Author Topic: Painting questions  (Read 4016 times)

CommonCents

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2363
Painting questions
« on: September 09, 2013, 12:41:07 PM »
Looking for advice on how to do any of the following projects:
  • Removing mold from a bathroom ceiling and repainting it.  Did a mixture of bleach & water a few months ago and it hasn't grown since then, but not all of the marks were removed, which I assume will be a problem. 
  • Painting the walls of the bathroom.  There are many layers of paint caked on (1946 apt), which are cracking.  It's clearly cracked before, because people have just removed the cracking paint and painted over, leaving hand size or larger "pits" in the wall for lack of a better way to describe it. 
  • Removing the cracking paint on the bathoom door and repainting.  We have only one bathroom, so I'm not excited about the idea of removing it from the hinges to work on it flat, because I suspect my speed is 4-5x an experienced person.
  • And for a non-bathroom question, the metal grate in front of the steam heaters all need to be repainted too.  This is not a cover over the coils of pipes (that sticks out away from the wall), but rather something in the wall. 

Clearly, the theme is old building with cracking paint.  Please assume I'm completely incomptent and have no idea how to do anything, because I probably don't.  Thanks!

anotherAlias

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 508
Re: Painting questions
« Reply #1 on: September 11, 2013, 04:26:44 AM »
I have no experience with mold removal but if you are confident that you have removed it and there are still stains, you should be able to cover it with a good primer like Kilz.  That's oil based so its stinky and a pain to clean the brushes but it will hide stains .

As for painting, I have a lot of non-professional experience.  With a building that old, you probably have a layer or two of lead paint.  You'll want to take the appropriate precautions for the following steps.

First you need to prep the bathroom.  This will probably take the longest given what you described.  Remove all the electrical covers and towel racks, etc.  next you'll need to scrape off any loose paint.  Then you'll need to sand the areas where you scraped so you have a smooth surface to paint.  Once that is done then you are ready to tape off any areas that you don't want painted, vanity and tub, etc. 

As for the door, I would strongly recommend removing it.  Doors are a pain to work on when they are hanging.  You can hang a shower curtain across the doorway with a tension rod while you work.

MustacheMatt

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 34
Re: Painting questions
« Reply #2 on: September 11, 2013, 06:24:54 AM »
Looking for advice on how to do any of the following projects:
  • Removing mold from a bathroom ceiling and repainting it.  Did a mixture of bleach & water a few months ago and it hasn't grown since then, but not all of the marks were removed, which I assume will be a problem. 
  • Painting the walls of the bathroom.  There are many layers of paint caked on (1946 apt), which are cracking.  It's clearly cracked before, because people have just removed the cracking paint and painted over, leaving hand size or larger "pits" in the wall for lack of a better way to describe it. 
  • Removing the cracking paint on the bathoom door and repainting.  We have only one bathroom, so I'm not excited about the idea of removing it from the hinges to work on it flat, because I suspect my speed is 4-5x an experienced person.
  • And for a non-bathroom question, the metal grate in front of the steam heaters all need to be repainted too.  This is not a cover over the coils of pipes (that sticks out away from the wall), but rather something in the wall. 

Clearly, the theme is old building with cracking paint.  Please assume I'm completely incomptent and have no idea how to do anything, because I probably don't.  Thanks!

My local code enforcement officer told us about some recent mold remediation classes he had to take.  They suggested using detergent to kill the mold, as bleach would cause it to dry out, flake off the top layers, and eventually return.  Reference justchristine's post I definitely agree with using Kilz also, used it in my previous place and it did a great job. 

My house was built in 1944, so i've been down this road.  The best option for me was to replace everything, I used greenboard throughout (even though it's not required).  If the ceilings and walls are that damaged, new drywall would probably be just as fast to put up.  It would allow you to look around in the spaces for more mold, make an assessment on insulation and electrical wires, and give you a nice clean finished look after spackle, prime, and paint.  I'm an IT nerd with no prior homeowner skills.  Just recruit some friends and watch lots of youtube.  A clutching drywall bit for the powerdrill is about $15 and makes you look like a pro.

The second option would be to scrape all the paint down, clean the surface, spackle it flat and repaint.  If you go that route, I think it would be just as much if not more work, and you're still left wondering if the original problem is fixed.  Grab a bucket of spackle, some various sized spackle blades, lots of sanding bricks/pads, and watch more youtube videos.

The door just needs to be brought outside, carefully sanded down with a mechanical sander and repainted.  There's no rule that says you can't work on it for a while, and put it back up, and take it down again for more work.  We have one bathroom here too so I know what you mean.  I painted our bathroom door outside on some makeshift sawhorses (bricks lol) topped with towels.  Each paint coat dried very quickly in the sun.  Paint, dry, flip, repeat x 2.

Repainting the metal shouldn't be too hard either.  Your local hardware store can explain it, and it would be helpful to bring a picture with you.  It's probably as easy as having the correct type of high heat paint, and prepping the surface beforehand (sanding). 

Finally - if there's mold in the bathroom, there's excess moisture.  Is there adequate ventilation/fans?  Before going through all the work mentioned, you may want to consider a fan install/upgrade too!

At first it's overwhelming, but if you focus on one thing at a time, you'll build your confidence and get through this.  I would suggest doing the door and heaters first.  Too many things on your plate will distract your focus.

CommonCents

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2363
Re: Painting questions
« Reply #3 on: September 11, 2013, 08:23:12 AM »
Thanks for the advice.  We are planning on selling the place and buying a house in the near future (been looking for the right one for a year now), so I'm balancing what really needs to be done to sell it and what can easily be done (and currently drives me batty).  The way the market is, we may be here for another year, but I hope not longer than that.  Obviously the mold needs to go. 

Re ventilation, we've adopted an old fashion method, of keeping the window open and that's seemed to work.  (It worked fine before, until I moved in and decided it was too cold for showers and insisted DH close it...)  With no wiring in the ceiling already, installing a fan is a significant amount of work.  DH will most definitely not be onboard with that.

So it's not possible to scrap away the chipping sections on the wall, then spackle it even?  Or are you recommending against it because that just a half-hearted fix rather than a "proper" one?

I think I will just need to do the door when DH is away on his infrequent work trips.

Greg

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1448
  • Location: Olympia, WA, USA
Re: Painting questions
« Reply #4 on: September 11, 2013, 11:59:01 AM »
The problem is the peeling and cracking may continue, even if you fill the peeled areas flush with the unpeeled.  A stronger filler like bondo might work better than normal paster or putty.  Another option is to "skim coat" over the cracked areas, but you're still relying on a possibly faulty substrate.

Also, be careful with sanding, do a lead test first using the swab kit from a hardware store.  If your paint, or the layers below, test positive for lead, you will want to take the proper precautions for your sake and the sake of future owners or kids.

http://www2.epa.gov/lead/renovation-repair-and-painting-program-do-it-yourselfers

CommonCents

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2363
Re: Painting questions
« Reply #5 on: September 11, 2013, 12:14:43 PM »
Gotcha.

Oh forgot to respond to your lead paint comment.  Yes, we actually did a kitchen renovation 2 years ago, and the contractor required that we test for lead paint.  We didn't want to have to test (and then disclose in a later sale), but ended up doing so and were shocked to discover no lead paint.  Of course, we only tested in the kitchen, which is no guarantee of no lead paint in the bathroom (although more positive leaning that if we had found it) but we figured there would be lead paint throughout the entire apt. 

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!