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Preparation: common problems

Filler is very difficult to sand down

If you apply to much filler it makes your job harder. After applying the filler smooth with a damp sponge or wet brush to remove the stark edges. Some powder fillers(e.g. polyfilla) and most ready-mixed fillers dry very hard so apply as smoothly as possible.

Filler has sunk below the surface

For deep holes it may be necessary to fill two or three times allowing the filler to dry in between. Different fillers sink to various degrees depending on the depth to be filled, and although many fillers claim on the packet that they do not shrink or crack, always work on the assumption that they will.

Ceiling is stained by cigarette smoke

This will come through normal emulsion/latex so the ceiling has to be sealed before painting. The stain, if very heavy, should be washed off with soap and water and then dried before a sealer is applied. Remember that the nicotine in the stain is toxic so wear protective gloves and goggles to protect your eyes.

Kitchen ceiling and walls seem too greasy to paint

They need to be washed down thoroughly with sugar-soap and rinsed off and left to dry before applying any coatings. Sugar-soap is caustic so proper protective clothing must be worn especially for your hands and eyes.

Efflorescence

A powdery residue coming out of stonework onto the painted surface. An encrustation of soluble salts, commonly white, deposited on the surface of coatings, stone, brick, plaster, or mortar; and is usually caused by salts or free alkalies leached from mortar or adjacent concrete as moisture moves through it. Scrape off all the loose material and before you do any filling seal the affected area completely with an alkali-resisting primer.