# New Construction, Trying to cover walls in one coat. Any tips?



## granitestatepainters (Sep 29, 2012)

I have a new construction job starting this week. It is a low budget spec house. We are going to spray all the trim and doors, and roll the walls. Will be using a BM super Hide Flat on all walls, and ceilings are going to be lift primed. Any tips on ways to make sure it covers in one coat? I was thinking a cut twice, roll once with a 1/2'' nap? Any tips would be greatly appreciated!


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

granitestatepainters said:


> I have a new construction job starting this week. It is a low budget spec house. We are going to spray all the trim and doors, and roll the walls. Will be using a BM super Hide Flat on all walls, and ceilings are going to be lift primed. Any tips on ways to make sure it covers in one coat? I was thinking a cut twice, roll once with a 1/2'' nap? Any tips would be greatly appreciated!


Why not spray it all using a color to match the primer?


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## Rbriggs82 (Jul 9, 2012)

Why not spray the walls and ceilings? If you spray and backroll with a 1/2 nap roller one coat no problem. If not you may have to cut twice roll once.


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## Rbriggs82 (Jul 9, 2012)

RH said:


> Why not spray it all using a color to match the primer?


Yeah that too.


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## granitestatepainters (Sep 29, 2012)

The ceilings are not being touched, the developer is fine with the primer as a celling finish for some reason. Dont have much interior spraying experience, especially with walls. The problem is the future homeowner has picked out 3 colors which all are neutral. Do you guys think it would be worth it to mask all the ceilings off rather than the 2 cut by hand?


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## PP&C Services (May 10, 2013)

I'd spray all the walls and go back and retouch the ceilings.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

granitestatepainters said:


> The ceilings are not being touched, the developer is fine with the primer as a celling finish for some reason. Dont have much interior spraying experience, especially with walls. The problem is the future homeowner has picked out 3 colors which all are neutral. Do you guys think it would be worth it to mask all the ceilings off rather than the 2 cut by hand?


Really? In all my years I have NEVER heard of such a thing.  :whistling2:


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## granitestatepainters (Sep 29, 2012)

PP&C Services said:


> I'd spray all the walls and go back and retouch the ceilings.


when you spray the walls, would you paper mask all the ceilings? or just over spray them and worry about it later? I have always been a brush and roll guy inside, but that is mostly high end work. I have never really done a job like this where speed is more of the essence than quality so I am stumped


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## granitestatepainters (Sep 29, 2012)

RH said:


> Really? In all my years I have NEVER heard of such a thing.  :whistling2:


Yeah, I was very surprised with this also. I guess the dry wallers used a super hide flat paint as a primer so it doesn't look as bad as you may think, but still very surprising.


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## PP&C Services (May 10, 2013)

granitestatepainters said:


> when you spray the walls, would you paper mask all the ceilings? or just over spray them and worry about it later? I have always been a brush and roll guy inside, but that is mostly high end work. I have never really done a job like this where speed is more of the essence than quality so I am stumped


I'd over spray them then go back after the walls were done and run the ceiling.


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## granitestatepainters (Sep 29, 2012)

PP&C Services said:


> I'd over spray them then go back after the walls were done and run the ceiling.


in regards to matching the texture of the ceilings because they are sprayed, would touching it up with a hot dog roller work? Sorry to keep asking you questions, just trying to figure out what will work best


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## PP&C Services (May 10, 2013)

granitestatepainters said:


> in regards to matching the texture of the ceilings because they are sprayed, would touching it up with a hot dog roller work? Sorry to keep asking you questions, just trying to figure out what will work best


A good short nap roller should work fine if the ceiling is a flat. Which I'm assuming it is.


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## Jmayspaint (Mar 26, 2013)

It's possible to spray the walls and shield the ceilings. I did it a lot on cheapies when I lived in north Fl. That's one thing the big metal shields they sell with spray equip. Is for. 
It's a little tricky if you don't have much spray exp. but not that hard really, if you have some touch up ceiling paint. If you have to be perfect with it, ( can't touch up easily) its too stressful for me. 
I saw a lotta guys do it well. Some have a helper hold the shield. The trick to me is to leave margins( don't try to spray close to the edge of the shield), and watch inside corners, they shoot the paint up to the ceiling.
It can be a lot faster than masking.


