How to fix varying internal wall texture?

[jeppo]

Hi Team, I am in the process of updating my mums villa in Ettalong. Internal wall painting has been relatively smooth sailing with the exception of three wall sections in a badly lit hallway. I'm using a 4 in 1 Britich Paints primer and a matt dulux wash and wear top coat. The walls have been thoroughly sugar soaped and appear in good condition. Once painted they are patchy / blotchy to say the least. I have sanded the wall back using 80 grit and tried again. Better but still a problem. From what I can see the texture of the wall varies and therefore refracts the light differently. I am thinking my next options are a) sand the whole thing back to achieve a consistent texture or b) apply a plain wall paper. Please see images below. Any advise or other ideas would be appreciated. Thank you.

[JacobZ]

Hi @jeppo,

A warm welcome to the Bunnings Workshop community and thank you for your question.

It seems like different products have been used in different areas which will cause the light to react differently. You could try sanding the entire wall, but if different materials were used, it may still show.

My suggestion is to skim-coat the entire wall with a high-quality topping compound such as this Gyprock Gold Topping Compound. This will make the whole surface uniform, so it doesn't react to light differently in different areas.

You can skim-coat a wall using a trowel, but for best results, a plasterer would use a Drywall Skimmer.

Once applied, sand the entire wall with a drywall sander before priming and painting.

Ultimately, this is a lot of work, but it will ensure you get a perfect finish.

Alternatively, wallpaper seems like a good option, but if the rest of the house doesn't use wallpaper, it may seem a bit out of place.

Let me know what you think.

Jacob

[jeppo]

Thank you. I'll give the topping compound a go

[R4addZ]

Hi @jeppo 

That looks as if you just painted it. A friend who has just moved into a new house had a similar appearance on his freshly painted walls. Turned out to be a bad tin of paint! A light sanding and a fresh tin of paint fixed it. Feel over the walls and see if it actually is imperfections in the plaster finish or just the paint before trying topcoat or fillers.