Patchy Emulsion After Covering Light Green Emulsion on Lining Paper General decorating topics, questions and answers. find help, tips and advice on completing your decorating projects

[the2ems]

I am trying to redecorate my daughters lounge, but am having problems with patchy emulsion. When she moved in 4 years ago we stripped the old anaglypta off, and after lots of filling and sanding, the walls were lined with a good quality lining paper. Two coats of light green Dulux emulsion was fine. Now it's time to redecorate, and I am trying to cover the light green with a lightish grey. However, I applied the third coat this morning, and now that it is dry, it looks more patchy than the second coat. The second coat had looked more patchy than the first coat. It's not the green showing through. It looks more like I haven't applied the paint evenly. I should point out that I am coming up to 70 years old, and have always done my own decorating. So i'm not a novice. I am using Wickes Vinyl Matt, which I have used once before, with good results. I am also using Wickes short pile roller sleeves, which I have been wrapping in cling film between coats. I have now had to go and buy more paint, and have also bought a couple of medium pile roller sleeves. I don't know what else to try.
Has anyone else had a problem with Wickes emulsion? Am I doing wrong by wrapping and re-using the roller sleeves? Any advice would be welcome.

[thedoctor]

I dont think this is about the paint, this is about the surface you are painting on. For some reason the paint is drying more quickly in some areas than others and this is causing the patchy effect as the light is reflecting off it in a different way. A possible solution is to seal the wall first with a diluted coat (75/25) of PVA

Allow at least 36 hours for this to dry, then paint again. The PVA will ensure that the surface you are painting on is exactly the same all over and should give you a uniform finish.

You can get the PVA here. It is on special offer at the moment (21 March 2016) https://www.diydoctor.org.uk/DIY-superst ... litre.html

Good luck and please do let us know how you get on.

[the2ems]

As it has been a month since I posted this question, I have now completed the job. I finished up with 4 coats of emulsion. It is possible that you are correct about the drying. There is a radiator on that wall.

[thedoctor]

Sorry it took a while. Usually another forum member will answer questions quickly but we get a notification when a question remains unanswered so we jum in. Sometimes it's too late, so sorry.