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## granitestatepainters (Sep 29, 2012)

joshmays1976 said:


> It's possible to spray the walls and shield the ceilings. I did it a lot on cheapies when I lived in north Fl. That's one thing the big metal shields they sell with spray equip. Is for.
> It's a little tricky if you don't have much spray exp. but not that hard really, if you have some touch up ceiling paint. If you have to be perfect with it, ( can't touch up easily) its too stressful for me.
> I saw a lotta guys do it well. Some have a helper hold the shield. The trick to me is to leave margins( don't try to spray close to the edge of the shield), and watch inside corners, they shoot the paint up to the ceiling.
> It can be a lot faster than masking.


That is a big help, thanks. Which would you do first, the walls or trim? I always do trim first but al wondering how to keep over spray off the trim. I guess the shield will help there as well?


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## Jmayspaint (Mar 26, 2013)

granitestatepainters said:


> That is a big help, thanks. Which would you do first, the walls or trim? I always do trim first but al wondering how to keep over spray off the trim. I guess the shield will help there as well?


If I was going to spray the trim, i would do the trim first. Mask it, and spray the walls. You could shield the trim too but it would be difficult to get an even coat spraying. 
I use a smaller tip spraying up to the shield,313 or so, then switch to 515 down lower on the wall, you could use a small tip for the whole wall, just makes more lines. Back rolling makes it easier to get a good finish.


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## woodcoyote (Dec 30, 2012)

Yeah spray up to the ceiling, but not too close, use a shield or a 45 degree knuckle. 

Be very*** careful with touching up the ceiling, seeing as it isn't actually paint, but primer per the developer's wants. Primer never touches up, just letting you know. 

In this case it might actually be easier to paint the walls first, then mask off the walls and spray the primer on the ceiling for touching up or at least the over spray. That's what I would do, seeing as how the primer never touches up. 

Use a 9ft roll and some yellow frog tape, seeing as how the walls are freshly painted, less peel up/touch ups. Mask the walls off, let the 9ft plastic drop, tack it if necessary with tape and then spray the ceiling. Peel the plastic off, done. Do any touch ups from paint-pull from the tape with PAINT, seeing as how the walls have PAINT...not primer. Easier to touch up. 

Have fun!!


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## Rbriggs82 (Jul 9, 2012)

Now that I have a better picture I would spray the trim and brush and roll the walls. Seems like your more comfortable that way anyhow. 

When we did cheapo tract homes it was superhide or sw masterhide one coat over bare rock sprayed and back rolled. It did look surprisingly good, the problem was touch up, especially on the ceilings.


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## woodcoyote (Dec 30, 2012)

Rbriggs82 said:


> Now that I have a better picture I would spray the trim and brush and roll the walls. Seems like your more comfortable that way anyhow.
> 
> When we did cheapo track homes it was superhide or sw masterhide one coat over bare rock sprayed and back rolled. It did look surprisingly good, the problem was touch up, especially on the ceilings.


The only issue with the rolling of walls if he's using a cheap primer like a PVA which has a tendency to have a real thin viscosity, hard to roll. Easier to roll a higher end primer, but seeing as how its a low-end housing setup, it'll probably the cheapest they can get, especially if it's primer on the ceiling only. 

Which means he'll probably end up having to spray everything.

Edit:
Spray the trim. Blow and go, no back roll, especially if it's primer for ceiling only. They don't care about quality, just price. All you have to do is pacify the contractor and all HE cares about is making it look decent at a cheap price. So it is what it is. If you can spray the trim before they put it up, your in the money. So much easier than when it's on the wall.


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## Rbriggs82 (Jul 9, 2012)

woodcoyote said:


> The only issue with the rolling of walls if he's using a cheap primer like a PVA which has a tendency to have a real thin viscosity, hard to roll. Easier to roll a higher end primer, but seeing as how its a low-end housing setup, it'll probably the cheapest they can get, especially if it's primer on the ceiling only.
> 
> Which means he'll probably end up having to spray everything.
> 
> ...


I'm thinking the walls are already done with superhide acting as a primer. That was my impression anyway.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

I hate being the first one to repaint a fairly newer tract home. Seems like the first coat I apply just gets sucked into the surface. Unpainted ceilings are not uncommon.


