Hi - I am painting my stair wall and cannot for the life of me get a finish that isn't patchy. I am using a short pile rolller. I have tried three times now and I am getting worried that there is too much of a build up of paint on the wall. I use fast strokes with plenty of paint in one direction (up and down) but when the light shines down the wall it is always patchy when dry. I am planning next to do the whole wall again with a watered down paint - is this a good idea and if so how much water? Also should I try to remove some of the "old" paint, either with a wet cloth or sanding?
Any help would be appreciated as I am close to tears (I am a woman by the way - and for my sins - quite a fussy one).
Thanks in advance.

Thanks for your reply - I am leaving overnight between coats, anyway I have to say that I have now added a further slightly watered down coat and it appears to be a lot lot better, a few small areas if you look hard but I think I can now live with that!....BUT... there's always a but, I seem to now have another problem...

The wall I am painting is split by a dado rail (stained mahogany). The top has always been magnolia since new (quite a new house) and the bottom has been previously painted in a two tone green sponge effect. Because of the pattern of this sponging I have had to rub the walls down quite a bit - mainly removing the lighter "pattern" and leaving the darker green (with bits of magnolia showing through), anyway - now its all been painted (with the same tin of paint) the top looks lighter to the bottom, I have put on 2 coats, three in places on the bottom - as well as the top. Is this a trick of the light or could it be that there are different shades (perhaps because the bottom was green?) I don't know what's going on with this decoorating - it all just seems to be going wrong - I am usually OK with my projects - but not this time. Ever had this before any suggestions - another coat maybe.

Regards.

theres one of two things happening here. either the green is showing through the magnolia which is very possible (is the paint from wilkinsons or somewhere similar? if so then thats your problem!) or you are convincing yourself the two parts are different.
two easy solutions. paint the walls again with decent paint
get a friend to view the wall unprompted and see if they can spot the change in shade

Cheers Tarquin - you may be right - I may be convincing myself, and the more you look at something.....The paint is Macpherson Trade paint - seems to be OK, have used it elsewhere in the house and has covered really well (on the same green in my porch), in fact covers the green pretty much with one coat. I gave the bottom another coat last night (think this is the 3rd or even 4th) so don't think there's a chance the green is showing through do you? Looks no different. So now the whole wall (top and bottom) has been painted with the same paint. I actually think it may be the lighting, the way the natural light comes in and is broken by the dado rail. I think I'll just get on with the rest of the room and stop looking at it! Hope I don't have any more problems!
Thanks for your advice

maybe you cant paint ?

what a help full post that is!

Thanks for your words of wisdom the village - I welcome you to inspect my painting anytime, I think you will be pleasantly surprised - perhaps we are not all as professional as you and some of us have to make a few mistakes to learn! If you haven't made any mistakes - you haven't done much.

Hi Smokester ,

I would not let the words of negativity get to you ... The Village irritatingly pops up from time to time and seems to like stirring things up. Although his name is surely a deliberate reference well respected and helpful poster who we have not heard from much of recently (The Village Idiot) I don't recall "the village" having ever had a helpful word to say and I hope you remember this forum more for the many helpful members than the silly immature unhelpful few.

Good luck with the decorating.

i think you would be better off with a good quality roller. i use a medium pile fat hog woven one and it holds a lot of paint. and medium pile woven one will do (foam ones are crap).

try rolling the paint on thickly (but not messy thick) to an area say 2 metres wide, then roll back over it from right to left or left to right then go back over again. that way youll get plenty of paint on and do the equivalent of maybe 2 coats applied by someone not in the klnow. the trick is to basically get the paint to bond a bit at first then your sort of sticking more onto that. i hope that helps.

and yes village idiot i am a professional

careful Joe ... as far as I can tell "the village" and " the village idiot" are two totally different people. Its "the village" that is the real idiot whereas " the village idiot" certaintly is not (an idiot).

Thanks Scotty and Joe - I won't let negative comments put be off this forum - I have found it very useful in the past (when fitting a replacement bath etc.) and will no doubt need advice again - I always seem to have some kind of project on the go! I am making slow progress with painting my lounge - I am putting the difference in colour down to lighting at the moment as its better in natural daylight and worse with artificial light. I am going to re-vamp the lighting at the end of the project so I am trying not to get paranoid about it until then. I certainly don't think I'll gain anything from painting it all again with more coats or even a different paint. Could anything as silly as "rolling" in a different direction make a difference to the shade? Just clutching at straws I suppose, anyway thanks again guys for your replies, I will keep plodding on...my next job is making valances for my curtains - any good sewers amongst you (I suppose even if there were you wouldn't admit to it) kind regards.

I've been called a right "sew and sew" in the past but alas - not for my needlework skills !

Scotty in with a top quality joke at the end there.... knitted the thread together beautifully.

- but not a patch on yours Tarq.

Very good you guys - but it would seam you still haven't managed to pin point the original darn problem! Still I'm glad you are all having a good yarn on this thread.......(Ithink that just about covers them all)..anyway, I'm sure I had some painting or something to do..

Yup - Think we've been stitched up Tarq !

i thought about it., but then realised i was working far too hard on sewing related jokes and probably had better things to do Lol!

Has the walls got previous patches of gloss or similar ?? if so sand it off ! Have you washed the walls with 'sugar soap' ?? this will remove any traces of old wallpaper adhesive, grease, etc etc ( Read the instruction,) Use a sponge & a flat scraper , you'll be amazed at the 'crap' (Tech Term) that comes off !!! (Messy job ~ but worthwhile) Wash the sugar soap off thoroughly with clean water ( usual painting rules apply = PREPARATION , PREPARATION PREPARATION ie filling, sanding & wash down with sugar soap !!
Invest in PREPARATION & a Good Roller (or a Merc ~ sorry) brushes etc , GOOD QUALITY PAINT & PATIENCE !!!! sorry I forgot a steady hand !!
Or buy a big Sheepdog !! They can paint as seen on TV(sorry that was a rough joke )

i havnt used sugar soap in over a year. ive bn lucky working in clean houses