Painting - Painting Dark Red - Damage Control!

Hello Everyone,

We figured we'd give a dark paint a try, and this was before I discovered this site and saw the sticky on proper techniques for painting dark. (gotta love hindsight)

We've done 3 coats so far in CIL Classic Cherry using 6mm (under 1/4 inch) rollers with all kinds of W and side-to-side painting, not to mention a very white primer. As the directions on the sticky warned, the paint looks uneven and you can see where the paint rollers have overlapped. Now that I know what we've been doing wrong, where should I go from here? Proceed on a 4th and possibly 5th coat using a 3/8" roller, or start over?

Thanks in advance!

Gray primer is usually best with dark red but I don't know that it will help at this stage. Hopefully another coat or 2 will fix it.

Either a 1/4" or 3/8" cover should do fine. I prefer to apply as much material as possible without it sagging and gently rerolling it to smooth it out. It is especially important with deep colors to try and keep the cut in edge wet and roll as tight as possible to ceiling, side wall, etc.

Some brands of paint work better than others, what brand are you using?

Assuming you bought a high-quality paint, go with high-quality rollers. 1/4" nap should be fine for smooth walls. 3/8" - 1/2" nap is recommended for semi-rough walls. Longer nap on smooth wall can leave an orange-peel effect. Cheap rollers will not roll paint on the walls evenly. Density of fiber on roller determines how well the roller holds paint and spreads evenly.

Apply paint using the "W" technique, starting 3-4" from the last section applied. Work from top to bottom, taking care to back roll the width of the roller into the last section applied.

Assuming you bought a high-quality paint, go with high-quality rollers. 1/4" nap should be fine for smooth walls. 3/8" - 1/2" nap is recommended for semi-rough walls. Longer nap on smooth wall can leave an orange-peel effect. Cheap rollers will not roll paint on the walls evenly. Density of fiber on roller determines how well the roller holds paint and spreads evenly.

Apply paint using the "W" technique, starting 3-4" from the last section applied. Work from top to bottom, taking care to back roll the width of the roller into the last section applied.

Not wanting to challenge what you're saying about the W technique, but does that not directly contradict the info from this sticky?
http://forum.doityourself.com/showthread.php?t=186817

The W pattern for rolling is over rated. It does work well when trying to cover marginal colors with 1 coat. 90% of the time rolling 1 strip at a time [per sticky] is quicker and does a good job.

I usually roll the 1 strip and then reroll the previous strip with the now drier roller - this allows you to apply more paint and still roll it out evenly.

There are different paint application techniques that are recommended--W, M, N, V and others. For instance, on this website the V technique is recommended. http://www.doityourself.com/stry/interiorpaintsurface The Paint Quality Institute recommends the M technique and feathering with roller into previously painted section. As you paint, you will determine which technique works best for you and your desired results.

Go to your paint store and buy a squirrel cage paint mixer. They're about $6. Use your drill motor or cordless driver and stir the paint very thouroughly. Heavily pigmented paints settle very quickly. Use a stick to stir the paint every time you refill your tray.

I like a 1/4 inch roller and proceed carefully using the program Marksr described. With quality paint two coats should do it.

By the way, it's a good idea to store the paint where it's room temperature. Cold paint doesn't spread or flow very well.

Too many h/o will not get enough paint from the roller to the wall for the W to be effective. They make W too wide and the sleeve runs dry before they get good coverage.

Red is suposedly the color that is the most difficult to get good color depth with (even with a tinted primer). Because of the type of pigment used it is difficult to get enough of it in the paint, so you need more coats.

I used a tinted primer and still had to use about 4 coats after that to get a reasonable appearance. I thought I was done, but I had some left. - I put on two more coats and could not believe the uniformity and depth I got.

If you have the time and the extra paint, give it a try.

Dick

Thought I should clarify something - it wasn't CIL paint, it was Behr. Not sure how much a difference that makes but it is roughly $27 per gallon ($CAD)

Decided to go to a Paint store that sold Benjamin Moore Paints which are double the price, but the rollers and paint brushes are high end and the staff seemed very knowledgable. They matched their version of the colour we've been trying to get so we'll see how that goes. They also recommended going with the W stroke.

Thanks for all the replies - I wish I had discovered this site sooner!

Cheers

I'm sure you will be pleased with the BM paint. Quality tools and material DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!

Quality tools and material DO MAKE A DIFFERENCE!!
Post of the Day!

In a word: WOW

The coverage is amazing. Dries quicker too.
If it wasn't for the dramatic inconsistency we had with the other 3 cans of Behr paint, we would've gotten away with just the one coat of BM. But we'll put on one more just to take care of any remaining imperfections.

MAJOR LESSON LEARNED. I will never spend $27 on a can of paint again or buy cheap rollers and brushes.

Thanks so much to everyone who pitched in on this site. You guys rock!!!

Glad it all worked out for you.

...and the villagers rejoiced
VILLAGERS (all): Hurray!

Second coat is on. This job is finished.

On to the hardwood floors tomorrow (take 2)

Glad it turned out well. There are some very knowledgeable people on this board.

What questions do you have about refinishing the floors or have you already posted in that forum?

Glad it turned out well. There are some very knowledgeable people on this board.

What questions do you have about refinishing the floors or have you already posted in that forum?

I've chimed in a forum concerning refinishing hardwood floors. I gave it a try myself by renting an orbital sander a large 18" x 18" sander from Home Depot and put up pictures of the results at:
http://home.cogeco.ca/~ldeneau

But it didn't turn out nicely at all because I didn't sand enough.

Tonight, I'm renting a disc sander and edger and will go at the floor a lot harder this time.

ANY pointers on this would be greatly appreciated, as I'm concerned i'm gonna wreck my floor tonight.

You may want to search your floor finishing project on the Wood Flooring Forum. The National Oak Flooring Manufacturer's technical manual on floor finishing is at www.nofma.org Click Publications to find. You can download it for free.

You may want to search your floor finishing project on the Wood Flooring Forum. The National Oak Flooring Manufacturer's technical manual on floor finishing is at www.nofma.org Click Publications to find. You can download it for free.

Perfect!!! This is what I've been looking for. Thanks so much!

Thought after all the advice the least I could do is show everyone before and after pictures!

http://home.cogeco.ca/~ldeneau

Cheers!