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## Rbriggs82 (Jul 9, 2012)

RH said:


> I hate being the first one to repaint a fairly newer tract home. Seems like the first coat I apply just gets sucked into the surface. Unpainted ceilings are not uncommon.


Agreed, its like painting a sponge. Sure does look and feel a lot nicer when your done tho.


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## RH (Sep 7, 2010)

Rbriggs82 said:


> Agreed, its like painting a sponge. Sure does look and feel a lot nicer when your done tho.


We start one tomorrow. Part of a retirement community complex. Big job that will keep us busy for about 3 weeks. Will try and post some pics.


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## mattvpaint (Jan 30, 2013)

If there is already a customer for the house and they have paint colors picked out why not paint it right the first time. Maybe I just miss read. I just paintEd a 5 year old spec house was just primed what a pain in the a$$. soaks it up like crazy


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## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

My tip would be to price it so that you can do a primer coat and two topcoats. It is your reputation and no doubt the people buying the home are not expecting a guy to try and get by with one coat. I guarantee there contract with the builder says nothing about one coat. .


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## granitestatepainters (Sep 29, 2012)

Rbriggs82 said:


> I'm thinking the walls are already done with superhide acting as a primer. That was my impression anyway.


Yeah that is exactly right, which in my opinion should make touch ups on the ceiling pretty easy?


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## wje (Apr 11, 2009)

I agree, being the first one to paint these homes is a pain in the ass. We usually get about 1/2 the spread rate/gallon on the first coat we apply. We usually have to thin it pretty good too on the first coat to even be able to brush them out.

A lot of times, we see these homes caulked after all finish painting in my area. The caulking acts like a glue and any and all reisdue, dust, pet hair etc. sticks to it and looks so awful. 

These homes are surprisingly rewarding to repaint for the first time.

Our standard "First Repaint" on these looks like this.
1 coat on all ceilings, 2 coats on all walls with spot priming on repairs, 1 coat on all trim and doors. 

They are always really easy repaints.


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## TJ Paint (Jun 18, 2009)

I don't like this kind of work. Too much indigestion.


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## premierpainter (Apr 17, 2007)

I would not know how to help you with this because that bs quality work would not have our company name on it.


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## Ole34 (Jan 24, 2011)

Princeton white used to cover bare rock in 1 ..... Finnaren & Haley paint


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## Oden (Feb 8, 2012)

I don't do that kind of work but on the tract houses they get sprayed and backrolled using the builders flat. then they get trimmed out. and that's it. The flat covers just fine really and it hides the bad tape job cause it is soooo flat.


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## mattvpaint (Jan 30, 2013)

Why I ask myself why!


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## Workaholic (Apr 17, 2007)

I stand by my original post. If the op wants to get the walls done in a one and done system I feel sorry for the owners that purchase the property. Sometimes a painter has the responsibility to educate what is realistic to a builder and what is not. Will a builder always listen? Of course not but sometimes it pays more to walk away from a job than it does to just do what they want.


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## mattvpaint (Jan 30, 2013)

Workaholic said:


> I stand by my original post. If the op wants to get the walls done in a one and done system I feel sorry for the owners that purchase the property. Sometimes a painter has the responsibility to educate what is realistic to a builder and what is not. Will a builder always listen? Of course not but sometimes it pays more to walk away from a job than it does to just do what they want.


I agree 110% just sounds like a hack job Idk


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## Ole34 (Jan 24, 2011)

morals are a short cut to the poor house ......... I did a job a job last year for a rental property, cheap flat over EVERYTHING...was it wrong ? define wrong but YES in my eyes but in the end I made about $3,000 an guess what ? I still have it, its in my bank account... my morals?? well, they were left by the front door where they belong


the bottom line is as long as your not doing anything illegal its in in your best interest to do what your told .......imagine if every business in the world operated with a good conscious??? we wouldn't be here


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## TJ Paint (Jun 18, 2009)

Ole34 said:


> .imagine if every business in the world operated with a good conscious??? we wouldn't be here


That's like saying we wouldn't be here if there wasn't war, since war exists.

There's plenty of successful businesses out there thriving by adding value rather than subtracting it. 

