I have a wall which is criss-crossed by hairline cracks - not deep
enough to fill. How should I prepare this wall for painting so that
the cracks don't show through afterwards?

thanks in advance for any suggestions.

IMO
If the cause is due to blown plaster ie it isn't connected to the wall
anymore, then by all means fill them by any method. But more will appear
quite quickly. Tap for hollowness to test.
If the cause is subsidence then just live with it.
If the cause is new build settlement and building dryout, then widen crack
and fill as per other posts.
This advice applies to hairline cracks only.

--
Mike W

On Wed, 11 Apr 2007 16:09:19 GMT, "visionset"
wrote:


"Hooch" wrote in message
.. .
I have a wall which is criss-crossed by hairline cracks - not deep
enough to fill. How should I prepare this wall for painting so that
the cracks don't show through afterwards?

thanks in advance for any suggestions.

IMO
If the cause is due to blown plaster ie it isn't connected to the wall
anymore, then by all means fill them by any method. But more will appear
quite quickly. Tap for hollowness to test.
If the cause is subsidence then just live with it.
If the cause is new build settlement and building dryout, then widen crack
and fill as per other posts.
This advice applies to hairline cracks only.

PolyCell paint on crack filler works remarkably well - worth a try.
Robert