EasiFill with BIN Zinsser as a primer sealer before painting instead of mist coat.

[Johan2218]

Hi,

I have a room, 1 wall back to bare plaster (but not smooth) and 3 walls sanded mainly back to solid paint and solid paint / plaster...all walls not smooth.

I intend to skim a thin coat of EasiFill on all walls. British Gypsum say not to pva the bare plaster walls and could not comment on if to pva the painted walls.

I have asked in the plastering forum if I should I pva everything and if so, just once or twice...applying when tacky as if plastering or another way please.

I intend to use BIN Zinsser instead of a mist coat as is an outside building. This should hopefully seal in any old smells and make a good base for painting.

Does this sound okay.

Many thanks

 

[opps]

Easifill is extremely soft. As a decorator, I groan when I come across the stuff. It is often used primarily because it is cheap and extremely easy to sand. It is so soft that you could "sand" it with a wet sponge.

If I am sanding a painted wall prior to repainting it, all of the areas where the previous decorator used it- the paint will rip of the surface. I find myself having to sand away all of the easifill and then using a proper cement based powdered filler (eg toupret).

BIN is pretty effective at sealing in smells, but I would not use it as a primer for powder based fillers. Powder based fillers really need a water based primer or mist coat.

In the past, I have used BIN to paint over wallpaper that I hung for the customer years before. The paper was sound, but I explained to the customer that regular emulsion over the wallpaper would reactivate the starch based glue. I had the BIN tinted to the colour that the customer wanted. As a finish coat, it provides a very durable (eggshell like) finish- provided that you never clean the finish with alkalines such as household ammonia (a product that I use to clean brushes used with BIN).

BTW, do not apply BIN with foam based rollers. I made that mistake many years ago. The alcohol in the BIN will eventually make the roller expand in length and go floppy.

The price of BIN has gone up a lot since 2020. I now use Blockade by Smith and Rodgers. In my local supplier, BIN is £30, Blockade is £22.50 (for a 1L tin). Both products are as good as each each other.

 

[Johan2218]

Hi,

Thank you for your comprehensive reply, I have read it a couple of times and noted all you have said.

I think I will do the following:
- PVA the bare plaster and painted walls.
EasiFill the bare plaster (which is rough in just a few places) and painted walls, a skim coat everywhere (I struggle sometimes with plastering).
- Mist coat to all.
- BIN to all.
- 2 top coats to all.

Your thoughts please?

I noted the proper mist coat and was going to use emulsion roller to apply the BIN, still useful to know why, thanks.

I hear what you are saying about whenever having to revisit EasiFilled walls but as you say it's easy to sand down and I will effectively be putting on 3 layers after the mist coat. In future I will be the one doing any further decorating in this outbuilding as it's a family property.

 

[opps]

Should be fine but be advised that the BIN will result in the coats of emulsion taking longer to dry given that the water in the paint can only evaporate in one direction (rather than some of the water soaking into the plaster).

 

[Johan2218]

Thanks, noted.