But in the end your example of a little apt repaint has little significance in the big picture and has kept you from begging on the streets or robbing people to get by. So I tip my hat to you Ole. Rock on.


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## Ole34 (Jan 24, 2011)

TJ Paint said:


> That's like saying we wouldn't be here if there wasn't war, since war exists.
> 
> *There's plenty of successful businesses out there thriving by adding value rather than subtracting it.*
> 
> But in the end your example of a little apt repaint has little significance in the big picture and has kept you from begging on the streets or robbing people to get by. So I tip my hat to you Ole. Rock on.


 
if the GC wants it to cover in 1 then thats what he wants.. its not up to you or anybody else unless your paying the bills. you guys crack me up with this ****


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## Ole34 (Jan 24, 2011)

TJ Paint said:


> That's like saying we wouldn't be here if there wasn't war, since war exists.
> 
> There's plenty of successful businesses out there thriving by adding value rather than subtracting it.
> 
> But in the end *your example of a little apt repaint has little significance in the big picture and has kept you from begging on the streets or robbing people to get by.* So I tip my hat to you Ole. Rock on.


 
wtf are you talking about ??? my little apt story was just an example of money being made not thrown away cause of an emotional attachment to a certain level of work quality. this is real life BUISNESS were talkin about not some playground game of kick ball where you learn a (in)valuable life lesson by not playing for points ....... I paint it all high/low end I don't care, money is money to me an if I don't do it somebody else will.. 

if anybody here feels the way TJ does an lives near Philly or the main line area feel free to send me any hack work .... by all means send it my way when im done ill send you a pic of me holding the money but no worries you did the right thing by passing up on it  lol


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## TJ Paint (Jun 18, 2009)

Ole34 said:


> wtf are you talking about ??? my little apt story was just an example of money being made not thrown away cause of an emotional attachment to a certain level of work quality. this is real life BUISNESS were talkin about not some playground game of kick ball where you learn a (in)valuable life lesson by not playing for points ....... I paint it all high/low end I don't care, money is money to me an if I don't do it somebody else will..
> 
> if anybody here feels the way TJ does an lives near Philly or the main line area feel free to send me any hack work .... by all means send it my way when im done ill send you a pic of me holding the money but no worries you did the right thing by passing up on it  lol


You need a hobby.


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## Ole34 (Jan 24, 2011)

TJ Paint said:


> You need a hobby.


 

oh here we go, TJ ... ever so enlightened now that hes out of the bucket an working for Walmart ............:jester: ill add the joker cause im only kidding ....... (no im not)


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## Oden (Feb 8, 2012)

Ole34 said:


> if the GC wants it to cover in 1 then thats what he wants.. its not up to you or anybody else unless your paying the bills. you guys crack me up with this ****


IMO if the OP asks a legitimate question and you know the answere then you give it to him.
One of my first gigs, been 20 years though, was painting NC in developments. They get sprayed and backrolled with cheap flat,(right on the bare rock) , the trim that was hit with the flat while priming gets enameled, the day of settlement it gets a touch up.

that is a typical NC job in developments to this minute.

It aim" t gonna change cause they sold every simgle house that got that paint job. 

I don't do that kind of work, now, cause there ain't the kind of money in it I need to make my current nut. The OP may well be in a different situation. I know how the job is done. So I told him. Why dismiss the guy's question? It is a completely legitimate question.


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## mattvpaint (Jan 30, 2013)

Ole34 said:


> wtf are you talking about ??? my little apt story was just an example of money being made not thrown away cause of an emotional attachment to a certain level of work quality. this is real life BUISNESS were talkin about not some playground game of kick ball where you learn a (in)valuable life lesson by not playing for points ....... I paint it all high/low end I don't care, money is money to me an if I don't do it somebody else will..
> 
> if anybody here feels the way TJ does an lives near Philly or the main line area feel free to send me any hack work .... by all means send it my way when im done ill send you a pic of me holding the money but no worries you did the right thing by passing up on it  lol


I do agree with you 100%. I have done things that weren't to my standards Iam not saying doNT do what they want I just don't like that a gc doesn't ****ing know better or listen to guys you know


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## Lazerline (Mar 26, 2012)

Just hope you don't have fuzzy sheet rock or one coat of anything will just be horrible.


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