Need advice on masonary paint

[OM2]

We had an extension done to the house 6 years ago. I never got round to painting. I need some advice on what paint to buy.

- Is there a 'trade' paint that is widely used and not known to Joe Public? I'm looking to go for Sandtext unless you guys advise otherwise - it's the only real choice as far as I can see. Amazon does have some other brands though.

- Smooth or textured? Textured seems to be expensive? I saw 1 paint pot of textured, that covered ONLY 3-6m square. Smooth covers 16m squared.

- I bought a Harris paint roller set from Screwfix. I've got a few bristle loss free brushes for edges. Do I need anything else?

- Preparation: what do I need to do? Should I hose with water one day and then paint the next? Should I scrub dirt off? Do I mask off edges?

- Cleaning/storing brushes... apart from cleaning with water, should I do anything else? Can I wash down the sink?

- Colour. What colour!? The front of the house we have cream rendering, so go for magnolia maybe? But maybe go for smooth white? White goes with everything. (Just looking for opinions)

Is there anything else I need to consider/do?

Thanks.

 

[opps]

Trade paints tend to be higher quality- by that I mean that they cover better but they cost more. In general, although you are paying more for the paint, labour time will be reduced (important when you consider how much labour costs).

My go to masonry paint is Dulux Trade Weathershield. Sandtex is OK though. Assuming that your render is in good condition, go for smooth. It stays cleaner for longer.

Prep? Difficult to say without seeing it. You could give it a gentle clean with a pressure washer or hose and stiff brush. And then brush away any debris at the bottom the following day. The reverse of the tin will give thinning instructions for the first coat. To be honest, with sound cement render I just apply undiluted coats.

Throughout the day lightly mist your brushes and roller with a water spray bottle. Overnight/lunch breaks/etc- bag the brushes and roller in a bin bag. They can be left like that for a few days.

At the end of the job, wash the brushes and roller in a sink or basin.

Colour? Can't help you there but white is often the cheapest.

 

[OM2]

@opps Thanks for the reply. That's super helpful advice. I'll wash with water today.

Pressure washer: won't that potentially strip away layers?

 

[sparkwright]

To reassure you, definitely go for the smooth finish. You will probably regret the textured finish, unless you have a bad surface you are trying to cover up.

 

[sparkwright]

Not all surfaces need pressure washing if they are reasonably clean.

Wet and Forget is excellent at killing moss, if you have a couple of days to spare.

'Gardenia' is a good colour if you don't want the usual white or magnolia.

 

[OM2]

I asked someone who does rendering if I should wash. They said: no, don't worry... just paint

Most of the surface I need to paint has no dirt. But there are some parts that definitely need a mini wash and scrub. It makes no sense to me painting over dirt! ‍