Painting walls and ceilings that are in bad condition

Hi,

I've a feeling I've seen this discussed before but couldn't find the thread.

I'll be starting decoration soon and the walls and ceilings are in bad shape. The old paint is flaking off, there is smoke damage in places, some cracks and water stains. In some places I will be painting bare plaster.

Could anyone tell me what preparation I need to do?

Could I use cheap white or magnolia paint as an undercoat and finish with whatever nice paint I pick out? I vaguely remember reading something about using a sealant on flaking surfaces - if so what kind, and how do I put it on?

I'll be heading to Homebase soon to stock up on brushes etc. What type and size of brushes and rollers should I get?

Any pointers would be welcome - I don't have the money to pay a professional but don't want to make a pig's ear of the job!

Thanks,
g

Scrape off all of the old flaking bits of paint and any other loose bits of plaster etc... Open up any cracks by using the corner of the scraper like a knife, if you just fill these, they will re-open again sooner rather than later. Get some sugar soap for the fire damage and wash it off. Also wash off any other dirty areas. Go around and fill any cracks and holes etc. When filler is dry, sand these with a light sandpaper ( Circa 180 grade sandpaper). After sanding, make sure to dust away any dust as this will remain on the wall, very important unless u want grit all over your new paint job. You mentioned water stains, is it in a damp/moist area? If so, use a paint called steracryl for the ceiling, it is a mould inhibiting paint, good for areas with lots of moisture. You can use some cheap paint if you wish for the walls to prep them. Get a 2 or 3 inches brush for cutting in. Paint ceiing first, when painting ceiling, go around and cut-in first making sure to come down on the walls aswell. Then paint the walls after, that way you wont see 3 colours (i.e. the ceiling, walls & old colour in areas you didnt cut in properly. Give the ceilings 2 coats. Give a prep coat, then 2 coats to the walls, see how it looks and if needs be add another coat.

Thanks for the reply. When I'm sanding, should I just use sheets of sandpaper and a block or is it worth getting an electric sander?

The water damage is from leaks above which I'm getting fixed before starting to decorate.

No, dont use an electric sander. The filler is only light. apply some light pressure, you can use a block if you want or just the sandpaper in your hand and sand to a smooth finish.

Sorry, afraid I'm not a paint expert at all, but I do remember reading about polybond and how that works well to avoid flaky ceilings and stuff. If you search for polybond you'll get lots of threads coming up, but again, I'm not the expert...