Crack-filling existing walls that have many coats of paint on it - help please?

Question

Our walls must have like 10 coats of paint on them and they have a rough egg-shell texture. When I crack-fill and sand nail holes it leaves a smooth spot in that area. Do you think priming the entire room would help prevent the uneven texture of smooth spots and egg-shell texture? I don't think it would work, but my b/f thinks it might help. I don't want to do it if it will be a waste of time/energy/money. Any tips would be useful. Thanks.

Answer 1

What you need to do, is match the texture.

After you have filled the hole, and sanded it flush.. go back and add some more texture, but stipple it on , with a brush or sponge, depending on your current wall texture. You may need to experiment with a few different "applicators" to find one that will match your wall. You might daub some on, and then 'flatten' it.

Practice on a piece of cardboard, or, keep a damp sponge handy and wipe it off right away, if it doesn match. (note.. damp - not wet, heheh)

AFTER you have gotten the texture to match, THEN primer those places. If you don't primer the patch, it will dry a different color when you apply the finish coat.

Ive done a lot of repair jobs on textured finishes... walls, ceilings, ... just about every kind of finish. Ive used brushes, sponges, paper towels, plastic bread bags, foam rollers, putty knives... whatever combination gave me the best match. Quite often Ive had to apply the texture with one tool (a brush, for example), and then gone back over it with another 'tool' (putty knife, drawn across to 'flatten' the texture to match 'orange peel', or 'knock down', or a damp sponge tapped on the stippled texture, to produce a more 'eggshell' type look) This CAN be done.

Have Fun :)

Answer 2

I think painting and priming a room with a high solid epoxy paint would help, but I think you need to buy a tub of wall filler and fill up the wholes first. Then I would suggest using a texture roller or sand off the uneven texture and use a smooth roller to go over you walls.

Make sure it is the same type of paint. The trouble with using ten different brands of paint and coatings is that they all have different ingredients. Most are water down and need to be repainted with a year or two. So each brand of paint will have different solid levels. The cheaper usually the lower the solid.

Most paints are measured by how scrub-able they are. For example Top Secret Coatings has a Lifetime Hard shell that takes two thousand scrubs before it starts to show wear. Most major brands like Sherman Williams are completely worn off by two hundred scrubs. Obviously low priced Walmart brands typically wear off in as little as ten scrubs.

Good luck.

Answer 3

Just my opinion, but I think it may be time to sand down the walls, and get close to the original material. It could be that somewhere along the way, the walls have been papered. If so, that may be why you have cracks in the walls. On the contrary however, you could fill the nail holes by dabbing a filler, whereby negating the need to sand the area smooth.
If the walls are really looking bad, again, I would consider sanding them to get a smooth finish. You could then paint them how you wish with the knowledge that there's not some underlying reason for the paint to crack in the future.

good luck

Answer 4

paint with a textured roller for a rough finish. other wise sand the wall smooth .good-luck

Answer 5

I do this all the time what you want to do is fix the wall sand it and then mix drywall mud in primer and roll it over the smooth areas if one coat doesnt do it to your satisfaction use two coats and this should definently take care of it. Good Luck:)