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Painting internal exposed brick wall - Kitchen

Hi - planning to paint our exposed brick walls in the Kitchen and Living rooms to replicate another area of the house where this has already been done. However the bricks are somewhat uneven and appear to have some kind of gloss seal, i am concerned painting them may highlight the imperfections.

Any tips to maximize the finish?

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Jason

Welcome to Workshop @madeleineWB.

I'm sure our ever-helpful community will be glad to assist with your painting project. Let me tag some members who might like to kick off the discussion for you: @MitchellMc, @Simon, @Mathy.

Looking forward to seeing how you can transform your kitchen.

Jason

Mathy

Hi @madeleineWB (Madeline?) - I’m guessing that you’re happy with the rough finish, and just want to paint these walls? [Apologies for the formatting 😔]

The photo of the existing brickwork looks like it has a Flat/Matt paint. The trick with rough surfaces is: the LESS shine you have, the LESS your eye will be drawn to lumps and bumps. You can make a decision about Matt vs Low Sheen once you’ve done the priming (the primer is flat).

With the bricks you want to paint, I would do the following, after cleaning:

1. Because there’s shine there from unknown causes, I’d be painting first with a primer/undercoat/sealer such as either White Knight Griplock Primer or Zinsser Smart Prime. The Griplock is fantastic, and well priced. You used to be able to buy a 4L tin of it, but that’s not available at Bunnings. Zinsser products are great. I’ve had no experience with the Dulux equivalents, so can’t comment. Anyway you need to work on a 10sqm/litre coverage.

2. Once, you primed, examine what holes etc., you’ve got left, and fill them. Deep holes use Agnews water putty - it’s a powder you mix with water to whatever consistency. So for deep holes you want a drier mix. Fill them to just below the surface, as you’ll need to skim coat the top. This is a very underrated FANTASTIC product - it sets quickly, you can mix it to any consistency you want, you can fill brick, timber and concrete with it. If this is your house, consider buying a medium size tub (if affordable), because it will keep, and it’s very useful.

Fine/small holes/cracks use a multipurpose fine filler. Use this on the deep holes that you have filler with the water putty. Sand when dry using 120grit sand paper.
Using a paint brush, put a coat on all your filled areas.
Finish with your topcoat.
Any further questions, please ask and mention @Mathy so I get a notification, good luck 🙂

madeleineWB

Thank you @Mathy,

Really appreciate your tips - we used all your recommendations and found a few learnings of our own. Investing in a paint sprayer was a game changer, we bought the Ozito for $41 odd dollars and it was money well spent. We also used Selleys to fill some hard to fill holes. We are thrilled with the finished result.

Thanks again 🙂

Jason

Could you please share some photos @madeleineWB? It would be great to see what you have done. I'm sure other community members in a similar situation would find it really helpful and inspiring.

Feel free to post anytime you need a hand. What's your next project?

Thanks,

Jason

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