Hallway Progress - More Paint Stripping and Splash Coat

As I hadn't managed to get all the paint stripping of the architraves done before the plastering was done (see the post about that here), I had to finish it before painting.  I didn't want to run the risk of the emulsion on the wall blistering if I had painted the walls first.

I waited a few weeks for the plaster to be really dry, as I was worried the heat gun might cause it to crack.  It was generally fine, but there was one area which it cracked - eek! :(

I still have more to do around the door stops, I only did the edges next to the plaster, as I'm going to be honest, I was itching to get the paint on the wall!

So for fresh plaster, you have to paint on what is called a splash coat.  This is typically a watered-down emulsion coat, as the plaster will be really thirsty.  The plaster drinks in the water and it's a good starter coat before you put your more expensive colour coat on.  I generally use cheap white matt emulsion paint, but you can use any matt emulsion - just make sure you don't use vinyl emulsion.

I probably watered it down 50/50 to start with, so half paint half water.  The paint doesn't always mix well with water though - it takes a while to get it consistently mixed.  I actually used a whisk to get it all mixed - not conventional, but it got the job done!

The 50/50 mix was waaaay too much water!  So this happened...

Then I read the instructions on the paint tin, and it said 20% watered down on fresh plaster.  I measured out the paint to water ratio using a plastic cup and that worked well.

After I got the ratio right it went on much cleaner!

I did all this while the hubby was out so I had to leave the corners that I couldn't get to with the roller on an extension pole.  When he got home we got the ladder out and got those bits done.

I still need to sort the area of the loft hatch out.  I will actually change the loft hatch, but it's the area around it that will need a bit if thought and work.

There was one area of the ceiling down stairs that didn't take the paint too well - I'm not quite sure what was up with the plaster, but I wasn't particularly impressed with it.

Again, some more work required to this patch to sort it out.

What projects are you making progress with?