Painting - painting brick wall - rust

Hi, i have a brick wall. i wanted to paint it white, so i bought exterior white paint that is specifically for brick/masonary, stucco.

however, the problem i am having is that there are some water stains or rust on the existing brick from the old paint. i tried to just paint right over it, but the rust color is still coming through. i've tried a couple coats but it isn't helping.

any suggestions? are there specific paints to cover rust?

fdonger:wall:

You might try removing the rust stains with a product call "iron out", available at hardware or big home improvement stores. I suspect you'll have to strip off the paint in the rust areas first.

hmmm...okay. i'll try it as a last resort. sounds like a lot of work. looking for an easier solution if anyone has an idea

may want to try a primer over the rust if you don't try the other suggestion. Just remember, the more you add to the wall over the rust, the harder the rust will be to remove.

A solvent based primer should stop the rust bleed.

thanks! i used an oil based white primer called "cover stain" ..it seemed to do the trick.

1) is it required to put a top coat on top of a primer?
2) what's a solvent based primer?

#1 - YES!! Primer doesn't wear well and needs to be top coated

#2 - Both oil base and shellac based primers are solvent based - as opposed to latex

Your primer can be top coated with latex or oil base.