First Stage - Preparation
We had to fill all of the carpenters holes in the new skirting, door frames and new wall cabinets. Then fill all minor imperfections in the new fresh plaster, then completely sand smooth the whole of the interior walls, ceilings and woodwork. We use Mirka sanding equipment with HEPA rated dust extraction, this allows us to work with other contractors in the building with no dust related health and safety issues.
After sanding we then get onto masking, as you can see all of the light fittings are dropped and covered for protection. We then cover all of the floors with Q1 Floor covering and Q1 tape seals all around to protect the new engineered oak flooring that had just been installed. Then we poly masked all of the newly installed kitchen, windows and inset fireplace. As you can see from the picture below the apartment is now ready for its mist coat (or as some would say primer coat or base coat).
Second Stage - Mist Coat
For this stage we like to use Crown Paints Contract Matt and we add 40% water to the mix, this allows the paint to penetrate into the surface of the new plaster and creates a good key bond to the surface in readiness for the top coats. To apply the mist coat for this particular instruction we chose to use Airless Paint Spraying technology, its fast and gives an even coverage for the mist coat. We use Wagner Spraytech Airless Paint Sprayers with their innovative HEA spray tips which allow our machines to run at a lower pressure and give far less overspray. As you can see from the small video clip below the mist coat still shows shadows of the fresh plaster through the paint but its all we need to get the walls primed and ready for the top coat. The whole two bedroom apartment took about one hour to mist coat all the way through.
Third Stage - Top Coats
For this we used Tikkurila paints, we like the Tikkurila Anti Reflex 2 paint for the ceilings and the Tikkurila Vinyl Matt paints for the walls which is more durable. Again all applied by airless paint spray for the ultimate paint finish throughout. For the woodwork we used Johnstones Aqua Undercoat and then Johnstones Aqua Guard Satin paint for the top coat. We left it a few hours and then removed all of the masking and protective floor coverings. As you can see from the pictures and video below the end result is stunning.
If you need any advice on airless paint spraying feel free to give us a call. Alternatively if you're in Cornwall and would like a free no obligation quotation for painting and decorating works we'd be only to happy to meet with you.