Ask a Trade: Painters & Decorators

Hi, I’m confused because when I hang lining paper I can achieve a good finish, I very rarely see any joint and I can’t figure out why if I hang lining paper on graphite thermal wall lining which has a kind of paper on it, I have joint problems! When I paper over it I seal the paper on wall lining, then hang lining paper and it looks the same as it would on just plaster. It’s when I emulsion that I can’t understand because it shows every joint not as a gap but it’s as if the paint builds up on joints. I was thinking paint may be lifting joins but then none appear lifted when looking closely. Also, why would they lift if stuck with the same ready-mixed adhesive used for plastered walls and recommended for the thermal lining? Like I say there is no appearance of joint not stuck, just looks like a build-up of paint on the joint?

There’s blisters and bubbles appearing on my kitchen’s wallpaper. What can be done about this? How can I know if it’s beyond repair? How can I avoid this happening again?

can i use satinwood ( Leyland trade ) straight on top primed new skirting/facing etc also on top of glossed door frames

What to do about wallpaper shading? How can this be fixed? What products, tools or equipment should I use and what exactly is involved in fixing this issue? Will I just need to replace the wallpaper? How can I tell if the wallpaper should just be replaced? Why does shading occur with wallpaper and how can I fix it exactly? Thanks in advance.

Is it possible to fix any gaps between strips of wallpaper?

Is it possible to fix loose ends or curling with wallpaper?

How can I double check that a painter or painting company is both licensed and insured? Do they tend to also come with references?

Hi, we’re moving into a house that is decorated in very dark and bright colours. It’s not our cup of tea and we just want to cover the walls before moving in. We won’t have no time choose the final paint colours and decorate for good few weeks. So for now we just thought of covering walls in undercoat. How long can we leave the undercoat for after covering the the walls with it? I’ve read that primers loose their effectiveness after about 48 hours we would need to prime again just before painting. Does the same thing happen with undercoat? In which case, should we paint the walls in cheap white paint on top of the undercoat too for now? Many thanks for your guidance! P.S. the walls are in pretty good state - no marks, stains, cracks.

Hi. I have new wooden panelling a mixture of mdf tulip wood and pine. I primed it 2 to 3 times until it was evenly white. I didn’t undercoat because farrow and ball only supply a combined primer and undercoat and another combined option like that was v thick and viscous and difficult to work with. So I went straight to farrow and ball modern eggshell for a 40-% sheen. I have put two coats on and from a distance it looks fine bit up close it looks streaky and pretty obvious brush marks. The paint goes on v smoothly and looks v nice but once it dries it looks terrible. Can you help???

What are the pros and cons of chalky paint? What jobs/surfaces is it suitable for and why? Is it costly? Anything else I should know about this sort of paint ?